For more than a decade, Dubai's ruling family has been trying to transform the Persian Gulf emirate into an ultra-luxurious tourist destination for the very well-heeled.

The resulting building boom led to some of the most over-the-top real estate projects ever conceived — artificial palm-shaped islands, kilometre-high office buildings, an indoor ski resort, the biggest shopping mall in the world and hotels that charge thousands a night.

The sail-shaped Burj al Arab hotel — the only (self-proclaimed) seven-star hotel in the world — proudly affirmed its status as the most expensive place on the planet to spend a night with rooms starting at more than $1,000 US. It was just one of many structures in the Gulf emirate designed to impress or outrage, depending on one's point of view. The world's rich and famous, it seemed, couldn't get enough of such ostentatious displays.

Amid such a building frenzy, real estate prices predictably spiralled out of control. And just as predictably, they plunged earthward in 2008 and 2009 when the property bubble burst as the global financial crisis abruptly put an end to the migration of money. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of building projects were delayed or cancelled. Thousands of jobs disappeared.  More here.