Martin Parr took pictures of the decadence in 2007:

I have just returned from Dubai where I was photographing the first Dubai DIFC Art Fair. We all know that Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world and this fair was part of an ongoing strategy to try and position Dubai as a cultural destination, to compliment their known love of tourism and business.

via Magnum Blog / Bling, Bling – the photo blog of Magnum Photos.