Rise and fall of Dubai's real estate

Heavy fog rolls by early in the morning near the Dubai Marina November 21, 2007. Photograph: Steve Crisp/guardian.co.uk

Emiratis check details of the development The World, an artificial archipelago that will consist of 300 small islands built off-shore Dubai in the shape of a map of the world, at the Arabian Travel Market, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Photograph: Jorge Ferrari/guardian.co.uk

An aerial view of the man made Palm Island project, an offshore property development built in the shape of a palm tree, in Dubai Photograph: Jorge Ferrari/guardian.co.uk

An aerial view of a villa built on a private artificial island on The World offshore property development, some 5 miles off the coast of Dubai Photograph: Jorge Ferrari/guardian.co.uk

A general aerial view taken from a landing plane shows the desert and road construction works around Dubai Photograph: Olivier Matthys/guardian.co.uk

=View of the New Town with the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Photograph: Massimo Borchi/guardian.co.uk

Night shot of Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai Photograph: Joson/guardian.co.uk

Residential buildings under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Photograph: Jorge Ferrari/guardian.co.uk

Interior of Dubai International Airport Photograph: Massimo Borchi/guardian.co.uk

Aerial view of the seven stars hotel Burj al Arab (center), the Jumairah Beach hotel and marina (foreground), the Medinat al Jumairah hotel and touristic complex (on the left) and the man made Palm Island project (backround), in Dubai Photograph: Jorge Ferrari/guardian.co.uk

Workers walking past Burj Dubai, the world's tallest man-made structure under construction, in the Gulf emirate of Dubai. The opening of 800-metre building, developed by real estate giant Emaar Properties, is expected to take place in January 2010. Photograph: Karim Sahib/guardian.co.uk

Fireworks rip through the sky at the launch of The Atlantis Hotel at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Photograph: Ian West/guardian.co.uk

The new subway network going through Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai. Photograph: Karim Sahib/guardian.co.uk

The Burj Dubai, built by US architect Adrian Smith, is the he world's tallest man-made structure and still under construction. Upon completion, the building is expected to reach a final height of 900 metres (2,953 feet). Photograph: Oliver Lang/guardian.co.uk

Madinat Jumeirah Resort and the Burj al Arab HotelUrban scenes Photograph: Jean-Pierre Lescourret/guardian.co.uk

A ship crosses a setting sun off the coast of Dubai Photograph: Steve Crisp/guardian.co.uk