It's the party city of the United Arab Emirates, where the pious can taste the underside of their most carnal desires among nightclubs, fake islands, and the tallest and weirdest skyscrapers and seven star hotels. Somewhere in the cross-hairs of this juxtaposition lies the true character of the conflicting Arab spirit: a politic that should be united under the banner of the Ummah , yet finds itself in endless devious contradictions, civil war, and sectarian violence.
I was there a few years back when I realised just how many sex workers were operating out of a single hotel, under the cover of obscure phrasing and disguised propositions. I wanted to dig down to the underbelly of this strange industry, so after a series of phone calls and Skype conversations a Ukrainian pimp living in Dubai agreed to talk about his lucrative career.
He was a pale man, dressed in a black suit with an iced-out Rolex and Burberry polo. How did you get into the sex industry in Dubai? Alex : I was working as a consultant for an engineering company in Jeddah. As I worked up the corporate ladder, my job became more about spending time with clients as they travelled to Saudi Arabia and taking them away on weekends to Dubai. I established some great contacts and eventually just moved to Dubai to where I was subcontracted by various companies and banks to show their clients a good time.
Like a professional party guy? You're right, my job is more than just pimping or prostitution. I cater to all the needs of my clients. We are tied to the major hotels and nightclubs.
Whenever they receive high profile guests that want to throw a party or treat their guests to something special they call me. Everyone that links us up gets a cut and we have built our reputation on protecting the identity of our clients. We've organised parties for celebrities, politicians, and gangsters. We are all different, not everyone cares about fucking blonde whores with big tits, some rappers come and want to smoke hash in an underwater hotel, businessman sometimes want to fire AKs off a camel or out of a Lamborghini in the desert.
