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Published: April 21st 2014
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16/17
thApril Abu Dhabi, UAE
We have arrived early in Abu Dhabi docking the evening before for our maiden port of call here.
The ship had to steam at full speed across the Arabian Sea to drop off sick guests in Muscat, Oman. We arrived off Muscat on the 15
th and the passengers were transferred to hospital.
So we had an unexpected extra evening in Abu Dhabi, Cunard had organised an evening bus tour for guests who wanted to disembark for an evening out. Our trip in Abu Dhabi was going to be an early start so we just had an early night.
Abu Dhabi is the largest of the Emirates (there are seven), it is also the most populated and wealthiest. It is also one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world.
Abu Dhabi (Father of the Gazelle) is now a top tourist attraction with highlights like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Yas Marina F1 circuit and the 6 star Emirates Palace (hotel).
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan died in 2004 and was the charismatic leader and driving force behind
the transformation of Abu Dhabi. He was the first president of the UAE and with the revenue from oil the small town from 1960 has become unrecognisable.
His son Sheikh Khalifa is continuing the work & ideas of his father, the Grand Mosque being one of them which was our first attraction visited on our long trip out to Al Ain the Oasis city.
Sheikh Zayed wanted to establish a structure which unites the cultural diversity of Islamic world, the historical and modern values of architecture and art. His final resting place is located on the grounds beside the same mosque. The mosque was constructed from 1996 to 2007. It is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates and the eighth largest mosque in the world. The mosque site is approximately equivalent to the size five football fields.
Some of the statistics are staggering in terms of its construction and usage.
41000 people can pray at any one time, there are 18000 car park spaces (and more being built). I don’t think the photographs will do the place justice when you see the floral designs on the
floors with the white marble, the carpets and the chandeliers.
The carpet in the main prayer hall is considered to be the world's largest carpet made by Iran's Carpet Company, it weighs 35 tonne and is predominantly made from wool (originating from New Zealand and Iran) and it took two years to complete.
There are seven imported chandeliers from Germany with millions of Swarovski crystals and the largest chandelier is the second largest known chandelier inside a mosque.
The pools along the arcades reflect the mosque's spectacular columns, which becomes even more glorious at night. The 96 columns in the main prayer hall are clad with marble and inlaid with mother of pearl, one of the few places where you will see this craftsmanship.
A magnificent building costing well over 1.5 billion dollars and counting (told you they were wealthy). A shame that Sheikh Zayed died before his vision was completed.
It was nearly a two hour journey to our next stop of Al Ain, Abu Dhabi’s second largest city. It is surrounded by 7 oases. The journey was out to the Hajar Mountains which
run through Oman with some beautiful desert scenery.
The renovated old Palace of the former Sheikh shows how they have moved on, no air con here and just lots of cushions on the floor for the Bedouin leaders to sit on.
The oasis whilst in the middle of the city showed the ancient Falaj (irrigation system) perfected by the Persians 3000 years ago and still in use. Fresh dates were available here (at a price).
Then to the museum where it combined archaeological artefacts with the more recent history.
Finally (before lunch), no trip would be complete without a visit to the camel market where you buy a camel for racing or just swap the wife for one (or maybe two).
Lin didn’t bother getting off the coach (enough said) but loads of flies got on!!!
Just to highlight the contrasts of the trip, lunch was taken in the nearby Hilton Hotel.
Lots of other things to be done in Abu Dhabi, so would be a good stopover for a long haul flight.
Next stop Dubai,
UAE
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