The World's most expensive Christmas Tree is in the UAE!

Recently, the name of the United Arab Emirates has  become a sort of a synonym for modernism (modern architecture, civilization, ...etc), luxury, even extravagance and a bit of excessiveness -I guess!

But this latest news that came to my knowledge rather blows my mind away as I can't comprehend it!

"What is it??" you wonder.
It is this...
The Most Expensive Christmas Tree of the World Ever is in the UAE!
Yes...
Expensive...I do understand with all the late tendency towards extravagance that UAE seems to seriously suffer from or rather enjoy!
But why A Christmas Tree?
Is it a display for its cosmopolitan status now? A message to say that we are the world! celebrating Christmas with the world even though we are such a muslim country!
I don't know...!

Let me hush now and report the news and post the pictures ;)

Abu Dhabi: A Christmas tree has been decorated by jewelry in glitzy hotel Abu Dhabi which it says is worth over $11m (£7m).

The tree is decorated wit items of jewellery studded with scores of precious stones are draped on the tree's branches, along with more traditional baubles and lights which make it expensive and beautiful.

While the tree without jewelry is worth a mere $10,000, the jewellery adds more than $11m to the value, said the hotel's general manager Hans Olbertz.

Manager also told that the hotel's marketing team brought the idea, The hotel has a tree every year, Mr Olbertz said.

But this year, "we said we have to do something different", AFP news agency quoted him as saying.

The vast majority of the population of the oil-rich UAE are Muslim.

But Mr Olbertz said he did not think the tree would offend local sensibilities.

"It's a very liberal country," he said, according to AFP.

Along with stars and lights, watches and bracelets adorn the tree

The Emirates Palace hotel would ask the Guinness World Records to certify the tree as the world's most expensive, Mr Olbertz said.

The bracelets, necklaces and watches which adorn the 13m (43-foot) tree contain 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones.

The tree sits in the sumptuous lobby of the 302-room hotel, which is reportedly decorated with gold leaf.

Asked what security measures were in place to prevent theft of jewellery from the tree, assistant director of marketing Hazem Harfoush said the tree was "good proof that Abu Dhabi is a safe destination".

And the hotel was even safer, Mr Harfoush told the BBC.

"We have 24/7 security, four security guards closely monitoring the space plus security cameras."

Previous publicity-seeking efforts by the hotel include the creation of a $1m Valentine's Day package and the installation of what was said to be the world's first gold vending machine.

Asked whether the tree had brought fresh media attention, Mr Harfoush said it had.

"We've had non-stop interest," he said.

Sources: 

((http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7637121-most-expensive-christmas-tree-of-the-world-ever-in-uae))

((http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12006875))

Any thoughts on this??