1.
Spatial disorientation
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Spatial disorientation, spatial unawareness is the inability of a person to correctly determine his/her body position in space. This phenomenon refers especially to aircraft pilots and underwater divers, spatial disorientation is a condition in which an aircraft pilots perception of direction does not agree with reality. Under these conditions the pilot may be deprived of a visual horizon. A pilot who enters such conditions will quickly lose spatial orientation if there has no training in flying with reference to instruments. Approximately 80% of the pilots in the United States do not have an instrument rating. During the abnormal acceleratory environment of flight, the vestibular and proprioceptive systems do not respond truthfully, however, prolonged rotation results in a cessation of semicircular output, and cessation of rotation thereafter can even result in the perception of motion in the opposite direction. The result of various visual and nonvisual illusions is spatial disorientation. Various models have developed to yield quantitative predictions of disorientation associated with known aircraft accelerations. Once an aircraft enters conditions under which the pilot cannot see a visual horizon. Errors in the rate of turn about any axis can build up at a rate of 0.2 to 0.3 degrees per second. During the entire time, leading up to and well into the maneuver, the 20th pilot also lost control of his aircraft, but in another maneuver. The average time between onset of instrument conditions and loss of control was 178 seconds, spatial disorientation can also affect instrument-rated pilots in certain conditions. A powerful tumbling sensation can be set up if the pilot moves his or her head too much during instrument flight and this is called the Coriolis illusion. Pilots are also susceptible to spatial disorientation during night flight over featureless terrain, spatial orientation is the ability to maintain body orientation and posture in relation to the surrounding environment at rest and during motion. Humans have evolved to maintain spatial orientation on the ground, the three-dimensional environment of flight is unfamiliar to the human body, creating sensory conflicts and illusions that make spatial orientation difficult and sometimes impossible to achieve. Statistics show that between 5% and 10% of all aviation accidents can be attributed to spatial disorientation, 90% of which are fatal. Good spatial orientation on the ground relies on the use of visual, vestibular, changes in linear acceleration, angular acceleration, and gravity are detected by the vestibular system and the proprioceptive receptors, and then compared in the brain with visual information. Spatial-D and G-induced loss of consciousness are two of the most common causes of death from human factors in military aviation, spatial orientation in flight is difficult to achieve because numerous sensory stimuli vary in magnitude, direction, and frequency
2.
Arabian Sea
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The Arabian Sea is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by northeastern Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, and on the east by India. Historically the sea has been known by names including the Erythraean Sea. Its total area is 3,862,000 km2 and its depth is 4,652 metres. The Gulf of Aden is in the southwest, connecting the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Arabian Sea has been crossed by important marine trade routes since the third or second millennium BCE. Major seaports include Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, the Port of Karachi and the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, other important ports include in India, Kandla Port, and Mormugao in Goa. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea include Socotra, Masirah Island, Astola Island, the Arabian Seas surface area is about 3,862,000 km2. The maximum width of the Sea is approximately 2,400 km, the biggest river flowing into the Sea is the Indus River. There are also the gulfs of Khambhat and Kutch on the Indian coast, the countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, India and the Maldives. There are several cities on the seas coast including Mumbai, Surat, Karachi, Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara, Aden, Muscat, Keti Bandar, Salalah, Duqm. International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Arabian Sea as follows, the Eastern limit of the Gulf of Aden. A line joining Ràs al Hadd, East point of Arabia, a line running from the South extremity of Addu Atoll, to the Eastern extreme of Ràs Hafun. The Western limit of the Laccadive Sea, by the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the Sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north. Each major route involved transhipping to pack animal caravan, travel through country and risk of bandits. Later the kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria, Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest port in the Arabian Sea, and the largest container port in India. The Port of Karachi is Pakistans largest and busiest seaport, handling about 60% of the nations cargo and it is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar, close to the main business district and several industrial areas. The geographic position of the places it in close proximity to major shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. The history of the port is intertwined with that of the city of Karachi, several ancient ports have been attributed in the area including Krokola, Morontobara, Barbarikon (the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, and Debal. It warns sailors about whirlpools and advises them to safety in Kaurashi harbour if they found themselves drifting dangerously
3.
Mumbai
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Mumbai is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India and the ninth most populous agglomeration in the world, Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. In 2008, Mumbai was named a world city. It is also the wealthiest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West, Mumbai has the highest number of billionaires and millionaires among all cities in India. The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies, during the mid-18th century, Bombay was reshaped by the Hornby Vellard project, which undertook reclamation of the area between the seven islands from the sea. Along with construction of roads and railways, the reclamation project, completed in 1845. Bombay in the 19th century was characterised by economic and educational development, during the early 20th century it became a strong base for the Indian independence movement. Upon Indias independence in 1947 the city was incorporated into Bombay State, in 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as the capital. Mumbai is the financial, commercial and entertainment capital of India and it is also home to some of Indias premier scientific and nuclear institutes like BARC, NPCL, IREL, TIFR, AERB, AECI, and the Department of Atomic Energy. The city also houses Indias Hindi and Marathi film and television industry, Mumbais business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over India, making the city a melting pot of many communities and cultures. The oldest known names for the city are Kakamuchee and Galajunkja, in 1508, Portuguese writer Gaspar Correia used the name Bombaim, in his Lendas da Índia. This name possibly originated as the Old Portuguese phrase bom baim, meaning good little bay, in 1516, Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa used the name Tana-Maiambu, Tana appears to refer to the adjoining town of Thane and Maiambu to Mumbadevi. Other variations recorded in the 16th and the 17th centuries include, Mombayn, Bombay, Bombain, Bombaym, Monbaym, Mombaim, Mombaym, Bambaye, Bombaiim, Bombeye, Boon Bay, and Bon Bahia. After the English gained possession of the city in the 17th century, Ali Muhammad Khan, imperial diwan or revenue minister of the Gujarat province, in the Mirat-i-Ahmedi referred to the city as Manbai. By the late 20th century, the city was referred to as Mumbai or Mambai in the Indian statewise official languages of Marathi, Konkani, Gujarati, Kannada and Sindhi, the Government of India officially changed the English name to Mumbai in November 1995. According to Slate magazine, they argued that Bombay was a corrupted English version of Mumbai, Slate also said The push to rename Bombay was part of a larger movement to strengthen Marathi identity in the Maharashtra region. A resident of Mumbai is called mumbaikar in the Marathi language, the term has been in use for quite some time but it gained popularity after the official name change to Mumbai. Mumbai is built on what was once an archipelago of seven islands, Bombay Island, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli and it is not exactly known when these islands were first inhabited
4.
Boeing 747
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The Boeing 747 is an American wide-body commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet. Its distinctive hump upper deck along the part of the aircraft makes it among the worlds most recognizable aircraft. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years, as of January 2017, the 747 has been involved in 60 hull losses, resulting in 3722 fatalities. The four-engine 747 uses a configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions, the 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold, but it exceeded critics expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993. By February 2017,1,528 aircraft had been built, the 747-400, the most common passenger version in service, has a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0. 85–0.855 with an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles. The newest version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production, deliveries of the 747-8F freighter version began in October 2011, deliveries of the 747-8I passenger version began in May 2012. In 1963, the United States Air Force started a series of projects on a very large strategic transport aircraft. The payload bay had to be 17 feet wide by 13.5 feet high and 100 feet long with access doors at the front. Featuring only four engines, the design required new engine designs with greatly increased power and better fuel economy. After a downselect, Boeing, Douglas, and Lockheed were given study contracts for the airframe, along with General Electric. All three of the airframe proposals shared a number of features, as the CX-HLS needed to be able to be loaded from the front, a door had to be included where the cockpit usually was. In 1965 Lockheeds aircraft design and General Electrics engine design were selected for the new C-5 Galaxy transport, the nose door and raised cockpit concepts would be carried over to the design of the 747. The 747 was conceived while air travel was increasing in the 1960s, the era of commercial jet transportation, led by the enormous popularity of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8, had revolutionized long-distance travel. In 1965, Joe Sutter was transferred from Boeings 737 development team to manage the design studies for a new airliner, Sutter initiated a design study with Pan Am and other airlines, to better understand their requirements. At the time, it was thought that the 747 would eventually be superseded by supersonic transport aircraft. Boeing responded by designing the 747 so that it could be adapted easily to carry freight, in the freighter role, the clear need was to support the containerized shipping methodologies that were being widely introduced at about the same time. Standard containers are 8 ft square at the front and available in 20 and 40 ft lengths and this meant that it would be possible to support a 2-wide 2-high stack of containers two or three ranks deep with a fuselage size similar to the earlier CX-HLS project
5.
Ashoka
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Ashoka was an ancient Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. One of Indias greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan to the state of Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except parts of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, the empires capital was Pataliputra, with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain. In about 260 BCE, Ashoka waged a destructive war against the state of Kalinga. He conquered Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done and he embraced Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. Ashoka reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations, Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about 263 BCE. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia, Ashoka regarded Buddhism as a doctrine that could serve as a cultural foundation for political unity. Ashoka is now remembered as a philanthropic administrator, in the Kalinga edicts, he addresses his people as his children, and mentions that as a father he desires their good. Ashokas name Aśoka means painless, without sorrow in Sanskrit, in his edicts, he is referred to as Devānāmpriya, and Priyadarśin. His fondness for his names connection to the Saraca asoca tree, along with the Edicts of Ashoka, his legend is related in the 2nd-century CE Ashokavadana, and in the Sri Lankan text Mahavamsa. The emblem of the modern Republic of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka, Ashoka was born to the Mauryan emperor, Bindusara and a relatively lower ranked wife, Subhadrangī. Ashoka became a great emperor despite having an appearance that was unfavorable to his father. He was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Mauryan dynasty, since, according to Roman historian Appian, Ashokas grandfather Chandragupta had made a marital alliance with Seleucus, there is a possibility that Ashoka had a Seleucid Greek grandmother. The Avadana texts mention that his mother was queen Subhadrangī, according to the Ashokavadana, she was the daughter of a Brahmin from the city of Champa. Though a palace intrigue kept her away from the emperor, this eventually ended and it is from her exclamation I am now without sorrow, that Ashoka got his name. The Divyāvadāna tells a story, but gives the name of the queen as Janapadakalyānī. Ashoka had several siblings, all of whom were his half-brothers from the other wives of Bindusara. His fighting qualities were apparent from an age and he was given royal military training
6.
Air India
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Air India is the flag carrier airline of India and the third-largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried, after IndiGo and Jet Airways. It is owned by Air India Limited, a Government of India enterprise and it is headquartered in New Delhi. Air India has its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014, after World War II, it became a public limited company and was renamed as Air India. On 21 February 1960, it took delivery of its first Boeing 707–420 named Gauri Shankar, in 2000–01, attempts were made to privatise Air India and from 2006 onwards, it suffered losses after its merger with Indian Airlines. Air India also operates flights to domestic and Asian destinations through its subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express, Air India uses the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 787 aircraft for selected domestic routes while long distance services use the Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 777-200LR,747 and 787 aircraft. Air Indias mascot is the Maharajah and the logo consists of a swan with the wheel of Konark inside it. Air India had its origin in Tata Sons, founded by J. R. D. Tata, in April 1932, Tata won a contract to carry mail for Imperial Airways and the aviation department of Tata Sons was formed with two single-engine de Havilland Puss Moths. On 15 October 1932, Tata flew a Puss Moth carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay and the continued to Madras piloted by Nevill Vintcent. The airline fleet consisted of a Puss Moth aircraft and a Leopard Moth, initial service included weekly airmail service between Karachi and Madras via Ahmedabad and Bombay. In its first year of operation, the airline flew 160,000 miles, carrying 155 passengers and 9.72 tonnes of mail, later, the airline launched a domestic flight from Bombay to Trivandrum with a six-seater Miles Merlin. In 1938, it was re-christened as Tata Air Services and later as Tata Airlines, Delhi and Colombo were added to the destinations in 1938. During the Second World War, the airline helped the Royal Air Force with troop movements, shipping of supplies, rescue of refugees and maintenance of planes. After World War II, regular service was restored in India. After the Indian independence in 1947, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India in 1948, on 8 June 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess took off from Bombay bound for London Heathrow marking the airlines first international flight. In 1953, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act, the company was renamed as Air India International Limited and the domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines as a part of restructuring. From 1948 to 1950, the airline introduced services to Nairobi in Africa and to major European destinations Rome, Paris, the airline took delivery of its first Lockheed Constellation L-1049 named Rani of Jhansi and inaugurated services to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707–420 named Gauri Shankar, the airline inaugurated services to New York on 14 May 1960
7.
Aircraft registration
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In accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, all civil aircraft must be registered with a national aviation authority using procedures set by each country. Every country, even those not party to the Chicago Convention, has a NAA whose functions include the registration of civil aircraft, an aircraft can only be registered once, in the one jurisdiction. The registration identifier must be displayed prominently on the aircraft, most countries also require the registration identifier to be imprinted on a permanent fireproof plate mounted on the fuselage in case of a post-fire/post-crash aircraft accident investigation. Military aircraft typically use tail codes and serial numbers, although each aircraft registration identifier is unique, some countries allow it to be re-used when the aircraft has been sold, destroyed or retired. For example, N3794N is assigned to a Mooney M20F and it had been previously assigned to a Beechcraft Bonanza. Also note that an aircraft may be assigned different registrations during its existence. This can be because the aircraft ownership, jurisdiction of registration. The first use of aircraft registrations was based on the radio callsigns allocated at the London International Radiotelegraphic Conference in 1913, the format was a single letter prefix followed by four other letters. The major nations operating aircraft were allocated a letter prefix. Smaller countries had to share a single letter prefix, but were allocated exclusive use of the first letter of the suffix and this was modified by agreement by the International Bureau at Berne and published on April 23,1913. The agreement stipulated that the nationality marks were to be followed by a then a group of four letters that must include a vowel. This system operated until the adoption of the system in 1928. The International Radiotelegraph Convention at Washington in 1927 revised the list of markings and these were adopted from 1928 and are the basis of the currently used registrations. The markings have been amended and added to over the years, upon registration, the aircraft receives its unique registration, which must be displayed prominently on the aircraft. Annex 7 to the Chicago Convention describes the definitions, location, the aircraft registration is made up of a prefix selected from the countrys callsign prefix allocated by the International Telecommunication Union and the registration suffix. Depending on the country of registration, this suffix is a numeric or alphanumeric code, a supplement to Annex 7 provides an updated list of approved nationality and common marks used by various countries. When painted on the fuselage, the prefix and suffix are usually separated by a dash, when entered in a flight plan, the dash is omitted. In some countries use a number suffix rather than letters, like the United States, South Korea, and Japan
8.
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
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Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, formerly known as Sahar International Airport, is the primary international airport serving the Mumbai Metropolitan Area, India.68 million passengers. The airport is the second busiest in the country in terms of cargo traffic also, the airport has three operating terminals spread over an operational area of 750 hectares and handles about 850 aircraft movements per day. It handled a record 51 movements in one hour on 16 September 2014 and it won the 2015 ASQ Best Airport Award in the 25-40 million passengers per annum category by Airports Council International. It has also won the Best Airport in India and Central Asia award at the Skytrax 2016 World Airport Awards and it is one of the three airports in India to have implemented Airport Collaborative Decision Making to ensure timely takeoffs and landings. The new integrated terminal T2 was inaugurated on 10 January 2014, a dedicated six lane, elevated road connecting the new terminal with the main arterial Western Express Highway was also opened to the public the same day. The airport is named after the 17th-century Maratha emperor, Chhatrapati Shivaji and it was re-renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, adding Maharaj to the name, by the Government of Maharashtra on 8 December 2016. CSIAs IATA airport code – BOM – is derived from Bombay and it is situated across the suburbs of Santacruz, Vile Parle and Sahar village in Andheri with the PIN code 400099. RAF Santacruz was set up in 1942 and it was a bigger airfield than Juhu and was home to several RAF squadrons during World War II from 1942 to 1947. The Airport covered an area of about 1,500 acres, one hangar was used as a domestic terminal and the other for international traffic. It had counters for customs and immigration checks on either side, Air India handled its passengers in its own terminal adjoining the two hangars. In its first year, it handled six civilian services a day, named after the neighbourhood in which it stood and initially under the aegis of the Public Works Department, the new airport was subsequently run by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. A major fire gutted the International section of the building on 21 September 1979. A temporary departure extension or Gulf Terminal was made functional in October that year until the terminal was repaired, with the dawning of the Jumbo Jet era in the 1970s, Santacruz, despite several extensions, began suffering from insufficient operational capacity. The Tata committee, set up in 1967 to examine the issues concerning the airport, had recommended the construction of a new terminal to meet the requirements of traffic in the seventies. The Santa Cruz terminal was to be used for domestic traffic alone, accordingly, construction of the new International terminal at Sahar to the north-east of Santacruz in Andheri was taken up at an estimated cost of ₹110 million. AAI had been considering the modernisation of Mumbai airport in 1996 although the AAI board approved a proposal only in 2003. By then, Mumbai and Delhi airports were handling 38% of the aircraft movement. At that time, Mumbai airport handled 13.3 million passengers, the airport faced severe congestion for both aircraft and passengers as it was handling twice as many aircraft movements per day than it was originally designed for
9.
Dubai International Airport
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Dubai International Airport is the primary airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates and is the worlds busiest airport by international passenger traffic. In 2016, DXB handled 83.6 million passengers,2.59 million tonnes of cargo, Dubai International is situated in the Al Garhoud district,2.5 nautical miles east of Dubai and spread over an area of 2,900 hectares of land. The airport is operated by the Dubai Airports Company and is the base of Dubais international airlines, Emirates. The Emirates hub is the largest airline hub in the Middle East, Emirates handles around 65% of all passenger traffic, Dubai Airport is also the base for low-cost carrier flydubai which handles 11. 6% of passenger traffic and 25% of aircraft movements at DXB. The airport consists of three terminals and has a capacity of 90 million passengers annually. Terminal 3 is the second largest building in the world by floor space, as of January 2016, there are over 7,700 weekly flights operated by 140 airlines to over 270 destinations across all six inhabited continents. The Empire Flying Boats also started operating once a week flying east to Karachi and west to Southampton, by February 1938, there were four flying boats a week. In the 1940s, flying from Dubai was by flying boats operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation, construction of the airport was ordered by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in 1959. It officially opened in 1960 with its first airfield, at time it was able to handle aircraft the size of a Douglas DC-3 on a 1,800 m long runway made of compacted sand. Three turning-areas, an apron and small terminal completed the airport that was constructed by Costain, in May 1963, construction of a 9,200 ft asphalt runway started. The installation of the system continued after official opening and was completed in August of that year. During the second half of the 1960s several extensions, equipment upgrades like a VHF omnidirectional range, by 1969, the airport was served by 9 airlines serving some 20 destinations. The inauguration was on 15 May 1966 and was marked by the visits of the first big jets of Middle East Airlines, the construction of a new terminal building consisting of a three-story building 110 m long and included an enclosed floor area of 13,400 m2. A new 28 m control tower was also constructed, expansion continued in the early 1970s including ILS Category II equipment, lengthening existing runway to 12,500 ft, installation of a non-directional beacon, diesel generators, taxiways, etc. This work made handling the Boeing 747 and Concorde possible, several runway and apron extensions were carried out through the decade to meet growing demand. 1971 saw the new precision category 2 Approach and Runway Lighting System being commissioned, the construction of the Airport Fire Station and the installation of the generators were completed in December of that year and was fully operational in March 1972. The ruler also commissioned and inaugurated the Long-range Surveillance System on 19 June 1973, with the expansion of the Airport Fire Services it was necessary to find more suitable accommodation and a hangar style building was made available to them at the end of 1976. This was located midway between the ends to facilitate efficient operations
10.
Dubai
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Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. It is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the countrys legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the northern coastline. Dubai will host World Expo 2020, Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East. It is also a transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s, Dubais economy was based on revenues from trade and, to an extent, oil exploration concessions. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969, Dubais oil revenue helped accelerate the early development of the city, but its reserves are limited and production levels are low, today, less than 5% of the emirates revenue comes from oil. The emirates Western-style model of business drives its economy with the main revenues now coming from tourism, aviation, real estate, Dubai was recently named the best destination for Muslim travellers by Salam Standard. Dubai has recently attracted attention through many innovative large construction projects and sports events. The city has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the worlds tallest building, Dubai has been criticised for human rights violations concerning the citys largely South Asian and Filipino workforce. As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world, in 2014, Dubais hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by U. S. global consulting firm Mercer, Many theories have been proposed as to the origin of the word Dubai. One theory suggests the word was used to describe the souq, another theory states that the name came from a word meaning money, as people from Dubai were commonly believed to be rich due to the thriving trading centre of the location. An Arabic proverb says Daba Dubai, meaning They came with a lot of money, according to Fedel Handhal, a scholar on the UAEs history and culture, the word Dubai may have come from the word daba, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek inland. The poet and scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, an inhabitant or native of the city is a Dubaian. Although stone tools have been found at archaeological sites, little is known about the UAEs early inhabitants as only a few settlements have been found. Many ancient towns in the area were trading centres between the Eastern and Western worlds, the remnants of an ancient mangrove swamp, dated at 7000 BC, were discovered during the construction of sewer lines near Dubai Internet City. The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries
