Looking down from the top of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, it’s hard to believe that this tiny territory’s first paved road was completed in the early 1960s.
Today, the tower’s great spire functions like the gnomon of a sundial, casting a long shadow far below, contrasting with the cityscape of multi-lane highways and the eye of every fashionable foreign architect from Tadao Ando to the present day. Slowly cross the forest of buildings that draw you. The late Zaha Hadid.
Several roads lead southwest along the coast of the Persian Gulf to similarly youthful Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s rival and the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Although a bit more somber, befitting the home of ministers and diplomats, the city boasts its own architectural pyrotechnics and other dazzling entertainment.
Dubai city skyline at dusk as seen from Dubai Creek port. Photo: Getty Images Local airlines Etihad Airways and Emirates are now making Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively, far-flung destinations in their reinvention of the maritime trade route where goods from the Far East cross overland between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. It is used as a hub to connect. . Both airlines offer excursions to major tourist attractions for passengers who have a few hours to spare between connecting flights.
However, these cities deserve longer stays and are perfect destinations for families. It’s a vast playground built from the ground up using nearly unlimited oil resources: theme parks, museums, sumptuous afternoon teas, and long beaches of fine white sand along warm turquoise waters.
The desert has not completely disappeared, and you can still see it spreading faintly into the distance, but there are traces of the nomadic lifestyles it once supported, and the trade caravans and pearl fishing that brought modest prosperity in the past. you need to look for.
abu dhabi
Abu Dhabi is synonymous with palaces, and many tourists arriving at the bridge-connected island chain start by checking into one. Probably a 5 star all-inclusive hotel on Saadiyat Island. A Turkish palace can be seen on this beach side. Located in a Rixos Premium branded property wedged between the Park Hyatt and St. Regis, you’ll only depart when it’s time to head back to the airport.