Hanging on the wall of a museum in Dubai is a simple notice in black and white.
Dated August 1966, and signed by the director of Dubai Municipality, Kamal Hamza, it states that at 5am on September 1, Dubai will switch to right-hand driving.
Roundabouts would now move counter-clockwise and drivers overtake on the left.
“All drivers are requested to co-operate with police and to follow all instructions and directions which are issued to them,” it states.
Fifty-five years on, the switch may seem mundane. Traffic, the road network and the amount of cars was nothing like the dizzying, relentless pace of Sheikh Zayed Road today.
But the decision spoke to just how fast Dubai was transforming and why 1966 was a pivotal year.
US oil company Continental had discovered oil in commercial quantities in Dubai that year.
British exploration companies had spent many frustrating years in the search and now an American company had seemingly delivered the goods.
“That summer was [one of the most] optimistic moments in Dubai history,” said Todd Reisz, architect and author of Showpiece City: How Architecture Made Dubai.
“It seemed the oil that had transformed other Gulf countries was now coming to Dubai.”
Sheikh Rashid, Ruler of Dubai, had already embarked on a huge modernisation of transport links the year before. An airport opened in 1960 and the emirate got its first asphalt road the same year. Major roundabouts such as Deira’s Clocktower and the Flame Roundabout – built to celebrate the arrival of oil – stitched these new networks together, making connections to areas once considered remote and only accessible by 4x4.
“Everything done before 1966 was defined by the hope oil would happen to Dubai,” said Mr Reisz.
Now, with the discovery of oil, schools and housing were planned for American families set to stream into the 70,000-strong city. Dubai already had the busiest roads of the Trucial States and American cars such as Chevrolets and AMC Ramblers became popular. More traffic was inevitable, so what better time to make the switch?
“With fast-build, single-family homes extending across the district of Jumeirah, the city’s future already looked more American, and therefore suitable for the greatest American pastime – cruising in big shiny American cars,” said Mr Reisz. “By then, US-made cars dominated Dubai imports, and that was one reason the switch to the right lane made sense.”
There was no record of protest from the British at Dubai’s change to an American system.
“There was no sense of any nationalist response from British authorities at the time,” said Mr Reisz. “They respected Sheikh Rashid.”
Sheikh Rashid had proposed the driving change to the Trucial States Council, a group of the seven rulers established by the British to encourage co-operation. The notice stated that the switch was to be introduced across the Trucial States on September 1 apart from Abu Dhabi, which was “expected to implement it soon”. The motorway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi was still several years away.
The change came into effect at 5am that Thursday. Until 2006, Thursday marked the first day of the weekend and presumably authorities hoped roads would be even quieter. There is little record of any problems apart from some initial confusion in more congested parts of Dubai, but drivers, just like today, had grown to expect sudden changes on the roads.
“There is little evidence that anything happened,” said Mr Reisz. “There were some reports of issues in Deira but it was a Thursday morning.”
Aside from Dubai’s new-found love of American cars, the switch was part of a global trend. Dozens of countries made the change during the 20th century. Studies have shown the reasons have much to do with geography. Papers from the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive show how Qatar changed in 1965, while Bahrain and Sweden would do the same in 1967. More recently, in 2009, the pacific island of Samoa changed to the left, but today, the majority of countries and protectorates around the world follow right-hand rules.
Fifty-five years on, a copy of the notice still hangs in the Dubai Municipality Museum on the shores of the Creek. It speaks to a moment and time in the emirate's history where the initial euphoria of an oil discovery gave way to a more pragmatic approach as to how Dubai was going to become the global city it is today.
“Quickly the story switched to one we are familiar with,” said Mr Reisz.
“Dubai used ingenuity to create a city not dependent on oil wealth.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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Fuel economy 5.9L / 100km
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Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
BMW%20M4%20Competition
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.0%20twin-turbo%20inline%20six-cylinder%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20eight-speed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E503hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20600Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20from%20Dh617%2C600%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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