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). Fortunately 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 and  of the  UAE  itself.

 In the last quarter century, 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  few clearly recognizable buildings from that era: it is now called Al Hush Palace, but is also known as the” Old” or “While” Front.  This is now home to the Centre for Documentation and Research, and has many  exhibits of interest to the tourist, including traditional artifacts and old photographs.

The city grew at an enormous rate in the 1970 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 colourful 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 play games, especially at the weekends.  Most people live in apartment blocks, and although they Have every modern comfort; those families with children appreciate this thoughtful urban planning. Locals usually live in villas, but 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 colours of the national flab, are draped over  all the  main buildings, along with portraits of the President and  member of the Supreme Council (the Rulers of the  seven Emirates).  Arches festooned with garlands are build over the main roads, and national father outside palaces to perform traditional dances and music.

 The physical structures of the oil industry are equally awesome. ADNOC (AbuDhabi 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 for repairs.

Yet Abu Dhabi is diversifying away from a dependence on oil to the development of a wide range of industry.  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 head-quarters is one of the grand sights on the waterfront.  To cater for the  ever-growing number of visiting businessmen, most of the major hotel chains have opened large hotels here.  The recently completed Forte Grande on the Corniche deserves special mention as it is the tallest building in the Middle East (for the Moment at least).  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 clothes and  jewellery.  Air-conditioned plazas are the Latest addition to the commercial scene.

The suqs manage to combine the old with the  new.  The fish suq is probably the Truest to tradition offering the 100 plus varieties of fish that are caught locally.  The fruit And vegetable market sells a wide range of locally grown and imported produce( though an Ever wider range of foodstuffs is locally grown).  Ornaments 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 very 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 decorates  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 the   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  seeing wildlife here than on the busier roads of the  coast.  It then climbs slowly in to the mountains; one can witness the geological evolution of the area as one drives along.  Hatta itself  is a charming village, with an impressive wadi.  The mountains are not very high in this area,  but they (and the valleys between them) are an intriguing sight.  Visitors who have obtained a road pass can continue along this road into the Sultanate of Oman  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 bushed 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 Centre in In Airport Road ( one of the  main thoroughfares of the   the city), and they can be  purchased in tourist shops.  Most of these crafts are based on fabrics: intricately embroidered clothes, coverings for  furniture or decorative pieces that are simply designed to  be  hung on the wall. Some of the finest designs are in an  Arab lace called telli.