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(CNN) — It’s Friday morning. My pals and I are out cruising on my velocity boat. We skim throughout the water, flat like ice, by means of the waterways that weave round almost 200 islands.
One minute, the town skyline could be seen hugging the horizon, the subsequent, we’re surrounded by mangroves. The stresses of the working week are blown away and we’re reconnecting with nature.
Before the world got here to a standstill, this was the everyday begin to a weekend in my house metropolis, Abu Dhabi, when I wasn’t on the street, reporting from throughout the Middle East and Europe.
The world pandemic has shattered our sense of normalcy and put many actions and escapes on maintain, nevertheless it has additionally compelled us to rethink our relationship with our quick environment.
For me, it is supplied a deeper appreciation of all of the issues I take pleasure in about Abu Dhabi. It’s a spot that continues to shock with new adventures and experiences. It’s additionally a spot of pure magnificence with a panorama that gives each thrilling bodily challenges and sensory wonders.
As we slowly emerge from lockdowns and journey restrictions, I’m already craving to immerse myself as soon as again in Abu Dhabi’s delights — the fascinating greenery, the boundless desert sands, the jagged mountains, the glassy seas and its panoply of cultural treasures.
And whereas we wait, my thoughts continues to explore my favourite locations — places and venues that not solely make Abu Dhabi eternally alluring for us residents, however which we additionally look ahead to sharing with future guests to the emirate.
Island life
Zaya Nurai is a pure island that lies 12 miles off Abu Dhabi’s coast. Home to privately owned villas and one lodge, it’s going to set you again $1200 minimal to keep right here for the night time.
If you are passingly conversant in the town Abu Dhabi, it is easy to overlook that it is constructed on an island. You’d acknowledge the primary island with its hovering excessive rises, its glamorous inns, and the world-famous Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. But there’s additionally a great deal of enjoyable and adventure to be discovered on the numerous smaller islands dotted round.
Our standard vacation spot on these Friday speedboat excursions is Zaya Nurai Island. The personal resort is our tropical oasis away from the city sprawl. It’s just like the Maldives of Arabia. Neat villas sit alongside the tiny island’s sculpted curves. Instagram-perfect powder seashores dissolve into limitless turquoise seas. Sunsets convey uninterrupted views of fiery pink and purple skies.
The island is an ideal spot for a lazy day of stress-free by the shoreline, chilling by the pool and having fun with mouth-watering Arabic seafood mezze whipped up by Chef Marc and his staff. The fatteh shrimp and grilled hamour are flavors I can’t wait to pattern again.
Scaling new heights
Yas Island is house to Abu Dhabi’s foremost theme parks.
Courtesy TCA Abu Dhabi
Other occasions we head over to Yas Island. Arguably the best-known of Abu Dhabi’s islands, it is house to the extra frenetic points of interest just like the Formula One-hosting Yas Marina Circuit, the splashy enjoyable of Yas Waterworld aquatic park and the newly opened Warner Bros Abu Dhabi indoor theme park.
These all supply nice days out, however there is a new adventure on Yas that is calling to me proper now — Clymb. In distinction to its many alternatives for leisure, Abu Dhabi can be rising as a spot the place the pursuit of train and adrenaline sports activities is more and more doable. I’ve definitely by no means been as match as I have since shifting right here.
Clymb has the world’s largest indoor climbing wall.
CNN
Clymb is a brand new indoor climbing heart that homes the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall and, if that wasn’t excessive sufficient, the world’s tallest skydiving chamber.
I have but to muster sufficient braveness to deal with the Summyt — at 43 meters, this angular monster is barely just below the peak of the Statue of Liberty — however fortunately there are 4 different much less intimidating partitions I’ve been ready to follow on.
Some folks deal with Summyt as a mere exercise. Avid climber Mohammed Al Zaabi, who runs Yas Island actual property builders Miral when he isn’t scaling the heights, says Clymb was impressed by “the mountains of the UAE.” To explore these real-life inspirations you may have to go away Yas and different islands behind and head inland.
Jebel Hafeet: The apex of Abu Dhabi
The spectacularly twisty Jebel Hafeet street has spectacular views over Abu Dhabi.
Barry Neild/CNN
Sometimes the journey is the vacation spot. That’s the case with Jebel Hafeet, Abu Dhabi’s highest peak. To get there you may have to take the Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road, one in every of my favourite drives within the emirate. It takes you all the best way up the mountain, 1,220 meters above sea stage, by means of a zigzag of hairpin bends and turns.
Along the best way are lookout factors the place on clear days you may cease and see the distinctive Arabian panorama mapped out beneath you — all the best way to the ocean and the horizon past. At sundown, the shadows stretch out for miles earlier than the melting solar after which the lights of the cities and homesteads beneath start to shimmer on the cooling plains.
Jebel Hafeet’s summit sits 1,220 meters above sea stage.
Barry Neild/CNN
For the actually match, the Jebel Hafeet’s easy street supplies an excellent cycle route. Its difficult 7%-average gradient is a magnet for riders who like a problem. The grueling uphill battle checks stamina and endurance and has rapidly develop into a favourite function of the six-stage UAE Tour, a part of biking’s world circuit of elite road-racing occasions.
Glamping in Jebel Hafeet Desert Park.
Courtesy TCA Abu Dhabi
Beneath the mountain, the baked terrain of its foothills conceals historic treasures. The lately opened Jebel Hafeet Desert Park is likely one of the UAE’s first UNESCO World Heritage websites with stays from the Neolithic interval and 5,000-year-old Bronze Age tombs. It’s a fairly good location to spend the night time glamping in a Bedouin-style tent and stargazing into the desert night time.
Past, current and future
The Al Ain Oasis is a lush escape from typically harsh temperatures.
Courtesy TCA Abu Dhabi
Just a brief drive away is one other UNESCO World Heritage web site and one in every of my favourite places in the entire of the nation. So a lot in order that I shot elements of my final promo right here for “Connect the World with Becky Anderson.”
The Al Ain Oasis is a lush forest of lofty palm timber that reaches into the center of Abu Dhabi’s historic second metropolis, a inexperienced escape from the trendy world.
The UAE’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as soon as stated: “He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn.”
To me that quote finest summarizes how I see Al Ain Oasis. Walk among the many towering palms, and you’re instantly transported again in time. Its distinctive falaj irrigation system — a maze of channels by means of which streams of gurgling water could be directed to the place they’re wanted probably the most — and neatly organized farms inform the story of a individuals who succeeded in taming the tough desert by means of arduous work and ingenuity.
In its cool shade, you perceive the place this place got here from, the way it has gotten to the place it’s, and why it’s decided to succeed sooner or later. The oasis was almost misplaced to the encroaching metropolis just a few years again, however that want to protect heritage has as a substitute seen it flourish into the magical place it’s at the moment.
I love historical past, and fortunately Abu Dhabi is wealthy with it.
High on my record of locations to dive again into when it is doable is the newly renovated Qasr Al Hosn, an historic fortification again within the capital.
The metropolis’s oldest stone constructing has foundations relationship again to the 18th century and was as soon as house to the ruling household and the seat of presidency.
Over the centuries Qasr Al Hosn, or the “palace fort,” has been all the pieces from the seat of energy to a group library.
Brilliantly restored, the construction’s dazzling white buildings now inform the whole story of Abu Dhabi. It reveals how a tiny fishing and pearling settlement grew into a worldwide cosmopolitan powerhouse.
Surrounded by skyscrapers on a large open plaza, it feels just like the true coronary heart of this ever-evolving vacation spot. And an added bonus, there are a handful of stylish cafes shut by to take pleasure in a well-deserved break, ideally a cup of qahwa — the Arabian espresso that is one other unmissable taste of Abu Dhabi.
A common message
Housed in a masterpiece construction conceived by Pritzker Prize-winning French architect Jean Nouvel, the museum seems to be like a floating dome when seen from afar.
Another relative newcomer to the town that is rapidly develop into an previous good friend is the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
It’s arduous, if not inconceivable, to get sufficient of this place. Inspired by the Al Ain Oasis, the constructing itself is an architectural marvel. You can simply get misplaced in the fantastic thing about its dome or the mesmerizing method its exhibitions appear to effortlessly float on water.
There are, in fact, world-beating shows of artwork contained in the museum, however I’m simply as intrigued by Louvre Abu Dhabi’s common message. Instead of categorizing artwork and historical past in neat historic or regional blocs, Louvre Abu Dhabi asks us to see the frequent connection of humanity and the way we’re pushed by the identical passions and beliefs.
That’s a strong reminder at a time of a worldwide pandemic which has as soon as again proved how related all of us are regardless of all our variations.
And that’s the essence of Abu Dhabi to me. Beyond all of the wonderful locations and distinctive experiences lies a dedication to tolerance and variety that makes the town stand out. It’s a melting pot of individuals and cultures that pushes guests and residents to increase their horizons and to embrace the range that comes with being a very world hub.
Sooner or later this pandemic might be over and we’ll slowly return to exploring our world. I hope these explorations embrace Abu Dhabi, a metropolis I’m proud to name house.
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