United Arab Emirates: Falcons

Submitted by Emily Jimenez on the 2020 winter session program in Dubai sponsored by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering…

This week, we went to the falcon hospital and had a chance to hold a falcon! I also learned that falcons are a big part of the culture and history of the UAE. Falcons were used for hunting in the desert and are prize possessions to the Emiratís. In airports, falcons get their own passport to avoid smuggling. This week,  we also went up in the Burj Khalifa. Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world and unlike other buildings it doesn’t have stabilizers. To avoid movement, the building was designed so the air funnels around the building.

Falcon

Burj Khalifa