This week I am

remembering the heat of Dubai and the strange drama of the buildings, which I think may be something like the modern architectural equivalent of the great palaces and mosques here in Istanbul. A crucial difference: the landscapes in Dubai are man-made. Two decades ago, there was only sand. Now there are towers and hotels and shopping malls. I visited two hotels, at opposite ends of style: One&Only Royal Mirage http://royalmirage.oneandonlyresorts.com, and AtlantisThePalm http:///www.atlantisthepalm.com.Bruno Cerdan, whom I first met in Melbourne, is the chef at One&Only; Mark Patten, whom I also first met in Melbourne, is the culinary vice-president of AtlantisThePalm. It's a huge resort with remarkable restaurants: they do five million meals a year, and one of the outlets serves one million of them. You want systems? I think Mark Patten is the man.There are all manner of luxurious restaurants at AtlantisThePalm, including a seafood restaurant called Ossiano (brilliant!), and a Chinese restaurant called Yuan. Not to mention a steakhouse, and Locatelli from New York. There was originally a signature big-name French restaurant, from Michel Rostang, but when the five-year contract ended, the restaurant moved to other things. There wasn't much in the way of casual food in that particular area, so the decision was made to turn the bakery space into a hamburger place. It's been wildly successful. Everyone is moving to hamburgers, it seems - especially Neil Perry.It's not that I have anything against hamburgers especially, I just think it's a pity that cooking skills and traditions seem to be giving way to high-profit hands-free eating. A good hamburger is a nice thing to eat when you find it. Closely related to the doner kebab, I realised yesterday in Istanbul, where I ate fine sliced lamb, tomatoes, pickles, potato, all wrapped up. The ingredients are just the same: something bready, a bit of meat, a bit of salad, a pickle, all to be eaten with the hands.Low-skill is not really a complaint to be made in Dubai hotels, where there is such a strong market for the luxury end of things. One&Only, which is really four separate hotels in Dubai (three on one site), is beautifully designed, all about architectural and decorative features that recall but do not imitate the Arabian and Ottoman worlds.Recommendations for Istanbul? Thanks to a friend's advice, I stay in the Sari Konak hotel in the Sultanahmet area http://www.istanbulhotelsarikonak.com which is a small and very friendly rather rambly hotel with a great rooftop terrace. Nearby are two good fish restaurants: Ahhir Kapi http://http://fishhomeahhirkapi.com/ - great rooftop terrace, very casual, and good fish. Try also the less casual Balikci Sabahatttin http://balikcisabahattin.com which is more comfortable.