Rev. Sun Myung Moon wrote:

Every time I read anything about this place, my head explodes.

Ross, who asked not to be identified, is one of countless expatriates who have been caught out by the collapse in Dubai’s once-booming property market.

Like many he bought a flat off-plan in what was a red-hot property market. Today he is trapped, his passport confiscated until he repays bank loans he used to invest in a property that may never exist. If his work dries up before he can clear his debts he will go to jail.

Holy shit! How stupid/greedy do you have to be to go into debt to buy nonexistent property in a place run by this guy? Can you imagine that face looking down at you, those eyes boring through your skull, through your soul, everywhere you turn? Here's the most amazing part, though:

Without the apartment to boost the family’s income, the high cost of living forced them back to Britain. The debts became overwhelming in a city where non-payment is a criminal offence. Ross returned for some contract work but he was held on arrival at the airport by the police.

He was home-free, but then he went back, willingly. Who knows what goes through the mind of someone who would risk debtors' prison to save a worthless "investment?" Is it like a gambling addiction?

More: Dubai Photo Essay by Lauren Greenfield