Travelling

Of course there was the travelling, the waiting at airports, the delays and so on.  Nothing particularly abnormal.

Abu Dhabi

The final stop on our trip - Abu Dhabi.  Really just a 2 night stopover in order to give us all a bit more energy for the long haul back to Sydney.  

This quite sophisticated city is largely man-made, and our hotel on Yas Island gives good views of some of the numerous cranes that indicate massive development being undertaken.  As a major stopover point for international travellers, much of this would be accommodation.

The weather now is quite hot (40+ degrees) and humid, so we are actually relatively happy to stay quietly around the hotel.  Though we do venture out to use the pool - amply warmed to a temperature that pleases me!

  Later in the day we decide to dine early at the hotel, before taking a taxi ride for a couple of hours sight seeing around the city.

As it is Ramadam, the Grand Mosque is very busy, with thousands (capacity 40 000) attending every prayer session before dining in the tents within the grounds.  We arrive as the crowd is leaving.  Certainly an impressive building.  2018 Ramadam focusses on honouring Sheikh Zayed, who reigned as Emir of Abu Dhabi for 38 years, and was the principal driving force behind the formation of UAE.

Dying in 2004, he was the first person buried at the Mosque.

The Presidential Palace is another significant building, which is said to have cost $490 million when it was built in 2011.  It spans 2 million sq. ft.  It would seem that the role of President (Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan) is somewhat familial, as he inherited the position when his father (Sheikh Zayed) died in 2004 - though the Presidency is said to be for a 5 year term.  There is also a royal family with the Crown Prince being Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.  

A visit to the market was of interest.  Most produce must be imported - the UAE being quite dry, and predominantly arid desert/sand.  There are some smallish developed farms, and no doubt some dates from the numerous palm trees.  Apparently recent laws banning imported vegetables from some countries as a result of chemicals used means that some produce is now imported from Australia - but at a larger price than previously.  The markets are large, and well stocked - with dates and olives being very obvious!

Of note as we drive around is the abundance of street, building, place names that reflect this family.  

Abu Dhabi is also the home of modern,adventurous architecture, with designers encouraged to explore diversity and sometimes quirky.  Goodness knows how the foundations are secured in all that sand - but I suppose they have some engineering strategy for this too!

It seems that most hotel workers, taxi drivers and in fact everyone we come across throughout our time is working here, but not from Abu Dhabi.  The indigenous population is actually quite small, and apparently generally working in control of the oil, mining and larger corporations.  We were told the indigenous population receives generous government salary and services.