fountains, flames, and really tall buildings

20130110_Dubai_053in the shadow of burj khalifa – the dubai tower, the world’s tallest building at 160 stories – you’ll find the dubai fountain. the dubai fountain is about as far away from the desert you can get in every way except physically. according to the burj khalifa website,

enjoy an enchanting performance of light and water set to the music of arabian, classical and world music. the dubai fountain is set in the 30-acre burj khalifa lake in the heart of downtown dubai. it is 275 metres (900 feet) long, with five circles of varying sizes, two central arcs, water nozzles that shoot as high as a 50-storey building sending 22,000 gallons of water airborne, and 500,000 lumens of projected light. designed by california-based WET, creators of the las vegas fountains of bellagio, the dubai fountain features over 6,600 superlights, and 25 colour projectors that create over 1,000 different water expressions. the beam of light shining from the dubai fountain can be seen from more than 20 miles away and may even be visible from space, making it the brightest spot in the middle east.

in addition to the jets, there are flamethrowers and stages for performers to interact with projected graphics. pretty spectacular.

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it’s showtime!
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they’re pretty serious about the flamethrowers.
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bursting bubbles.

next: a lot of postings about critters.