Hi-Def Pics - The Extravagance that is Dubai (14 photos)

Over the last few years Dubai has become a household name of an exotic destination that everyone wants to visit one day. The Atlantis Palm Resort is the latest addition to Dubai's skyline, and to celebrate they had their grand opening this week. The rapid development in Dubai and across the UAE hasn't all been easy lately, as infrastructure problems (handling rising levels of waste to match massive development), and world financial struggles have slowed progress. Despite that, Wealthy Dubai continues to grow as new islands are built and new taller skyscrapers are planned to best the Burj Dubai, already the tallest in the world.

Above, an Emirati carries a falcon, one of the tourist attractions at the lobby of the Atlantis resort complex on the man-made Palm Jumeirah island in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on November 18, 2008. (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

The scene over Dubai Marina late November 15, 2008. Dubai property shares plunged, last week, and its biggest private developer slashed jobs as the global financial crisis tightened its grip on the tiny emirate, until now synonymous with the Gulf Arab real estate boom. (REUTERS/Steve Crisp)

Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Defence Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, walking through an aisle of the second Emirates Airline A380 superjumbo at Dubai international airport. The rich Gulf Emirate received the second A380 on October 24, 2008. Emirates, which is owned by the government of Dubai, is the largest customer of the A380. It has 58 on order in a deal worth about 18.8 billion dollars based on list prices. (AFP/Getty Images)

An early evening view of the Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah with residential construction in the foreground late November 15, 2008. (REUTERS/Steve Crisp)

Visitors looks up as fish swim in the aquarium tunnel in Dubai Mall, which covers the area of 50 soccer fields, November 4, 2008. The Dubai Mall, which officially opened on the 4th, includes the aquarium, one of the world's largest, an Olympic-sized ice rink, and shops covering 5.9 million sq ft. (REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah)

With a background of Sheikh Zayed highway's towers, Muslims of different nationalities perform the Eid al-Fitr prayers at Grand Musalla in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Arab clients smoke waterpipes after breaking their fast at a Ramadan tent in a five-star hotel in Dubai on September 16, 2008. Besides charity banquets for the poor during the fasting month of Ramadan, fancy tents that offer sumptuous meals at relevant prices flourish in the oil-rich Gulf emirate, attracting both locals and foreigners, Muslims and non-Muslims, many of whom exchange normal dinner outings with the sunset 'iftar' meal and late night 'suhur' snacks and waterpipes. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Heavy fog rolls by high-rise constructions near the Dubai Marina in this November 21, 2007 file photo. (REUTERS/Steve Crisp)

A sculpture of an ant is seen in front of the Dubai International Financial Exchange October 7, 2008. Gulf Arab stock markets had slumped to multi-year lows as speculation intensified that a five-year property boom had come to an end and heavyweight financing firms would be forced to merge as credit conditions deteriorated. (REUTERS/Steve Crisp)

Journalists watch a stingray swimming in the giant aquarium of the Atlantis hotel which is a part of $ 1.5 billion resort in Jumeira Palm Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

An Emirati man holds a falcon during the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 2008. The annual exhibition has achieved great success both within the Gulf region and worldwide attracting international specialist exhibitors of guns, hunting vehicles, shooting, fishing, falconry, equipment and accessories. (KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian driver Vladimir Chagin and his co-pilots Sergy Savostin and Antoly Tahin driving their Kamaz 4911 truck through the Liwa desert, south of Abu Dhabi, during the UAE Desert challenge Competition on October 30, 2008. (AFP/Getty Images)

British motorcyclist James West drives his 690 cc KTM Rally bike during preliminary super stage action in Dubai on October, 26 2008, one day before the official start of the UAE Desert Challenge Rally. More than 140 drivers took part in the five day rally. (MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Burj Dubai on November 7, 2008 - the tallest manmade structure in the world, despite being still incomplete. The skyscraper stands at 707 meters (2,320 ft), with 160 floors and growing, and is scheduled to be complete by September of next year. (© Fadi Chami)

Courtesy of the Boston Globe