Really enjoyed my couple of days in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, which lies on a T shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf. No elections here, Sheikh Khalifa, President, rules as part of a hereditary monarchy system. His Dad, the previous Sheikh Zayed, is being honoured in 2018, ‘the year of Zayed’, to mark 100 years since the birth of the country’s founding father. Residents enjoy free education and health and a relatively high average income. Here are a few pics of places I enjoyed visiting:
Designed by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, the striking 842m long, 64 m high Sheikh Zayed Bridge is said to be the most complex bridge ever built. Its curved arches evoke undulating sand dunes of the desert.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. During Eid (muslim religious festival), it’s visited by around 41,000 people. Designed by Syrian architect, Yousef Abdelky, the building covers over 30 acres. The mosque was a project of a previous UAE President who wanted to establish a structure that would unite the cultural diversity of the Islamic world with modern values of architecture and art. The inner courtyard with minarets and columned hallways looked really beautiful. Simple vertical flower/stalk curling design on the columns with colours of green, yellow and burgundy, with gold palm tree-like decorations 3m up each column. Spears and Major Associates designed the lighting system to reflect the phases of the moon. Bluish grey clouds are projected onto the external walls and get brighter and darker according to the phase of the moon.
Corniche Rd roundabout view of Etihad Towers, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Bag Al Qasr hotel. Etihad Towers is a complex of buildings with 5 towers that sparkle iridescently in the sunshine and a reflection of everything that Abu Dhabi wants to be -modern, sophisticated and luxurious. Had lunch at Observation Deck 300, 74 floors up – magic sunny day with clear views of the Fairmont Hotel being built; Emirates Palace Hotel and Presidential Palace of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (son of Zayed).
Capital Gate – a modern day challenger to the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” – it leans 18 degrees westwards, more than 4 times that of Pisa’s famous tower. 
Drove from Muscat to Birkat Al-Mawz (“Pool of the Plaintains”), one of the famous villages in ruins in Oman and home to the 1500 year old Falaj system irrigation system listed as a UNESCO heritage (using a well to pump up water from underground and water channels being directed across terraces to the land to be irrigated). I walked 
through one of its palm tree oasis’ and through the village. 
The village interior could be described as Oman’s “Positano” – steep stairs that weave down and across the mountainside, levelling out on occasions to allow for mud homes with palm frond roofs, to be built on solid rock alongside the agricultural terraces, gardens and plantations. 
Heavy going in the midday sun, when I arrived. But discovered a lovely little oasis called “Misfah Old House” at which to have a cold bottle of water, coffee or lunch. 
Or all 3, as happened in my case. And as I rounded a corner after lunch, a beautiful little model prepared to pose for me….
Glad I had that prep the day before…a desolate road, the tarmac giving way to a dusty unpaved bumpy road that requires a pair of skilful hands to navigate! No guard rail, so even a small oversight means disaster, hurtling to the bottom of the local canyon! But once up the top, what a vista! Especially from the Al Nakhr Canyon, the “Grand Canyon” of Arabia.
Sayyid Qaboos bin Said Al Said is the Sultan of Oman. Educated at Oxford and Sandhurst, he rose to power at 30 after overthrowing his father, in a palace coup in 1970. He is the 14th-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Sa’id dynasty.
Built in 1972, it’s an example of contemporary Islamic architecture surrounded by lush gardens and the Mutrah harbour. 
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