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| Billboard in Dubai announcing the Year of Zayed, celebrating Sheikh Zayed ben Sultan al Nahyan |
Sunday, February 18
Our guide Ute was a wealth of information, as were our taxi drivers, fellow travelers and local citizens. The UAE was formed in
1971, at the time that Britain removed itself from governing the region. Sheikh Zayed ben Sultan al Nahyan was
the founder of the UAE and his photo is everywhere. He was born in 1918, and would have been 100 years old this
year. The UAE has declared this
the Year of Zayed to honor him.
Oil wasn’t discovered in UAE until the 1950s, which is when all the building and development started. Sheikh Zayed was already 40 years old when oil was discovered - what amazing world moderating changes came about in his lifetime. He would be the equivalent of our US George Washington or Cuba's Fidel Castro - a larger than life leader that changed his country in immeasurable ways.
There are 7 Emirates states; of various sizes and levels of wealth. It is said his skills in consultation and consensus allowed the formation of the UAE and he served as it president for consecutive years until his son took the position in the early 2000's. At the time the UAE was formed not everyone chose to become a citizen – those that did, the Emirati, share in the oil profits, receive free schooling, a stipend from the government and often have government associated jobs.
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| Saying Hello to the Sheikh as we travel on the main highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi |
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| Portrait of Sheikh Zayed in gold - in the lobby of the Emirates Palace hotel |
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| Every hotel and administrative building also has his portrait (on left) |
Oil wasn’t discovered in UAE until the 1950s, which is when all the building and development started. Sheikh Zayed was already 40 years old when oil was discovered - what amazing world moderating changes came about in his lifetime. He would be the equivalent of our US George Washington or Cuba's Fidel Castro - a larger than life leader that changed his country in immeasurable ways.
There are 7 Emirates states; of various sizes and levels of wealth. It is said his skills in consultation and consensus allowed the formation of the UAE and he served as it president for consecutive years until his son took the position in the early 2000's. At the time the UAE was formed not everyone chose to become a citizen – those that did, the Emirati, share in the oil profits, receive free schooling, a stipend from the government and often have government associated jobs.
Abu Dhabi is the largest
of the Emirates, and the sheikh of the AD ruling family is automatically the
ruler of the UAE, the ruling
sheikh from Dubai is the second in command of the UAE. There is a federated council among the 7 Emirates that makes decisions, such as changing the official weekend from TH-FRI to FRI-SAT as happened a few years ago.
Along the drive to AD, we passed many kilometers of forest, primarily Ghaf trees, planted by Sheikh Zayed. The Ghaf is an evergreen tree with a very long root taproot that is native to UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. These areas are irrigated to help establish a green zone. Ute says almost all of Dubai’s water is desalinated. Sheikh Zayed was also a conservationist and received an award from the World Wildlife Foundation.
It is said that one foundation of Sheikh Zayed's philosophy as a leader was that the resources of the country should be fully used to the benefit of the people. This extended to the women of the UAE, who are reported to have flourished under his visions of education, employment and equality of all Emiratis. Ute says it’s important to know that women are well integrated into the society, and work, obtain higher education, are well respected, etc., and serve at high levels in the ministries and administration. She pointed out that women are taxi drivers in the UAE - with either pink or purple top cabs. These family taxis can carry women - or women and men - but never a single male passenger.
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| The beautiful Ghaf tree forests along the drive between Abu Dhabi and Dubai were Sheikh Zayed's idea |
Along the drive to AD, we passed many kilometers of forest, primarily Ghaf trees, planted by Sheikh Zayed. The Ghaf is an evergreen tree with a very long root taproot that is native to UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. These areas are irrigated to help establish a green zone. Ute says almost all of Dubai’s water is desalinated. Sheikh Zayed was also a conservationist and received an award from the World Wildlife Foundation.
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| Beautiful palms line the streets in Abu Dhabi - 42 million palms have been imported to the UAE |
It is said that one foundation of Sheikh Zayed's philosophy as a leader was that the resources of the country should be fully used to the benefit of the people. This extended to the women of the UAE, who are reported to have flourished under his visions of education, employment and equality of all Emiratis. Ute says it’s important to know that women are well integrated into the society, and work, obtain higher education, are well respected, etc., and serve at high levels in the ministries and administration. She pointed out that women are taxi drivers in the UAE - with either pink or purple top cabs. These family taxis can carry women - or women and men - but never a single male passenger.
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| The "Family Taxi" is for women, driven by women, and usually identified with a pink or purple roof. |
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