Sheikh Mohammed has shared a photo of him as a young man in 60s Manhattan to show how the Dubai dream began…

Yesterday it was announced that Dubai would be building a Dhs1 billion tower that will soar higher than the current world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa.

The unveiling of the epic building with its rotating balconies and hanging gardens was a real ‘Dubai dream realised’ moment.

In fact, the news had H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE reminiscing about how the Dubai dream all began back in the early 1960s. This was when Sheikh Mohammed’s father H.H. Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was the ruler of Dubai (he reigned over Dubai from 1958 to 1990).

Sheikh Mohammed shared this photo that shows him and his father on the top of the Empire State building which, back then, was the world’s tallest tower. Who would have predicted back then that these men’s home turf would one day be home to the world’s tallest tower…

“A photo of me and my late father in the 1960s at the Empire State, then the tallest skyscraper worldwide. It was a beginning of a dream that turned into a reality in Dubai,” Sheikh Mohammed captioned the throwback photo.

In the photo Sheikh Mohammed is fourth from the right and his father Sheikh Rashid is third from the right.

Sheikh Mohammed’s father, Sheikh Rashid once famously said: “My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel,” reflecting his knowledge that a reliance on oil would not sustain Dubai’s economy.

sheikh mohammedA young Sheikh Mohammed with his father Sheikh Rashid in 1969. 

As his sons have continued to after him, Sheikh Rashid worked hard to diversify the economy of the emirate – he was responsible for the opening of Port Rashid in 1972, Jebel Ali Port in 1979, Dubai World Trade Centre in 1978, Dubai Drydocks in 1983 and he also had Dubai Creek widened and dredged in the early 1970s.

*READ NOW: Sheikh Mohammed’s inspiring letter on the future of the UAE*

Sheikh Mohammed also shared the family photo on Instagram, putting it next to the Dhs1 billion tower announced yesterday. Showing how the men standing on the then tallest building in the world would one day be behind the tallest buildings of the early 2000s:

How far Dubai has come…

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