A Marina in The Sahara
Marina, a family-owned funishing shop that was established in 1997, which offers rustic and exotic products has just opened it´s 16th showroom in Sharjah´s Sahara Centre. The 12,000 square feet showroom, will provide a shop window for Marina´s beautifully handcrafted range of fusion-based home interiors. Designed in-house by Marina´s Dubai design team and sourced from around the world the Hard Furniture (sofa, bedroom and dining room sets), Home Decoration and Accessories (lighting, wall decor and accessories) and Home Fabrics Lines (curtains, covers, throws, runners and table-linen), deliver a unique lifestyle. The Sahara Centre offers the investor a unique business opportunity, one of the best in Sharjah and the UAE. We have a complete cross-section of brands that continue to attract new customers. 
Jewellery sales surge
Despite a high gold price and a traditional lull in shopping activity during the summer, Dubai's retail jewellery trade registered an overall sales surge of five per cent in June-August period compared to the same time last year (2003). Trade has been witnessing a sustained upswing since the Dubai Shopping Festival when the sales recorded a 40 per cent surge over the previous year.
Dubai Tour Guide Gets Guided
A nine-day Dubai Tour Guide Course, started on August 2004, was held at the state-of-the-art Dubai Cruise Terminal. The course was  conducted by a Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing appointed training center, which attracted 24 participants from 12 nationalities including the UAE, India, Ukraine, Germany, Czech Republic, UK, Finland, Phillippines, France, Russia, Canada and Sri Lanka. They are provided information that enhances their knowledge about Dubai’s geography, history, culture and heritage, economy and key organisations, local regulations and places of interest in addition to the tourism contribution to the economy.
Ramada Continental Hotel opens in Dubai
 Ramada International Hotels & Resorts, a division of Marriott International - a leading lodging company with over 2,860 properties worldwide, has announced the opening of the Ramada Continental Hotel in Deira, Dubai. This is Ramada's second hotel in Dubai. Centrally located in the city of Deira, it is just ten minutes from Dubai International Airport and offers roundtrip airport transportation. The hotel offers 192-rooms and guests can enjoy the rooftop swimming pool which offers spectacular views of the city.
Better Taxi Service in Sharjah
 Sharjah Transport launched recently a taxi service that was franchised to two companies namely City Taxi and Emirates Taxi, with each of them operating 80 cars. The advantages of franchised taxis is that its operators are guided by Sharjah Transport rules and regulations. Private owned taxi service have no system to guide their haphazard operations. Fares is Dh2 for pick-up during morning and Dh3 from 10pm to 6am, in addition to Dh1 per each kilometre. FYI: Dh1 (UAE Dirhams) is approximately US$ 0.25 (United States Dollars).
Horseback patrol is back in Dubai
 The distinctive clippity clop of hooves heralds the arrival of the Mounted Police along the night street in Dubai. These mounted patrols can also go through narrow areas that police cars can't reach. The fact that the officers are mounted also helps them cover large areas. About 200 horses make up the main Bur Dubai Mounted Police Department and its other branch in Deira.
UAE host international chess festival
 Players from over 25 countries and regions will take part in Abu Dhabi International Chess Festival in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be opened on Saturday, 14 August 2004. The event is organised by the Abu Dhabi Chess and Culture Club (ADCCC) and the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation (ADCF), under the patronage of UAE government. The festival will include five competitions - the Masters, the Open Tournament for men which has attracted more than 150 participants, the U-16 youth competition, the U-12 competition, the Blitz competition and for the first time a computer competition featuring the German chess program Shroeder.
Leading UAE women's player Fatima Al Hammadi will also be in action. The Abu Dhabi International Chess festival will also feature players from Azerbiajan, India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Pakistan, Tunis, Sudan, Turkey, Britain, France,Germany, the Philippines, Romania, Denmark, Morocco, Qatar, Yemen and the UAE.
OXBOW's second boutique in Dubai
The Souk Madinat outlet is smaller than the Village Mall's colorful shop. It will still maintain the spirit that embodies this French brand - conveying a specific attitude related to personal achievement and fulfillment in sports via refined cuts, eye-catching prints and quality of materials.
Colin McRae coming to the Desert
 World Rally Champion, Colin McRae, will participate in the UAE Desert Challenge in October, as a 'warm-up' for the Dakar. He will be driving for Nissan. Desert Challenge 2004 will starts on the 11 October 2004 and ends 15 October 2004. Moreeb Hill is the location for the Bivouac for the four night spent in the desert. It lies 20 kms south of the heart of the Liwa Oasis and is accessible by asphalt/blacktop road. For more information, visit UAE Desert Challenge website.
Don't need a ticket to fly Emirates
Emirates rolled out its new global electronic ticketing system recently, ushering in coupon-free travel and enabling passengers to book and fly on very short notice. The system lets customers book e-tickets from Dubai to any of Emirates’ 75 other destinations, as well as from another 26 cities in 19 countries, namely: Australia, New Zealand, USA, Turkey, UK, Cyprus, Germany (Dusseldorf and Munich), Greece, India (Mumbai), Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Kenya. The other destinations on the airline’s network will become e-ticket enabled in the next 12 months.
Note: E-tickets, virtual versions of the traditional paper air tickets, benefit air passengers in important ways. Busy executives and leisure travellers need not worry about missing a flight because of forgotten or misplaced tickets, as passenger details are safely stored in the Emirates Computer Reservation System.
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