Dubai's present-day skyline can make it difficult to imagine what the city looked like several decades ago. Today, visitors encounter towering skyscrapers, expansive highways, artificial islands, luxury hotels, and enormous shopping and entertainment complexes. Earlier maps of Dubai, however, reveal a much smaller coastal settlement centered around Dubai Creek, traditional neighborhoods, and...

Dubai's present-day skyline can make it difficult to imagine what the city looked like several decades ago. Today, visitors encounter towering skyscrapers, expansive highways, artificial islands, luxury hotels, and enormous shopping and entertainment complexes. Earlier maps of Dubai, however, reveal a much smaller coastal settlement centered around Dubai Creek, traditional neighborhoods, and...