March 2024
After island hopping on the southernmost atolls of the Maldives, I visited the capital of the United Arab Emirates on my way to Egypt. The capital is not the more famous Dubai, but Abu Dhabi. The emirate of the same name is the largest of the seven emirates in terms of area, which united in 1971 under the leadership of Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi to form the United Arab Emirates.
I was in Abu Dhabi for a week during Ramadan. During this time, Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink or do anything fun from sunrise to sunset. When the sun went down at 6:30 pm, it was time to break the fast (Iftâr). Many restaurants had set up huge buffets based on the all-you-can-eat principle. I suspect that some Muslims put on weight during Ramadan.
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View of a suburb of Abu Dhabi on the landing approach
After no alcohol for a month in the Maldives, I treated myself to a beer in the outdoor area of the ‘Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi’ hotel on the first evening. It tasted great!
View from my hotel room onto the street Zayed The First, named after the first head of state of the United Arab Emirates.
Corniche
The Corniche is the coastal road of the main island of Abu Dhabi, which stretches along kilometers of sandy beaches.
The viewing platform on the Etihad Towers
At a height of 300 meters on the 74th floor of the middle skyscraper in the picture below, there is a viewing platform that offers an impressive all-round view of the city.
Visitors can marvel at the view from this stylish room behind glass.
In the middle is the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental hotel, which I will visit later.
The impressive Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi Hotel
I will also visit the white palace in this picture. It is the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace, also known as Qasr Al Watan Palace.
Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Opened in 2005, this 5-star hotel impresses with its architecture and the abundance of gold.
I had afternoon tea for AED 245 (CHF 58, EUR 61). I got to try several exceptional teas. I was also served exquisite canapés, including truffles and caviar. To finish, I received excellent sweets. It was an experience and well worth the price.
Afterwards, I ordered the famous cappuccino with real gold! Fantastic!
Qasr Al Watan Palace (Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace)
The Presidential Palace was completed in 2017 and since 2019, ordinary mortals can also visit the palace. However, it is still used for state visits and government meetings.
This palace is also fabulous!
Qasr Al Hosn
This former fort was once the seat of the ruling Al Nahyan family. The watchtower was built in 1761 and is the oldest building in Abu Dhabi.
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
This park was opened in 2010 and is Ferrari’s first theme park outside the headquarters in Maranello. It includes the fastest roller coaster in the world, the Formula Rossa, where visitors can experience the acceleration of a Formula 1 racing car (from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds and from 0 to 240 in 4.9 seconds). Unfortunately, this track was not in operation during my visit. What a pity! I would have loved to try it out! The park also introduces visitors to Ferrari cars and traces the history of the Ferrari brand and the logo with the black horse on a yellow background.
A recreated Italian city. The ice cream stand is a must.
The latest Ferrari cars
I was on the ‘Fiorano GT Challenge’ rollercoaster, where the cars accelerate to 95 km/h.
Sheikh Zayid Mosque
Of all the sights in Abu Dhabi, this mosque impressed me the most. It is dedicated to the emir and first president of the United Arab Emirates, Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan. His tomb is located on the grounds. The mosque is one of the largest and most beautiful in the world and, with its external dimensions of 224 by 174 meters, offers space for 40,000 worshippers.
I took part in a guided tour in the morning, during which I was able to visit areas that are otherwise closed.
Breathtaking!
The four minarets at each corner are 107 meters high.
These chandeliers are the largest in the world and are decorated with thousands of different colored Swarovski crystals.
There are three of them!
View of the mosque from the Wahat Al Karama war memorial
I returned to the mosque before sunset to marvel at the magnificent evening and night atmosphere.
Souk Qaryat al Beri
In the afternoon, I visited the nearby Souk Qaryat al Beri, which is picturesquely situated on an inlet and is home to several stores and restaurants.
Louvre Abu Dhabi
The museum was opened in 2017 with significant support from France and contains a private collection of the Emir of Abu Dhabi, built up with the help of France, and loans from French museums. The French architect Jean Nouvel designed the museum building.
This painting by Auguste Renoir entitled ‘La Tasse de chocolat’ was only acquired by the museum in 2022 for an undisclosed amount.
Desert safari
My last activity was a tour into the desert. After a visit to a camel farm, we boarded 4×4 off-road vehicles and drove over sand dunes as steeply and skiddingly as possible. The adrenaline rush was guaranteed.
Next, we glided across the sand on small surfboards and then enjoyed the vastness of the desert at sunset.
A Bedouin dinner with dancing in a desert camp completed the evening. No belly dances were performed because of Ramadan.
This brought an eventful week to an end. Abu Dhabi may not have the variety of Dubai, but it is well worth a visit.
This text is an automatic English translation from the German original by deepl.com