Armada Towers

The city of Dubai is the main population center of the Emirate of Dubai, one of seven which joined to form the United Arab Emirates in 1972. Ruled since 1833 by the Al-Maktoum Dynasty, Dubai is located on a sheltered harbor and was already one of the principal ports on the Persian Gulf by the 1870s. In 1903 it became a major British port of call, and the city remained as a protectorate of Great Britain until the Trucial States were declared independent in 1971.