I visited Abu Dhabi over the weekend. I didn't get to walk around nearly as much as I had planned, but that means I have an excuse to go back. I can't wait; there is an awful lot I would like to explore.
A pedestrian crossing outside Marina Mall.
As its name implies, there is an aquatic theme.
This is the center of the mall. Unless I am mistaken, it is the city's largest.
This building is part of a hospital complex in the Abu Dhabi suburbs.
The building on the left of this picture may be my favorite in the UAE, although this shot does not do it justice. I'll have to go back and photograph it from every angle.
The tall building in the background belongs to the main phone company, Etisalat.
As do the two pink buildings with spheres on top. Etisalat builds structures in this style all over the UAE.
When I told ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
mrputter I wanted to walk around the city and asked him what I might enjoy seeing, he said I might be entertained by a roundabout. I will confess to being a little skeptical before I got there.
It turned out to be perfect.
Birds congregated on top of the heritage-themed displays.
A mosque to one side had a lot of square edges.
A huge construction site was also visible, complete with two major towers.
I could see clusters of skyscrapers in every direction.
Even the shadows were interesting.
I drove past the Sheikh Zayed Mosque on my way out of town. It's too bad I only ever get to look around the city on Fridays, the one day the mosque is closed to tourists.
Very few people in Dubai use (or even know) the official names for streets. One short stretch of Khalid bin al Waleed Road is almost universally known as Bank Street, owing to the number of financial institutions with offices there.
I like the straight edges on Citibank's building.
It is one of the smallest buildings on the street, perhaps on account of its age. The bank has built a far larger tower a couple of kilometers away.
I suspect this building is tiny for similar reasons.
The National Bank of Fujairah has a new building, but it is not an especially large bank.
I don't think the National Bank of Umm al-Qaiwain is especially large either, but it has clearly spent money on this thing.
Mashreqbank, probably the city's second largest, operates a branch in this building. The city's largest bank, EmiratesNBD, also has an office on the street, but it is located inside a mall deserving a post of its own.
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is in a fairly plain tower.
The Royal Bank of Scotland operates one of my favorite buildings on the street.
Bank Melli Iran, or the National Bank of Iran.
Habib Bank AG Zurich is one of the few banks trying to compete in terms of reflectiveness.
Habib Bank Limited falls just a little short on this front.
Not every building on the street houses a bank.
Some of the street's residential and commercial buildings look neat.
Others less so.
The small mall below these towers originally had a medieval European theme. The buildings themselves are probably the fanciest on the street.
This one across the street was among the most luxurious in the city when completed in the early 1990s, but an awful lot of high-end housing has since been built. The overall vacancy rate for residential buildings is said to be 25 percent and rising, so I imagine a lot of that space is either empty, or occupied by middle-income families who can now afford to trade up.
The previous building's immediate neighbor looked very dated before it got this nearly-as-ugly glass facade.
A token minority building not possessing a glass skin. Of all the blocks in the city not built by a single developer, this is one of the most homogeneous.
![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/nolegs/complacent.gif){kind=small}
complacent
"Watch out for flying saucers" is what I see.
The shadows pic is cool! As is the one with the birds.. although that would be better if the background could have been out of focus (or photoshop blurred).
"A huge construction site was also visible, complete with two major towers."
That one is quite attractive too. Busy and colourful!
Hahahaha! That interpretation never occured to me!
> one is quite attractive
I'm a little torn by said site. What they're building will, by all indications be very impressive. However what it replaces is the old central market. It was one of the first permanent structures in the city, built in the late 60s, before the UAE even existed as a country. While never a very impressive structure even before it started crumbling apart (shoddy construction, etc.), its character made it one of my favourite places in Abu Dhabi to wander around and explore. I have my doubts that its replacement will be remotely as interesting at ground level.
Is the one that burned down?
I'm glad that Dubai's Souq al Kabir (a name I have never heard anyone actually use) wasn't threatened with destruction, even at the height of the property bubble. Even the newer additions to the Deira skyline have done little to alter the feel of the areas immediately behind them.
Yar. Although whether that burning was entirely the accident it was made out to be is, well... an open question. (Or have we had this discussion yet? I can't remember.)
I make life difficult for myself. Or not, depending your perspective.
I've only ever seen it in pictures, it having been only half-complete last time I was there. It's on my list of things at which I'd like to take a gander when I visit.
> belongs to the main phone company
ORLY? If so, that is a very recent development. For its first 15 years of life, it was a managed apartment complex, owned by the Hilton. Indications online are that it still is such...?
> turned out to be perfect
Oh good! I was a little unsure whether it would be your style. I'm glad it was!
> largest bank, EmiratesNBD
Hunh. I always thought Union National was. I guess things have changed. (Or are you deliberately drawing a distinction between Dubai and the UAE on this point?)
> Others less so.
Interesting. I actually like this one better than the prior...!
> had a medieval European
Ah, so that's gone? Always meant to wander in there. Never did. *shrug*
> before it got this nearly-as-ugly
!
Is that the building I think it is?? (You had a friend—perhaps Pawan?—who lived there...)
Wow it looks different!
But I also seem to recall it having balconies? A minor shame they're gone.
Damn. I've already used my "Jenga Crane" icon.
Awesome. Feel free to mention to me at some point any other places you would like to visit while here.
Indications online are that it still is such...?
I stand corrected. I always wondered why one Etisalat building did not resemble the others, but attributed it to everything in Abu Dhabi being a little different, and figured the white dome at the top functioned like the pink spheres elsewhere.
Or are you deliberately drawing a distinction between Dubai and the UAE on this point?
I was talking about Dubai, but for what it's worth, a mutual acquaintance of ours who works at EmiratesNBD tells me the merged bank is the largest in the Gulf.
Ah, so that's gone?
Someone mentioned as much to me, although I haven't bothered verify this for myself. I pass by all the time, but it's been years since I last ventured inside; it seemed very dull when I last visited. If it's gone, you really wouldn't be missing out on much.
Pawan - you've met him? - lived on the other side of town. But another friend of mine used to live a few buildings away, albeit on the other side of Mankhool Road.
Hum. Then apparently I'm on crack. I seem to recall going for a stroll up Bank St. once, and standing at the base of this building for a while, waiting for yer friend to descend. After which we went across the street and grabbed some Chaat.
However the more I try to recall this incident, the hazier the memory becomes. So who knows?
that's the building for ADIA (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority). Certainly one of the most remarkable ones in the UAE.