Any description
Abu Dhabi is irrelevant without Lonely Planet's apt description of its
position in the UAE:
"Dubai is not the capital. Abu Dhabi is. Both are Emirates (like states) and both are capitals of their respective state, but Abu Dhabi is the seat of UAE power. It just looks like Dubai in the capital, and Dubai acts like it's the capital, but Abu Dhabi's too busy counting the oil revenue to care...much."
Dubai,
in all its cosmopolitan glory, is quite dissimilar to Abu Dhabi. When Abu Dhabi
has a few tall buildings lining the streets in the CBD, Dubai builds the Burj
Khalifa. When Abu Dhabi puts a few nice restaurants and swimming facilities
along the Corniche, Dubai lines the beaches with apartment towers, a
plaza complex and a restaurant district, effectively culling the sunshine and
natural bliss of being a coastal nation. Dubai just wants to do everything
bigger and better, reminiscent of middle child syndrome.
Abu
Dhabi is, in one word, pleasant. As you drive into the city, the speed limit
drops and traffic becomes more tolerable. The cars aren't all giant
four-wheel drives or SUVs ready to mow down your precious, shiny Ford. The
scope of buildings slowly diminishes and the malls are noticeable, but not so
imposing as to take up an entire suburb. It exudes sleepy and cool. I can
only compare it to living in Sydney and sneaking away for a weekend break in
Brisbane. It's a little old, a little tacky and 90s at times, but somebody actually
thought about their ideas before they acted on them, and there's real
sensibility in the city's design.
We
stole away to the Crown Plaza for a weekend break, nestled neatly in what I'm
assuming was one of the older districts. However, much unlike it's little Dubai
brother, Abu Dhabi didn't give up on it's old town. Still maintained, clean and
alive, this area had 4-star hotels happily tucked
in beside a little Persian restaurant, an Adidas Factory
Outlet, a Dirham Saver store and an Afghani guy sitting at a
window freshly baking Arabic breads at intermittent times of the day - insha'allah. Abu Dhabi
held all the wonderful things about Al Ain, in its simple "Arab"
feel, and many aspects of the Western world slotted in nicely around it. Sure,
the shopping wasn't the same world-class standard we've become accustomed to in
Dubai, but there were shops, malls, independent stores and air conditioned
spaces aplenty.
Our
overnight stay was whittled away by lounging by the Marina to
watch the sun go down, dining on Italian delights at a restaurant by the
Corniche Beach and drinking cocktails in the spa into the evening. Not
particularly cultural, but heck, I needed the break with coordinator
responsibilities and reporting bearing down on me like a giant, evil elephant.
We didn't embark on the late night souq journeys that Middle Eastern cities are
famous for, but instead kicked off the day early with my marathon training run
along the Corniche. The punishing sunshine at 35 degrees, with around
40-50% humidity, caught me out, leaving me desperately dehydrated at only 4.5
miles. Nevertheless, two litres of water and a litre of Gatorade got me
over the finish line and I managed to saturate an entire taxi seat
making my way back to the hotel to check out. Gross.
With
the pleasantries of hotel hospitality out of the way, we were ready to embark
on the cultural tourist journey of Abu Dhabi. Massively acclaimed, and the 8th
largest in the world, we made our way to the Grand Mosque, dedicated to the
"Father" and first President of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed. Opened
during Ramadan 2007, the Grand Mosque makes you gasp as you approach the
massive structure. Filled with ornately decorated glass doors, walls and
"everythings", the entire mosque has to be seen to believed. It is home
to the longest carpet in the world, hand woven in Iran, which tantalises your
feet with its decadent luxury. With a capacity of 9,000 people in the main
prayer hall, one can't helped but be completely overwhelmed by the dedication
that has clearly gone into the development of this stunning place of prayer.
For a change, I handed by camera over to Andrew and let the intensity of such a
place wash over me. I myself was covered by an abaya and shayla for the
first time, and it was quite confronting to find myself in this position.
Confined to an anonymity I've not known before, among hundreds of others around
me, I essentially lost my power of speech. I just sat and looked. The
observance in itself was quite sweet, but one that rendered me in a strange state
of mind. Who knows...maybe it was just a little hot under all that black?
We
wandered along the columns surrounding the main square of the mosque,
delighting in the intricate representations of nature so well nourished in Arab
culture. The geometry and precision of their artwork and architecture makes you
long to replicate that kind of passion and detail in everything you
do. After running off a few creative photos, capturing beautiful lines and
angles in composition, we snapped away at the token tourist photos and headed
back to our taxi. I have to admit, I've never felt such freedom in wearing a
t-shirt and jeans, and it was truly blissful. I soaked the warm sun into my
pores and posed for a tourist photo in front of the mosque. I never do that. I actively
avoid such tourist shots! Alas this one, this ONE photo, was special. This
was one of those moments in life I felt I'd truly experienced, and I came away
with a sense of achievement almost as great as that of making it up the
Eiffel Tower. Minds are such strange, strange pieces of work.
There's
no going upwards from there in terms of travelling to Abu Dhabi. I'll just
leave off with the image of us driving back to Dubai - idiot drivers
racing by, a well-filled Adidas shopping bag on the backseat, and a
wallet feeling a little lighter. Where else can you have that kind of cultural
experience, and retail therapy all in the same hour?
This
weekend we're off yachting from the Dubai Marina and out around the coast, and
the weekend after in sleepy little Ras Al Khaimah...stay tuned....
