When Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, sought to unite the emirates in 1971, the scale of the task was immense.
One of his biggest challenges was to unite the Bedouins and it took a man such as Sheikh Zayed to convince the tribes to abandon decades of nomadic living, commit to belonging to one place and believe in the dream of the UAE.
Although most had barely spoken to him, the first President of the UAE was such a formidable force that his ideas were enough to bring together camel herders, pearl divers and so many more from all corners of the emirates.
He built houses for them, schools to educate their children and hospitals to treat their sick.
Although many could barely read or write and were so set in their ways, they believed in a man they barely knew.
He was younger than most of them but his strength of leadership made him instantly known as "Baba Zayed".
To mark the UAE's 49th National Day, and as the country enters its 50th year, The National interviewed six people who lived through these days of change.
Buti Al Mazrouei remembers his first job as though it were yesterday. As a 12-year-old he spent summers on the diving fleets taking pearls from oysters.
Leaving their wives and children at home in the desert, Emiratis spent four months diving for pearls. Many of them would never return.
Now 80, Mr Al Mazrouei is not sentimental about those days of dangerous toil on the seas.
"Some people would dive and others would stay on the boat. They would dive with a rope and clamp their noses shut, unlike now where they dive with a cylinder," he says.
The camel was better than the Lexus
“They would take a maximum of four minutes underwater depending on how strong their lungs were. Some would survive while others would die. It was hard.”
By the 1950s, oil exploration increased and more jobs were being created. In 1957, Mr Al Mazrouei, 18 at the time, started working on Das Island, which had become a major base for the offshore oil search.
"First our lives were either sea or desert. Then companies came and we started working for them but only after Sheikh Zayed developed it. Then the petrol came and everything improved," he says.
Sheikh Zayed immediately grasped the importance of education. Schools were established to educate young Emiratis, including at Das.
"They asked me if I wanted to go to school and I said 'yes' immediately," Mr Al Mazrouei says.
“We would go to school twice a week for an hour and a half and we learnt. We learnt English. One of my teachers was British – Mr Daley – and the other Indian, Mr Nareen.
“The English notebooks were printed in India: primer 1, primer 2 and primer 3 were the stages.
"I studied until primer 3 and then they sent the teachers back to Abu Dhabi. From a worker, I became a foreman and then crane operator.”
Mr Al Mazrouei spent 10 years at Das Island.
“I have so much experience and a computer brain in the UAE’s heritage but I never studied Arabic. I am still a Bedouin, though, and after Das I worked in my private business," he says.
"In 1992 I worked for the Education Ministry as a bus driver for 10 years at one of the first schools in Al Ain."
But regular government work meant it was difficult to see the sheikhs who held a daily majlis in the morning.
Mr Al Mazrouei appreciated the decisions Sheikh Zayed made, even though he did not get the chance to meet him.
“Look at the paved roads around you. Sheikh Zayed had said that all the way from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi there will be palm trees and water, and it happened," Mr Al Mazrouei says.
"Look at us now. The difference from before and after is huge but only those who lived in both really know how much of a difference.
“The youths do not know. Before it used to be tiring but now nothing is difficult. People have cars, money and buildings. The difference is huge."
He says "rice was a luxury", in reference to a traditional poem.
“The camel was better than the Lexus," he says. "It used to take seven days to go from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain by camel.”
More than anything, the unification of the UAE in 1971 brought prosperity.
"I do not miss the old days. It was crowded and tiring. Now it is comfort," he says.
"I am the generation who persevered, diving at sea in the summer and in the winter we were with our families.
"If you did not go to sea then you wouldn’t earn anything unless you had camels, sheep or palm trees with dates. Only then, you survived.
“After the union, the country opened up and prospered. Now all the way to Abu Dhabi there is water and houses and schools."
______________
Sheikh Zayed and the story of a nation
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)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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SPECS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs: 2018 BMW X2 and X3
Price, as tested: Dh255,150 (X2); Dh383,250 (X3)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged inline four-cylinder (X2); 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder (X3)
Power 192hp @ 5,000rpm (X2); 355hp @ 5,500rpm (X3)
Torque: 280Nm @ 1,350rpm (X2); 500Nm @ 1,520rpm (X3)
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic (X2); Eight-speed automatic (X3)
Fuel consumption, combined: 5.7L / 100km (X2); 8.3L / 100km (X3)
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
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Sector: Water technology
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Investment raised: $4 million
MATCH INFO
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UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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The biog
Name: Capt Shadia Khasif
Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police
Family: Five sons and three daughters
The first female investigator in Hatta.
Role Model: Father
She believes that there is a solution to every problem
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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
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- Flexible work arrangements
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- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
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Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
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Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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