Abu Dhabi - the sights & culture

I've been to Abu Dhabi several times in the last two years as my sister lives there. I always thought the city was boring. If you try looking up travel information on Abu Dhabi, there are probably not many tourist attractions to find. Tours in Abu Dhabi are usually half-day or full-day, at the most. There really isn't much to do in the city, unless you like shopping, then you could visit a different mall everyday. That can stretch your visit for a little longer.

The streets of downtown Abu Dhabi.

Worthwhile visits would be to the Emirates Palace, the Cultural and Heritage Village nearby Marina Mall, and Corniche Beach. All these are within the same stretch of street.

Corniche beach with the city skyline.

Lately, with the completion of Sheikh Zayed mosque, now tourists have a new destination to visit in Abu Dhabi. It is rather a magnificent mosque in white that you can see off the main road driving from the airport. It holds the world record of having the largest carpet and chandelier.

The largest chandelier and carpet in the main sanctuary.

The mosque is open to the public for visits but visitors will have to put on the proper clothing and head covering which are provided before entering the sanctuary. There are security guards checking on you to make sure you are properly covered. They take dress code very seriously to a point where, if you are wearing anything too revealing or shorts, you would need to get yourself covered outside of the building, under the sun, before you are allowed to enter the building!

Although the UAE is an Islamic country, not everyone is required to dress in full cover like an Arabic woman usually does. The UAE is rather open to foreign cultures, hence attracting a large population of expatriates to work and live here. So it is unnecessary to worry about the dress code while you are here.

Other upcoming tourist attractions would be the Ferrari theme park, Guggenheim museum, Du Lourve museum which are in the works of completion or still under construction. In another year or so, I believe the tours to Abu Dhabi would be extended to two days or more.

This is one of those places that is always under construction - building, building and more building! It is always progressing that if you go there every year, you would see something new each time.

Did I say it was boring?