Being nerdy as a kid when I was growing up, in a computerless society, for me meant being a stamp collector. Of course in true nerd style we referred to ourselves as philatelists. We would be treated to stamps from all sorts of exotic places such as Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah, Dubai and the Trucial States. I remember wondering where are the Trucial states? In an era where one had to look it up in expensive encyclopaedias (remember those?) or in libraries I never did find out.
We are on our airconditioned bus gliding along the open 8 lane freeway that connects Dubai to the UAE capitol of Abu Dhabi. The dry desert wastelands of Dubai are transformed through massive, extensive and expensive irrigation to greenery as we enter the largest state of the UAE, Abu Dhabi. It is then that the guide drops the term “Trucial states”. The British left the Arabian Peninsula in 1968 and the 6 coastal sheikdoms formed the Trucial States. In 1971 these formally amalgamated to become the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The discovery of oil transformed this country from a poor desert backwater sparsely inhabited by Bedouin nomads to the affluent modern society of today. The sheikhdom of Dubai is not as well endowed with the black gold and have moved on to be the tourist and financial hub. The sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi has enough oil to export at the present rate for another 200 years and therefore it is not as brash and hyped as Dubai. Nonetheless it is moving away from sole reliance on oil with the emergence of Etihad Airlines, the building of a massive modern new airport to rival Dubai’s and the custom built luxurious F1 Grand Prix complex which is our first stop on the tour.
Abu Dhabi is an elegant metropolis by the sea. Skyscrapers abut the long green sweep of the Corniche as it hugs the coast.
The Presidential Palace is a massive complex that resembles an exotic oriental domed wedding cake.
The piece de resistance is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the fourth largest in the world. Dazzling white marble in the sizzling sunlight, decorated with inlaid marble reminiscent of the Taj Mahal with four massive Swarokovski crystal chandeliers inside. Definitely a highlight of this or any other trip.
