Abu Dhabi
 
 

H.H. Sheikh Zayed Ben Sultan Al Nahyan
 President of UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi
 

Abu Dhabi is by far the largest and richest of the seven Emirates. It
            comprises 85% of the land mass of the UAE, including offshore islands, and
            has most of the oil (enough for 100 years at two million barrels a day).
            Fortunatley for the less well-endowed Emirates, it has taken a generous
            approach towards the development of the country as a whole. Abu Dhabi is
            the capital city, both of the Emirate of the same name and of the UAE itself.
 

In the last quarter centurey, the city of Abu Dhabi
            has changed beyond all recognition. In 1962,
            when oil was first exported, the present capital
            was no more than a fishing village with houses
            made of mud-brick and barasti (palm fronds).
            Now it is a totally modern skyscraper city.

Its history goes back to 1761 when, the legend goes, a group of tribesmen
            pursuing a gazelle came upon a freshwater well, so they named it Abu
            Dhabi, "Father (or Fatherland) of the Gazelle". In the 1790s the ruler moved
            his capital there, and built a fort around the well. This fort is one of the few
            clearly recognizable extant buildings from that era; it is now called Al Husn
            Palace, but it is also known as the "Old" or "White" Fort. This is now home
            to the Center of Documentation qnd Research, and has many exhibits of
            interest to the tourist, including traditional artefacts and old photographs.


The city grew at an enormous rate in the 1970s
                                and is now growing again at an equally impressive
                                rate. The business area has a string of
                                skyscrapers that few European cities could match
                                and every piece of vacant land seems to be a
                                construction site. The Corniche is lined with
                                high-rise office buildings overlooking carefully
                                cultivated gardens with masses of colorful
            flowers. The gardens and parks are not just for decoration: they are very
            popular centers for recreation. Families meet on the grass of the Corniche to
            have picnics or to play games, especially at the weekends. Most people live
            in apartment blocks, and although they have very modern comfort, those
            families with children appreciate this thoughtful urban planning. Locals usually
            live in villas, but as Abu Dhabi is an island with limited land space, new
            developments must mean high-rise buildings. The city center was marked in
            the past by the Old Clocktower, but this is now dwarfed by the 22 storey
            tower of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Not surprisingly, the National Day celebrations are more
            elaborate in the capital than anywhere else. Millions and
            millions of green, red and white lightbulbs, the colors of
            the national flag, are draped over all the main buildings,
            along with portraits of the President and members of the
            Supreme Council (The Rullers of the seven Emirates).
            Arches festooned with garlands are built over the main
            roads, and nationals gather outside palaces to perform
            traditional dances and music.

The physical structures of the oil industry are equally awesome. ADNOC
            (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) has an imposing headquarters on the
            Corniche, and has built its own township on the mainland. Far to the west,
            the refinery at Ruwais is an extraordinary sight rising out of the bleak desert,
            The offshore oil rigs seem like invading giants when they come into port of
            repairs.
Yet Abu Dhabi is the diversifying away from a
                          dependence on oil to the development of a wide range of
                          industries. The success of this policy is seen in the range of
                          head offices of multinational companies in the prestigious
                          buildings of the main business area - Hamdan Street,
                          Zayed the First and Zayed the Second Streets, and the
                          Corniche. The Arab Monetary Fund is located here and
                          its gold-glassed headquarters is one of the grand sights on
                          the waterfront. To cater for the over-growing number of
                          visiting businessmen, most of the major hotel chains have
            opened large hotels here. The recently completed Fort Grande on the
            Corniche deserves special mention as it is the tallest building in the Middle
            East (1995). The main shopping streets bustle with establishments of all
            descriptions selling goods from around the world. Increasingly the focus is
            on modern, up-market products from the Far East (especially Japan),
            Europe and America. There are many specialist boutiques selling designer
            cloths and jewellery. Air-conditioned plazas are the latest addition to the
            commercial scene.

The suqs manage to comBene the old with the
            new. The fish suq is probably the truest to
            tradition, offering the 100 plus varieties of fish that
            are cought locally. The fruit and vegetable market
            sells a wide range of locally grown and imported
            products (though an everwider range of foodstuffs
            is locally grown). Ornments featuring age-old designs are displayed in the
            gold suq, which is at the same time a world-class gold market. Gold is sold
            by weight at current world prices, and every little extra is charged for the
            design. Europeans go for the 18 carat (which can hold a design for a long
            time), Arabs prefer 21 carat, and the Indians buy the very soft 25 carat gold.
            The new handicrafts market is for tourists, and includes some very beautiful
            and exotic products, such as the heavily decorated khanjar curved daggers,
            swords, ceremonial and otherwise, and even old Martini-Henry rifles.

                                Abu Dhabi International Airport is moving into the
                                front rank of world airports. It has a futuristic
                                design based on hubs spreading out from a
                                central area, which houses, among other things,
                                very competitive duty-free shops. Travellers can
                                also buy tickets for lotteries with fabulous prizes -
            from Ferrari cars to apartments in London.


            Apart from its modernity, the most striking feature of Abu Dhabi is its
            lushness. The municipality has spent a fortune and hired an army of labourers
            to turn this desert city into a garden. The visitor sees greenery all the way
            along thirty-minute drive from the airport. In the heat of the summer,
            especially, one realizes what a major achievement this is, as every tree and
            lawn and plant has to be watered continuously by a massive irrigation
            system. There are so many parks and gardens that, on the western side of
            the city in particular, it is possible to go for long walks without leaving the
            grass. New species of grass and bushes have been developed to cope with
            the harsh conditions. These new grasses continue to look good in blazing
            sunshine, even though they grow in soil which is mostly sand. Every park is
            like a botanical garden, full of fascinating plants.

            Despite, or perhaps because of, the
            breathtaking rate of development, the
            indigenous people of the Emirate of Abu
            Dhabi remain conservative. They attach
            the greatest value to keeping alive their
            traditional values and customs. Any
            visitor wanting to see the real Abu Dhabi
            would be well advised to attend a traditional function such as a wedding or
            an Eid celebration (Islamic festival). On such occasions it is possible to
            witness traditional Arab dancing. The men perform a slow, rhythmic dance,
            waving swords in the air. The young girls dance standing in a row and
            swishing their very long hair from side to side. Poetry is also recited and
            musicians play drums, goatskin bagpipes, ouds (a kind of lute) and Arab
            flutes.

            The handicrafts traditionally produced by women are displayed on these
            festive occasions. They can also be seen throughout the year at the women's
            Handicraft Center in Airport Road (one of the main thoroughfares of the
            city), and they can be purchased in tourist shops. Most of these crafts are
            based on fabrics: intricately embroidered cloths, coverings for furniture or
            decorative pieces that are simply designed to be hung on the wall. Some of
            the finest designs are in as Arab lace called telli.