A thousand and one sights

If Scheherezade is living in the Federation of the United Arab Emirates today, a thousand and one nights would not be enough to tell wonderful tales about this remarkable Gulf state.

Of the many stories, the one about the UAE’s progress, would perhaps be the most interesting. The trappings of prosperity such as gleaming skyscrapers, luxury vehicles, modern airports and shopping malls ones sees in places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai are no desert mirages.

These magnificent cities now stand where there once were palm leaf houses. Six-lane highways have replaced desert tracks and bridges now span creeks that, until recently, were traversed by wading camels and shallow barges.

With an economy mainly fueled by petrodollars, nothing is impossible. Even the desert is transformed into a luxuriant paradise. The road sides are lined with trees and traffic islands, rotundas and parks are abloom with the most colorful flowers.

In the UAE, development seems to be on a perpetual fast-forward mode. In a short span of 30 years, the Gulf state transformed itself from a land of tribal settlements in desert and coastal areas into a vibrant and cosmopolitan mecca. This fact becomes very evident when one gets to compare modern-day UAE with architects’ scale models or photographs of the pre-1969 emirates that show landscapes sans highways and very little infrastructure save for traditional palm leaf huts.

It must be mentioned though that in spite of UAE’s phenomenal leap to modernity, it has nurtured its cultural treasures. Archaeological heritage is preserved in museums while traditions in falconry, horsemanship, camel racing, long boat and dhow racing, ethnic dance and music continue to be part of national life.

Abu Dhabi is the largest of the emirates in the federation. Abu Dhabi city, capital of the emirate and of the UAE, is on an island connected to the mainland by two bridges, the Maqta and Mustafa.

The emirate is ruled by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who is also the president of UAE. Federal government offices and foreign embassies are located here.

Ninety per cent of the UAE’s oil reserves are in Abu Dhabi and it produces 85 percent of the country’s output. This being so, the capital city is the logical choice for the site of regional headquarters of major oil companies.

Commerce is alive and well in Abu Dhabi as evidenced by the proliferation of office buildings, the presence of the world’s major banking institutions, hotels, retail outlets and shopping malls.

Whether on business or pleasure, one feels right at home in Abu Dhabi.

As a visitor, we enjoyed early morning walks on the Corniche, Abu Dhabi city’s famous seaside boulevard. Only a cup of strong Arabian coffee spiked with cardamom beat the kick we got out of watching the city come to life from this vantage point.

On one side, high-rises began to sparkle as they caught and reflected the rays of the rising sun. Mosques basked amid this background as they attracted early morning worshippers.

On the promenade, morning joggers and strollers did their thing on the wide walkway paved with pretty red tiles.

Charming roundabouts, each with a different kind of fountain, punctuated our stroll. One was shaped like a volcano with torrents of water cascading down its sides and another had a flock of bronze birds riding on a generous spray.

The ubiquitous Filipinos were there, too. On one jetty, they were fishing for hammir, better known as lapu-lapu in these parts.

When the shopping bug took the better of us, Abu Dhabi had a lot of places where we could lose ourselves in. The Marina Mall, built on reclaimed land, is the city’s newest shopping destination.

Marina’s lineup of shops features world-class brands from the hip home furnishing company Ikea to the French supermarket chain Carrefour.

The latter is a veritable world expo of products from all over – dates and pistachio nuts from Arabian Gulf region, Turkish delight from Istanbul, cellphones from Finland, appliances from Japan and clothes from China, among others. Again, good old Philippines was there, represented via dried mangoes and sampaloc preserves.

More fresh produce were available at the Iranian market. Situated in an open space near the port of Abu Dhabi, it is open from sundown to late evenings. Under the orange glow of portable lights, the market teemed with vegetables like purple cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, young corn, potatoes and asparagus, and fruits like plums, bananas, kiwi, tangerines, grapes, lemons and oranges.

A few paces away was the Iranian bazaar where the merchandise inventory is mind-boggling – cast iron skillets, ornate silver coffee pitchers, table and flatware, plants, framed artworks, carpets, miniature carpet bookmarks, plants, earthenware and glass figurines. Take note, that was just a partial listing.

A must-visit is the Al Meena Market. The place is a riot of colors and patterns courtesy of the myriad carpets on sale. These come from places like Iran (Persian carpets they’re called), Turkey, Afghanistan, India, China, Morocco and Belgium. Alladin would have been at home here, but sorry, flying carpets aren’t available.

Silk carpets though are aplenty. This is an item that seldom makes it to the shops of Manila rug dealers, so we made sure to get ourselves some pieces. Haggling is the name of the game here and we managed to get ourselves two area rugs with arabesque patterns for only 50 dirhams each or around P750 per.

Dubai was a different experience. Abu Dhabi is laid-back, Dubai is upbeat. Dubai’s most popular attraction is the Burj Al Arab, touted to be the only seven-star hotel in the world. It stands on reclaimed land on the Arabian Gulf and is reached via causeway from the Dubai coast. Rooms here cost around $2,000 per night so imagine, too, the kind of amenities enjoyed by its guests.

Mere mortals like us can only afford the 245Dhs visitor’s fee and no photographs were allowed.

Dubai is also big on shopping and the most popular places are the gold souk and the City Center Mall.

Our most memorable experience in Dubai was the desert safari. The tour took us dune bashing, camel riding and was capped by an authentic Bedouin dinner with belly dancing for entertainment.

That was a fitting end to our visit. Now we can say that if ever you pass that way, you can enjoy the best of modern amenities and still nurture visions of golden sand dunes, camel caravans, dinner under starlit desert skies, well, even the sound of Maria Mouldour’s "Midnight at the Oasis" ringing in your head.