ABU DHABI // On an April day in 1958, with the days already growing warmer, the men from the oil company took a gift to the Ruler.
In his majlis at Qasr Al Hosn they handed over several small bottles, tightly stoppered and filled with a viscous, dark-brown liquid.
This was the day that Sheikh Shakhbut learnt oil had been found in Abu Dhabi, and with its discovery came the realisation that the lives of his people would soon change forever.
Outside the walls of the palace fortress, barely 2,000 inhabitants went about their daily lives. They lived mostly in arish palm-frond huts, with a few larger coral block buildings for wealthier merchants and members of the Royal Family.
For the lucky few, there were labouring jobs at the oil-exploration base on Das Island. Others scraped a living from fishing or raising livestock.
Food was often scarce, fresh water to be found only in temporary wells dug in the sand. There was a single madrasa school for boys only, but no hospital.
Once a year, a doctor made the journey from Dubai. Those who fell ill between his visits might die, as did up to one in three women during childbirth.
Sixty-five years later, we are blessed to live in a very different Abu Dhabi. Those arish houses around Qasr Al Hosn are long gone, replaced by office towers and shops that offer almost anything from anywhere in the world.
Few cities on the planet can claim to have seen the astonishing changes brought to Abu Dhabi in less than the span of a man’s life.
Here is a city that speaks to the world, whether it is at the annual Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Yas Island, or through the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Authority.
In the summer of 1966, Sheikh Zayed became Ruler of Abu Dhabi and began his grand vision for his city.
An international airport was built, with a runway capable of handling transcontinental jets. It cut down the centre of the island, reaching Hamdan Street, the centre of the growing commercial district.
In homes equipped with such luxuries as air conditioning, running water and electric lighting, Bedouin families were persuaded to adopt city life.
Mina Zayed was built to handle the flood of consumer goods demanded by a newly prosperous population. The Corniche, on land reclaimed from the sea, gave the city breathing space, along with parks and trees to soften the landscape of concrete.
By the 1980s, Abu Dhabi, now the capital of the UAE, had begun to resemble the city we see today. Its importance was underlined by the creation of the GCC in 1981, the leaders of the six member nations meeting for the first time at the city’s InterContinental Hotel.
With the passing of Sheikh Zayed in 2004, the accession of Sheikh Khalifa underlined the continuity and unity of the nation, but ushered in the next stage of the city’s development.
Expressed in the Vision 2030 plan, it describes an Abu Dhabi – still 17 years distant today – that has broken far beyond the confines of the island to become a 21st century metropolis.
Many of the ideals expressed in Vision 2030 are already becoming reality. The completion of the Emirates Palace hotel in 2005 established Abu Dhabi as a destination for the world’s most discerning travellers.
On Saadiyat Island, progress is well advanced on the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first of three museums that will create the Cultural District, starting in 2015.
On Yas Island, the Ferrari World theme park and Yas Waterworld, which opened this year, will be joined by a huge new mall, the second-largest in the country.
These latest changes signal a fundamental shift in the city’s axis, away from the island and out to the rapidly expanding suburbs of Khalifa and Mohammed bin Zayed cities, and the planned waterfront communities of Al Raha Beach.
This is the Abu Dhabi of the future, as embodied by Masdar City, the still-expanding research institute and community that is founded on principles of environmental sustainability.
Where there was once nothing, there is now a burning aspiration to match the world’s best.
The class of 2014 will be the first to graduate from New York University Abu Dhabi. Then there is the Cleveland Clinic on Al Maryah Island, the new financial heart of the capital, and the vast new Khalifa Industrial Zone.
This National Day, a celebration of 42 years of the UAE, is an opportunity to look back at how far a small fishing village has come – and to marvel at what still lies ahead.
jlangton@thenational.ae
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
Pathaan
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Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year.
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants.
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across Government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse.
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances.
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
New Zealand 176-8 (20 ovs)
England 155 (19.5 ovs)
New Zealand win by 21 runs
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
South Africa World Cup squad
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (w), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
