What were the wind towers, or barjeel, of the Al Fahidi district used for?

Cooling houses before air conditioning

Calling people to prayer from the rooftops

Storing rainwater for the dry summer

What is the Dubai Frame?

A 150-meter structure shaped like a picture frame

A huge picture gallery of the ruling family

A frame holding Dubai's largest outdoor screen

The Dubai Miracle Garden is famous for what?

Millions of flowers in giant displays

A tropical rainforest under a huge glass dome

Dubai Quiz: Souks, Skyscrapers and Desert Dunes of the UAE

This Dubai quiz explores the most famous city of the UAE, from abra boats on Dubai Creek and the Gold Souk to the wind towers of Al Fahidi, the Museum of the Future, the Dubai Frame, the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, Ski Dubai, the driverless Dubai Metro, the Dubai Miracle Garden and pearl diving history. Ten questions.

Start Dubai Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Boats
What are the small wooden water taxis that carry passengers across Dubai Creek?
Markets
Dubai's Gold Souk in Deira is famous for what?
Architecture
What were the wind towers, or barjeel, of the Al Fahidi district used for?
Museums
The Museum of the Future, opened in 2022, is covered in what?
Landmarks
What is the Dubai Frame?
Hotels
The Burj Al Arab hotel is designed to look like what?
Snow
Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope, is inside which shopping mall?
Transport
The Dubai Metro, opened in 2009, is famous for being what?
History
Before oil was discovered, which industry was the backbone of Dubai's economy?
Gardens
The Dubai Miracle Garden is famous for what?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What are the small wooden water taxis that carry passengers across Dubai Creek?
Answer: Abras
A crossing costs only a few dirhams and takes a few minutes. Larger wooden dhows still carry cargo between Dubai, Iran, India and East Africa.
Q2: Dubai's Gold Souk in Deira is famous for what?
Answer: Hundreds of jewelry shops
The market has hundreds of shops selling gold, silver and gemstones. One shop displayed a ring weighing about 64 kilograms, a Guinness World Record.
Q3: What were the wind towers, or barjeel, of the Al Fahidi district used for?
Answer: Cooling houses before air conditioning
The towers catch breezes and push cool air down into the rooms. Al Fahidi's restored lanes show what Dubai looked like before the oil boom.
Q4: The Museum of the Future, opened in 2022, is covered in what?
Answer: Arabic calligraphy
The steel and glass facade forms windows from quotations by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum about the future. The building's oval shape has a hole in the middle.
Q5: What is the Dubai Frame?
Answer: A 150-meter structure shaped like a picture frame
Visitors cross a glass-floored bridge at the top. One side looks toward old Dubai and the other toward the modern skyline.
Q6: The Burj Al Arab hotel is designed to look like what?
Answer: A ship's sail
It stands on its own artificial island, linked to land by a bridge. Its helipad has hosted a tennis match and a golf drive.
Q7: Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope, is inside which shopping mall?
Answer: Mall of the Emirates
The slope is open all year, even when outside temperatures pass 40°C. Visitors can also meet a colony of penguins there.
Q8: The Dubai Metro, opened in 2009, is famous for being what?
Answer: Driverless
It was one of the longest driverless metro networks in the world when it opened. Some trains have gold class carriages.
Q9: Before oil was discovered, which industry was the backbone of Dubai's economy?
Answer: Pearl diving
Divers held their breath and collected oysters from the seabed for months at a time. Japanese cultured pearls ended the trade in the 1930s.
Q10: The Dubai Miracle Garden is famous for what?
Answer: Millions of flowers in giant displays
It opens in the cooler months, roughly October to May. A full-size Emirates Airbus A380 covered in flowers is one of its best-known displays.

Dubai Quiz – From Pearl Village to Global City

Dubai is the largest city of the United Arab Emirates and one of the fastest-growing cities in the world. Located on the Persian Gulf coast, it is famous for record-breaking skyscrapers, luxury hotels, giant shopping malls, artificial islands and desert adventures. Millions of tourists and business travelers visit every year.

Just a century ago, Dubai was a small fishing and pearl-diving town built around Dubai Creek. Traders came from Persia, India and East Africa, and wooden dhows filled the harbor. After the discovery of oil in 1966, the ruling Al Maktoum family invested in ports, airlines, tourism and finance, turning Dubai into a global hub.

Old Dubai survives along the creek. Abra boats ferry passengers between Bur Dubai and Deira, where the Gold Souk and Spice Souk bustle. The Al Fahidi district preserves traditional coral-stone houses with wind towers that cooled homes before air conditioning.

Modern Dubai is a showcase of architecture. The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, towers over Downtown Dubai. The Burj Al Arab looks like a sail, the Museum of the Future is covered in calligraphy and the Dubai Frame links old and new. Visitors ski indoors at Ski Dubai and explore huge malls.

Beyond the city, desert safaris offer dune drives, camel rides and dinners under the stars. In the cooler months, the Dubai Miracle Garden blooms with millions of flowers.

Dubai's population is very international, with most residents coming from abroad, especially from South Asia, the Philippines and Europe. Arabic is the official language, but English is widely used in shops, offices and on signs, and the city celebrates many cultures.

This quiz covers the history, landmarks, transport and attractions of Dubai.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for travelers, architecture fans and shoppers.

Abras, Dubai Creek and the Gold Souk
Wind towers in the Al Fahidi district
The Museum of the Future and the Dubai Frame
The Burj Al Arab and Ski Dubai
The Dubai Metro and the city's growth
Pearl diving and the Dubai Miracle Garden

Quick Facts About Dubai

Dubai International Airport is one of the world's busiest for international passengers.
The Dubai Mall has a giant aquarium visible from its shops.
Friday and Saturday were the weekend until the UAE changed to Saturday and Sunday in 2022.
Dubai Marina is one of the largest man-made marinas in the world.
Summer temperatures often exceed 40°C.
The Dubai Shopping Festival is held every winter.