I'm spending some hours today at the Dubai International Airport - but you don't need to be here to get your own, very revealing insiders' look at how it functions.
I passed through the Dubai International Airport earlier this week and Terminal 3 for connecting flights and now I'm back again - it's the 4th busiest airport in the world right in the middle of desert and right in the middle of the world.
Quite co-incidentally there is a wonderful, new and very revealing 10 part documentary series, Ultimate Airport Dubai which just started on National Geographic Channel (DStv 181) on Mondays at 21:55 going behind the scenes of this gleaming dessert facade.
Dubai's international airport is a hive of activity and handles 344 000 flights a year, 57 million passengers and 2 million tons of cargo.
National Geographic Channel got unprecedented access for Ultimate Airport Dubai, revealing in 10 episodes the true scope, drama and human and technological "machine" running this global transport hub where 60 000 people work.
The Dubai International Airport is situated at the crossroads of course between Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East - a colossal mix of cultures, business, traditions, religions and languages. But for an airport, it's hardly smooth sailing.
Below the surface of this steel facade rising like a bright sand dune mirage, there's mechanical problems, irate passengers making scenes, bizarre incidents and big challenges for the ground crews and air traffic control officers.
Ultimate Airport Dubai shows how they cope and tackle the many, varied "adventures" which each new day brings at this daunting place which never shuts down.
Witness the construction of a new airstrip, pipes that burst, passengers with emergencies, and unbelievable conflict, stress and issues in this documentary series which really shows the inside workings of this modern world wonder.
