Abu Dhabi is signposting its past as it heads towards its future


  • English
  • Arabic

March 01, 2024

You might expect a good number of both international and domestic tourists to have their interest in Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter piqued by the movie release of the “generational classic” Dune: Part Two in February, which provides a stunning perspective of this magical expanse of desert in the UAE.

As director Denis Villeneuve told The National during a promotional tour after the film’s Middle East premiere, the UAE desert served as a unique inspiration: “It’s not only fantastically beautiful, but you feel the power of nature. There’s a presence to this landscape that I didn’t find anywhere else.”

There is no doubt that every time a major movie production is filmed in the emirate (or high-profile sporting event is staged in the country), it serves as an excellent entry point for, and informal selling platform to, overseas audiences and as a reminder to residents of the country’s many charms and interesting locations.

Who didn’t feel a tinge of jealousy when Tom Cruise ran across the roof of the new Terminal A of Zayed International Airport in the latest installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise last year, or wonder when they too could fly to or from the futuristic terminal as he had done last summer? The answer to that question arrived late last year, of course, when the new terminal opened to more regular human beings than Ethan Hunt, although I’d imagine it will always be an impossible mission to run in the footsteps of Cruise on the building’s rolling sand dune roof.

The Empty Quarter, however, might get a little busier with film fans over the next few months, with people eager to see for themselves the inspiration for Dune and other films, such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Explorer Max Calderan during his journey along the Tropic of Cancer. Around 337 km of the length of the notional line that forms the Tropic is in the UAE. Courtesy Mauro Grigollo
Explorer Max Calderan during his journey along the Tropic of Cancer. Around 337 km of the length of the notional line that forms the Tropic is in the UAE. Courtesy Mauro Grigollo
The greatest strength of the list of Abu Dhabi's landmarks is its diversity and willingness to reach beyond the most obvious choices in identifying points of interest

The tourist trail to that stretch of desert is punctuated by the Emirates National Auto Museum about 40 minutes from Abu Dhabi and then by the crossing of the Tropic of Cancer, which is another 50 minutes down the road to Liwa. As the late Peter Hellyer noted in a column in 2019, approximately 337 kilometres of the latitudinous northern hemisphere line that forms the tropic fall within the UAE’s borders. All of those kilometres are also within the Abu Dhabi emirate.

The east-west crossing point of the Tropic of Cancer on the north-south Hameem Road has been marked, in recent years, with a brown tourist information sign, making it a great talking point en route and place to pause for a photo for travellers into Al Dhafra region, particularly as the tropic cuts through an array of countries around the globe, including Mexico, India, China, several African nations, as well as two other Gulf states, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and the Bahamas.

It is the kind of initiative and signposting that the country has become really good at, continually expanding the tourist trail to include multiple smaller points of interest and attractions, alongside the constellation of museums, hotels and theme parks that international visitors might instantly think of before they travel to this country.

At the start of this month, Abu Dhabi began installing plaques at dozens of modern heritage sites across the emirate. For the curious visitor or civic proud resident, the plaques provide a patchwork tour of the city as it used to be.

As we reported, the first plaque was recently inaugurated at the Cultural Foundation. Most of the landmarks on the list date back to the 1970s and 1980s and will be registered on the emirate’s Historic Environment Record.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has installed the first plaque on the facade of the Cultural Foundation. Abu Dhabi Media Office
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has installed the first plaque on the facade of the Cultural Foundation. Abu Dhabi Media Office

They include places such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Central Bank, Al Ibrahimi Tower, Zayed Sports City and the Main Bus Terminal. Residents will all have their favourites, but the greatest strength of the list is its diversity and willingness to reach beyond the most obvious choices in identifying points of interest. The Niqa bin Ateej water tank and park in Khalidiyah is, perhaps, the most shining example of that trait.

I advocated for this form of signposting on these pages in a 2019 column, which makes me happy to see a scheme of this nature being brought into being.

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi’s Urban Treasures scheme, which recognises the cultural significance of longstanding shops, restaurants and cafes, is another good example of how to encourage visitors and residents to sample some offbeat and truly authentic parts of the city. The same applies to the Michelin Guide, now in its second edition for the city, which recognises a range of restaurants, from upmarket to budget.

What binds these lists together is the continual expansion of the range of attractions for visitors to intersect with. Long gone are the days when within a few hours the visitor could get a comprehensive sense of the city or the country. The experience continues to grow – for those who are curious and for food lovers, fun seekers and heritage buffs alike.

But more than that, plaques and schemes of this nature signpost the past and provide a framework for investigation of the urban landscape.

And each one of those desertscapes presented in the cinema provides a perfect reminder that the naming convention for the Empty Quarter is a misnomer. Far from being a void, it is a place of both extreme serenity and powerful beauty.

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

STAY%2C%20DAUGHTER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EYasmin%20Azad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESwift%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXare%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJanuary%2018%2C%202021%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPadmini%20Gupta%2C%20Milind%20Singh%2C%20Mandeep%20Singh%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20Raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2410%20million%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E28%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMS%26amp%3BAD%20Ventures%2C%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Astra%20Amco%2C%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Financial%20Centre%2C%20Fintech%20Fund%2C%20500%20Startups%2C%20Khwarizmi%20Ventures%2C%20and%20Phoenician%20Funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: March 01, 2024, 4:00 AM`