Exhibition of achievements of the United Arab Emirates – Style – Kommersant

Recently, Dubai has become for the Russians something like a distant dacha (or an alternate airfield, depending on future plans). “Kommersant Style” offers to pay attention to the nearby capital of the UAE – Abu Dhabi, whose recreational potential is higher than Dubai. Yury Khnychkin reports.

I like Abu Dhabi. The very idea of ​​vacationing in Dubai seems a little blasphemous to me: no matter which of the “palm trees” you are on, it’s like lying on the beach on Long Island in view of the outlines of New York skyscrapers. Located just 150 km away, Abu Dhabi is a much more authentic place for the Arab East, unhurried, relaxed and not very similar in mood to the cosmopolitan center of the neighboring emirate. However, if urbanism is firmly ingrained in your habits, then everything is fine with skyscrapers here: just take a walk along the famous Corniche and look at the “opener” (as local Europeans call the headquarters of the ADNOC oil company) and other local high-rise buildings. But if your main goal is sea bathing, then you have a direct road to Saayadiyat Island, which is remote from the Corniche and has the best beaches in the Emirates. On my last visit, a difficult journalistic fate took me to the Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island hotel with a first-class one and a half kilometer sandy beach, not crowded in mid-October. In addition, it turned out that Rixos Premium Saadiyat Island is almost the only hotel on Saadiyat that operates on an all-inclusive basis, so you can forget about patting your pockets in search of international bank cards or bundles of local cash that are not available to Russians. Six restaurants (unfortunately, I didn’t manage to visit all of them), a large swimming pool, a spa – the Turkish origin of the Rixos network makes itself felt.

All those staying on Saadiyat Island, in addition to the beaches, will receive a bonus. At a distance of a couple of kilometers from any local hotel is the Louvre Abu Dhabi – the only branch of the Parisian museum in the world that offers a mobile changing exhibition. Before visiting, check the site of the local Louvre. In October of this year, a good exhibition of French expressionists worked there, although, in my opinion, a visit to the Louvre Abu Dhabi is mainly an occasion to appreciate the huge (9.2 thousand square meters of the total area) masterpiece of architecture, built by the Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel . To look at the museum building from the water or from the numerous terraces adjacent to the sea is priceless. Saadiyat Island is proclaimed the cultural capital of Abu Dhabi (and, in principle, of all the UAE), a branch of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Contemporary Art and the Sheikh Zayed National Historical Museum have been under construction here for some time. True, it should be borne in mind that long-term construction is a local custom, as evidenced by the repeated postponement of the opening of the Midfield terminal of Abu Dhabi International Airport. Traditions must be respected.

If Saadiyat is assigned the role of a cultural capital, then Yas Island is undoubtedly the capital of entertainment. In addition to the well-known Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, another theme park has opened there in recent years – Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi with 29 challenging attractions, places that are dizzying in the truest sense of the word. I recommend for visiting with children who will be delighted with the opportunity to look into the house of Tom and Jerry or the Museum of Scooby-Doo Mysteries. If adults get bored, they can visit Batman, Joker and Superman in their habitats. Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi covers an area of ​​over 150 thousand square meters. m and under the roof (this is the largest indoor theme park in the world), so neither the scorching sun of the Emirates, nor the unbearable heat will distract visitors from immersing themselves in the fascinating cinema universe.

As for the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which has already been repeatedly seen by the author, it seemed to me that he also rejuvenated. The large hall with classic cars, to the chagrin of adult boys, is closed for reworking the exhibition, but younger children will definitely enjoy the adrenaline rides here. Keep in mind that theme parks are best visited on weekdays to avoid queues for the most popular rides.

Quite fresh attractions await you in the new quarter of Al-Kana, located on the mainland, closer to the center of the capital. 2.5 km of modern buildings and structures lined up along the embankment of its own canal. The main attraction here is the largest National Aquarium in the Middle East, opened just a year ago, with 46,000 marine life, including sharks, rays and giant sea turtles. Most impressive is the glass tunnel, laid right through the water column: both to the left and to the right, and above your head, you are surrounded by the inhabitants of the depths! In addition to educational activities, the National Aquarium also performs environmental functions: visitors can watch the process of rehabilitation of injured sea turtles, which massively swim from the Indian Ocean to the sandy beaches of the Arabian Peninsula to lay their eggs.

Pixoul Gaming Center is located near the aquarium – the realm of electronic sports and virtual reality. At the time of my visit, the last polish was put on it (the opening took place a month ago), therefore, unfortunately or fortunately, I can’t report anything meaningful.

To get acquainted with the traditional sights of the capital of the Emirates, it is more convenient to stay in one of the central hotels in Abu Dhabi. The newest of them is Rixos Marina Abu Dhabi, the second hotel in the Rixos chain in the emirate, more than noticeable due to its high-rise building with a huge arch.

Due to its private location in the Abu Dhabi Marina, Rixos Marina combines the incongruous: its own beach with a separate bay, the absence of heavy city traffic on one side and the proximity to the Marina Mall, which is within walking distance. In addition, from here it is easy to get to the Qasr Al-Watan presidential palace – a magnificent building that performs representative functions, something like the Grand Kremlin Palace, but much larger and much newer (the construction of the palace was completed less than a decade ago, and in 2019 it opened to the public ). In terms of saturation with marble, mosaics and golden chandeliers, it can only compete with the already well-known Sheikh Zayed Mosque, which cannot be missed, especially if you are visiting Abu Dhabi for the first time.

Yuri Khnychkin