When it opened in 1999, the Burj Al Arab was an international sensation. Sheikh Mohammed, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the man behind the luxury hotel in Dubai, resolved to make it the world’s best property, bar none. At 1,054 feet high, and with a construction tab of $1 billion, it debuted as both the tallest and most expensive hotel in the world. Its dramatic, sail-inspired architecture—a nod to a J-class yacht—became a signature building for the United Arab Emirates, its answer to Sydney’s iconic Opera…
