Plastered across postcards and banners, the Burj Al Arab is the singular most distinctive feature of Dubai’s skyline. It finds its place amongst the ranks of the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower and more, caught on the film roll of photographers both amateur and experienced. Undeniably, there’s not a spot on earth where the image of the Burj Al Arab hasn’t travelled to.

The product of the combined intellect of over 250 designers, the Burj Al Arab is modeled after the flapping thick canvas sails of an Arabic Dhow as a tribute to the seafaring ways of the city’s ancestors and Dubai’s longstanding role as a trading epicenter. You can walk up the boarded walkway to the front gates of the Burj Al Arab, a thin whip of wood and tar extending from the mainland. You might notice along the way how the sloping sides of the floating platform are perforated, the strange absence of waves and spray as the ocean meets land completely intended. 321m of curved Teflon and glass reflect beams of sunlight like a crystal crown from the hotel’s island pedestal. A curved rib of steel forms the outline of the cage of parallel beams holding the structure up against gales and stiff headwinds. At night, the exposed atriums come aglow in a brilliant white that lights the shoreline up for miles, the Al Arab an iridescent display of technology and engineering brilliance. There’s no better way to appreciate the significance of this masterpiece than to have it proven before your eyes.