Can you guess? Here’s another clue. It is the tallest building in the world and it is the pride of middle east.

If you said Burj Khalifa, Dubai, you’re absolutely right!!

But do you know Burj Khalifa should also be your answer if someone asks you about the building with the highest number of stories, highest outdoor observation deck, tallest service elevator in the world, elevator with the longest travel distance in the world and the world’s highest mosque? Phew! That’s quite a few records!

So how tall is Burj Khalifa? The tower is around 2717 feet tall, a little over 828 meters. It has more than 163 floors and 57 lifts. To give you an idea, the building is so tall that you can spot it from 60 miles away. Its probably a good idea to keep an extra jacket if you are planning to go to the top Burj Khalifa as the temperature drops 6 degrees from base to peak and the winds at the top can reach whooping 90 miles an hour. Entire Dubai and even neighboring country Iran can be seen from top of Burj Khalifa.

Lets compare it with some of the buildings that have been tallest buildings in the past. Taipei 101, Taipei held the record of being the tallest building from 2004 to 2010 until the opening of Burj Khalifa in January 2010. It stands about 500 meters tall and has 101 floors. Petronas Twin towers, Malaysia was tallest in the world from 1998 till 2004. They are about 450 meters tall and have 88 floors.

Burj Khalifa’s design has been inspired by a desert flower named hymenocallis. The aerial view of the tower, Y shaped, is quite similar to the flower Pattern where long petals extend from the flower.

Do you wonder why was Burj Khalifa built? Dubai was primarily famous for its oil industry. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, constitutional monarch of Dubai, wanted to make Dubai a tourist friendly place with something sensational to offer. With that thought in mind, the construction of the building started in 2004. It took 6 years for its completion, and the building was inaugurated in January 2010.

Burj in Arabic means tower. Initially thought to be named Burj Dubai, the building was later named Burj Khalifa after then president of United Arab Emirates(UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed.

Did you know?
Skyscrapers taller than 300m are called supertalls. Skyscrapers taller than 600m are called megatalls.

Image Credit: Flickr User n3wjack, via CC