72 hours in Abbu Dhabi
The capital of the United Arab Emirates is a frequent layover for South Africans travelling the world. Hilary Biller says it’s worth venturing beyond the airport and spending a while discovering some of its best attractions
ABU Dhabi, a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf, is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Its name is Arabic for “the father of the gazelle”. Long before the discovery of oil in 1958, the area was a vast desert where pearl diving and fishing were the major source of income along the 400km-long coastline.
Arabic is the official language, although English is widely spoken. It is the largest and most populated of the seven emirates (which include Dubai), though of the 2.3 million population only 20% are Emirati citizens; 80% are expats from around the world.
Considered the cultural capital of the UAE, the emirate is vested in developing the city as an arts-and-culture hub and prides itself on the number of worldclass events it hosts annually, including the Abu Dhabi Festival of classical music and fine arts and Abu Dhabi Art, a popular art fair. Then there was the recent collaboration with the French in building the state-ofthe-art Louvre Abu Dhabi, due to open later this year.
The best time to visit is during their winter from November to April to experience mild sunny days and nights just cool enough for a light jacket, when you can almost be guaranteed it won’t rain (Abu Dhabi has an average 12cm of rainfall per annum).
On our visit, just days before Christmas, the place was full of European tourists lapping up the sunshine and getting into the spirit of the festive season. As has become the local tradition, the hotels compete to outdo each other with the tallest and most opulently decorated Christmas trees in their lobbies.
But at any time of year, the emirate has a wealth of attractions that are worth a look. Here are some of the best.
Corniche Road is on the extreme north of the island and is one of the most picturesque areas in Abu Dhabi, with an 8km strip along the promenade featuring pedestrian and bicycle pathways (bicycles can be rented), parks, playgrounds, restaurants and the blue-flagged Corniche Beach. It’s a great place to start exploring and ideal to get your bearings — not too difficult as Abu Dhabi is laid out on a grid.
This is best done on foot to view the impressive skyscrapers (try not to walk into cyclists as you crane your neck to view the tallest buildings, as I did); do a little shopping; and soak up the sights and smells of the city. We walked the Corniche at night and during the day and felt extremely safe. If you’re tired, hail a grey taxi, which are reasonably priced and abundant. T he Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is one of the world’s largest mosques. The best time to visit is around 4.30pm to catch the 5pm sunset tour of this architectural masterpiece. You’ll be in awe of the vast marble courtyard — each tile laid by hand — and intrigued by the mosque skyline featuring 82 differentsized domes and turrets and 1 000 columns. It is a spectacular sight. Named after Sheikh Zayed, the late UAE president, the mosque is open daily to visitors, except on Friday mornings.
It’s well worth taking the tour (all tours are free) to learn more about Islam and the building of the masterpiece. We felt like tiny ants standing on the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet, which measures 5 627m² (the mosque has a capacity for 41 000 worshippers) under the majestic 24-carat-gold-plated chandeliers.
Although the dress code in Abu Dhabi is fairly relaxed (women must dress modestly), the dress code when visiting the mosque is strict — long trousers and long-sleeved shirts or suits and ladies must wear a headscarf to cover their hair. Don’t despair if you don’t have the correct attire as abayas can be borrowed at the mosque. See szgmc.ae A bu Dhabi, itself an island connected to the mainland by four bridges, is surrounded by 200 natural islands. Nurai Island is in the turquoise waters of the Arabian Gulf, northeast of the city. We took a 10-minute boat ride there from Saadiyat Island (accessible by bridge) and were welcomed onto the island that offers different accommodation for those who would like to stay over in beautiful beach villas or houses.
Each one is exquisitely decorated with glorious views over the sea. Day trippers are welcome too, as we were, and the dress code is casual with shorts, T-shirts, and swimming costumes the order of the day.
We spent the day lazing by the large pool, sipping cocktails and dipping into the sea.
There’s a restaurant, Ginger Mermaid, on the island that serves excellent meals — our group enjoyed fresh tuna salads, giant hamburgers and calamari for lunch.
For those looking for a little pampering the island has a spa too. See zayanuraiisland.com. L ike a giant mirage hovering over the sea, the new
Louvre Abu Dhabi is in its final stages of construction and is planned to open later this year. It is a collaboration agreed in 2007 between Abu Dhabi and France and the museum, they say, “embodies the spirit of openness and dialogue among cultures, displaying works of historical, cultural and sociological significance from different times and civilisations.
The Louvre says the museum’s permanent collection, along with famous artworks borrowed from other French institutions, “will form an art historical narrative taking the visitor from ancient times to the contemporary through 23 permanent galleries in 12 sequences.”
We headed to the building site where we saw up close the white buildings that the Louvre says are a modern interpretation of the Arab settlements and the medina.
One can’t miss the unique dome described as a 180m-wide structure that covers the majority of the museum city and is visible from the sea, the surrounding areas and Abu Dhabi city.
The dome’s complex pattern has also been designed to create a cinematic effect — named the “rain of light” — which changes with the sun’s path throughout the day. F ishing and date cultivation are an integral part of Abu Dhabi’s food culture and a visit to the Mina
fish market is a must. I was astounded and shocked by the astonishing array of fish under one giant roof which is divided into different stores.
The South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) listing sustainable and unsustainable species was foremost on my mind as I glanced over rows and rows of gleaming parrot fish, prawns, tuna, shark, crayfish, snapper and lots more. It’s a sight to behold in a time when the world’s oceans are being depleted of their resources.
On the outskirts of the fish market is where it all happens as people queue up with their “catch of the day” at the different restaurant kitchens, whose staff will clean and prepare the seafood for you to take home and enjoy.
Just around the corner from the fish market is the Al Dahfra restaurant, which offers an extensive buffet and fresh seafood to order. Don’t miss out on visiting the date market at Port Zayed where you will find a long line of stores selling dates of every description — fresh, dried, stuffed, cured,
coated in chocolate, seeds and nuts — there’s a date for every taste and occasion. They sell dates from around the region — the local lulu and khalas variety, which are the cheapest and the smaller ones, then there is a Saudi Arabian selection including the sag’ai, mabroom, khudry, rushodiah and ajwa varieties. My favourite are the fresh, and largest, majhool dates from Palestine that come with a price tag to match. They are a great gift idea to bring home.
The shops are open seven days a week and it’s interesting to watch the locals buy their dates at the market, knowing exactly what they are looking for, tasting and commenting on the different varieties and haggling on the price. M ost of the dining is done in the different restaurants in the hotels where alcohol is served — at a premium. It’s difficult to find local fare in the tourist areas as most eateries offer Mediterranean and French food and there are many European and even South African expat chefs living and working in Abu Dhabi. For some of the greatest steaks, head to The
Foundry restaurant at the Tsogo Sun Abu Dhabi hotel. By day, the venue is a spacious breakfast and lunch venue serving buffet and à la carte.
In the evening, it transforms into a stylish steakhouse offering premium cuts from around the world — milk-fed veal from Holland, grass-fed, dry-aged strip-loin and T-bone from Ireland, certified Angus beef, wagyu beef from Australia and Karan beef steaks from South Africa.
The Foundry’s South African chef Shaunne Cordier worked in Dubai before moving to Abu Dhabi. "It’s very relaxed here with a large expat community and so many things to do in your off time." he said.
ý Biller was a guest of the Tourism & Culture Authority Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airlines