Today, life in the Emirates moves in the fast lane. In a regular series to mark the 50th anniversary of the UAE, we take a trip back in time to see how much the country has changed.
In the late 1970s, when the older of these two photographs was taken, a curious structure began to rise in the area of Abu Dhabi once known as Tourist Club.
Le Meridien hotel was the first building in the city constructed around a steel frame and went ahead despite objections from local cement manufacturers.
It was part of a brand established by Air France in 1972, with a deal signed by Abu National Hotels three years later, when the Hilton was still the only international hotel brand in town.
Le Meridien hotel was inaugurated by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on her state visit to the UAE in 1979, with the first guests arriving a few weeks later.
As the tower blocks in the background of the current photo show, the area has changed beyond recognition in the past 42 years.
Le Meridien was once flanked by Tourist Club, a district of the city that was renamed Al Zahiyah in 2014.
Tourist Club was the city’s original entertainment district, created as a family-friendly zone overlooking the site of an annual sailing race regularly attended by Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father.
From a two-storey circular structure it expanded to become a complex that including a bowling alley, skating rink and a place to play the first video games, Electra Electronic Games, which opened around 1980.
As the city expanded, so did opportunities for leisure, and the Tourist Club name became more of a curiosity to baffle newcomers, especially after the original complex was knocked down as part of a major redevelopment of Abu Dhabi, of which the 2004 demolition of the Volcano Fountain was also part.
Many of the older buildings in Al Zahiyah are disappearing, unfit for use after so many years.
Le Meridien, though, is a survivor. Over the years it has hosted guests from all over the world, including Abdou Diouf, the former president of Senegal, Prince Albert of Belgium, the leaders of Tunisia and Morocco and the French singer Sacha Distel.
The hotel had a narrow escape in 2010 when it was scheduled for demolition to make way for a new bridge to Al Maryah Island, only to be saved by a deal between the owners and Abu Dhabi Municipality.
It has since undergone a complete refurbishment and is now managed by the Marriott group. Along with the Lebanon Fountain outside, also recently restored, it retains a link to Abu Dhabi’s past and many fond memories of good times gone by.
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.
Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The%20specs
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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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
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Palestine and Israel - live updates
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets