10 Insane Things Built In Dubai

Dubai is a city of luxury and excess. The 1,588 square mile oasis makes Las Vegas look quaint and wholesome by comparison. Here, the motto is ‘build it bigger’, and they aren’t going to let the region’s desert climate or infertile land get in their way. In Dubai, the earth conforms to the city, not the other way around. Case in point: the many man-made islands built exclusively for water parks, five-star resorts, and luxury homes.

There’s lavish, and then there’s downright insane. Like the ski resort sitting in the middle of Dubai’s second largest shopping mall, or the “ice lounge” that will literally kill you if you aren’t wearing thermal gear. Read on for more examples of insane things built in Dubai.

Helipad Tennis Court

When tennis stars Roger Federer and Andre Agassi visited Dubai, the Burj Al Arab Hotel converted their helipad into a tennis court 1,053 ft. in the air.

In 2004, golf superstar Tiger Woods got to use it as a driving range. You can’t help but wonder how many unsuspecting people were hit by golf balls that day.

Burj Khalifa Skyscraper

The Burj Khalifa skyscraper is the tallest man made structure in the world, standing at 2,722 ft.

That’s insane, right? You know what’s more insane? BASE jumping off it, like thrill seeking duo Hervé Le Gallou and David McDonnell did in 2011. Pretending to be engineers, they illegally infiltrated the building and jumped from the 160th floor. “To know that you are the first person to step off that object is for me a special feeling,” said one of the jumpers in a video they made of the stunt. Replace special with mind-numbingly terrifying and that statement is probably more accurate for most of us.