Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District and the UAE's second-most populous city, after Dubai. Situated on a T-shaped island, Abu Dhabi extends into the Persian Gulf from the central-western coast of the UAE.
Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the Persian Gulf, off the Central West Coast. Most of the city and the Emirate reside on the mainland connected to the rest of the country. In 2023, Abu Dhabi's urban area had an estimated population of 2.5 million, out of 3.8 million in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Alt URL The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), headquartered in the city, is estimated to manage approximately US$1 trillion in assets, making it the world's third-largest sovereign wealth fund after Norway's Government Pension Fund Global and China's CIC. Abu Dhabi has over a trillion US dollars' worth of assets under management in a combination of sovereign wealth funds headquartered there.
Abu Dhabi houses local and federal government offices and is the home of the United Arab Emirates Government and the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs. The city is home to the UAE's president, a member of the Al Nahyan family. Abu Dhabi's rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the massive oil and gas reserves and production and relatively high average income, have transformed it into a large, developed metropolis. It is the country's centre of politics and industry, and a major culture and commerce centre. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $503 billion UAE economy.
History
The area surrounding Abu Dhabi abounds in archaeological evidence from historical civilisations, such as the Umm Al Nar Culture, which dates back to the third millennium BC. Other settlements were also found farther outside the modern city of Abu Dhabi, including the eastern and western regions of the Emirate. On December 2, 1971, Abu Dhabi, along with five other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This union was marked by the establishment of a federal government and the appointment of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the first President of the UAE.
Etymology
In Arabic, , transliterated as abu, means "father (of)", and , transliterated as dhabi, means gazelle. Abu Dhabi means "Father of the gazelle."
Origins of Al Nahyan
The Bani Yas, the tribe from which the Al Nahyan family are drawn, was originally settled in the Liwa Oasis in the Emirate's western region. This tribe was the most significant in the area, having over 20 subsections. In 1761, the discovery of fresh water by a hunting party led by Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa Al Nahyan near the coast saw a settlement established there. A popular story is that the hunters were pursuing a gazelle, hence the name of the settlement. The Al Bu Falah subsection of the tribe were the first to establish the new settlement and remained the source of the tribal rulers. Originally consisting of a fort and twenty houses, within two years the town consisted of a settlement of some 400 houses. The fort remains at the centre of Abu Dhabi today, the Qasr Al Hosn.
Pearl trade The pearl diving business was a key industry prior to the discovery of oil reserves. According to a source about pearling, the Persian Gulf was the best location for pearls. The pearl industry boomed from the late 19th century through to the second decade of the 20th century, however it is believed to date back around 7,000 years. Pearl divers dive for one to three minutes and would have dived as many as thirty times per day. Air tanks and any other sort of mechanical device were forbidden. The divers had a leather nose clip and leather coverings on their fingers and big toes to protect them while they searched for oysters. The divers were not paid for a day's work but received a portion of the season's earnings.
Trucial coast In the 19th century, as a result of treaties (known as "Truces" which gave the coast its name) entered into between Great Britain and the sheikhs of the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, Britain became the predominant influence in the area.Trucial Gulf Sheikdoms and Great Britain The main purpose of British interest was to protect the trade route to India from pirates, hence, the earlier name for the area, the "Pirate Coast". After the suppression of piracy, other considerations came into play, such as a strategic need of the British to exclude other powers from the region. Following their withdrawal from India in the year 1947, the British maintained their influence in Abu Dhabi as interest in the oil potential of the Persian Gulf grew.
First oil discoveries
In the mid to late 1930s, as the pearl trade declined, interest grew in the oil possibilities of the region. On 5 January 1936, Petroleum Development Trucial Coast Ltd (PDTC), an associate company of the Iraq Petroleum Company, entered into a concession agreement with the ruler, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to explore for oil. This was followed by a seventy-five-year concession signed in January 1939. Owing to the desert terrain, inland exploration was fraught with difficulties.
In 1953, D'Arcy Exploration Company, the exploration arm of BP, obtained an offshore concession which was then transferred to a company created to operate the concession: Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (ADMA) was a joint venture between BP and Compagnie Française des Pétroles (later Total). In 1958, using a marine drilling platform, the ADMA Enterprise, oil was discovered in the Umm Shaif field at a depth of about . This was followed in 1959 by PDTC's onshore discovery well at Murban No.3.Morton, Michael Quentin, "The Abu Dhabi Oil Discoveries", GEO Expro article, issue 3, 2011.GEO ExPro – The Abu Dhabi Oil Discoveries
ADMA discovered the Bu Hasa oil field in 1962 and the Lower Zakum oil field in 1963. Today, in addition to the oil fields mentioned, the main producing fields onshore are Asab, Sahil and Shah, and offshore are al-Bunduq, and Abu al-Bukhoosh.
Perceived mismanagement of the emirate's oil revenues, as well as fears of a pan-Arab uprising, led to the British backing a bloodless coup by Shakhbut's younger brother Zayed Al Nahyan on August 6, 1966.
Geography
The city of Abu Dhabi is on the southeastern side of the Arabian Peninsula, adjoining the Persian Gulf. It is on an island less than from the mainland and is joined to the mainland by the Maqta and Mussafah Bridges. A third, Sheikh Zayed Bridge, designed by Zaha Hadid, opened in late 2010. Abu Dhabi Island is also connected to Saadiyat Island by a five-lane motorway bridge. Al-Mafraq bridge connects the city to Reem Island and was completed in early 2011. This is a multi-layer interchange bridge and it has 27 lanes which allow roughly 25,000 automobiles to move per hour. There are three major bridges in the project, the largest has eight lanes, four leaving Abu Dhabi city and four coming in.
Most of Abu Dhabi city is located on the island itself, but it has many suburban districts on the mainland, for example, Khalifa City A, B, and C; Khalifa City Al Raha Beach; Al Bahia City A, B, and C; Al Shahama; Al Rahba; Between Two Bridges; Baniyas; Shamkha; Al Wathba and Mussafah Residential.
Gulf waters of Abu Dhabi holds the world's largest population of Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins.WAM 2017 Abu Dhabi has world's largest population of humpback dolphins . Emirates 24/7. Retrieved 21 September 2017Gulf News. 2017. Abu Dhabi proves a haven for humpback dolphins . Retrieved 21 September 2017Sanker A.. 2017. Abu Dhabi leads world in humpback dolphin numbers . Khaleej Times. Retrieved 21 September 2017 To the east of the island is the Mangrove National Park, located on Al Qurm Corniche. Al-Qurm () is Arabic for "The Mangrove".
Climate Abu Dhabi has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Sunny blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months of May to September are generally extremely hot and humid. The peak summer months are July and August, with maximum temperatures averaging above . During this time, sandstorms occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility to a few metres. Due to high humidity, especially in coastal areas, the heat index, or "feels-like" temperature, can be significantly higher than the actual air temperature. Dust storms are common during the hot, dry months, affecting air quality and visibility.
The cooler season is from November to March, which ranges between moderately hot to mild. This period also sees dense fog on some days and a few days of rain. On average, January is the coolest month of the year. August is the hottest. Since the Tropic of Cancer passes through the emirate, the southern part falls within the Tropics. Despite the coolest month having an average, its climate is far too dry to be classed as tropical.
Twin cities
For its geography, Abu Dhabi has been twinned with:
Bethlehem, Palestine Madrid, Spain (2007) Houston, United States (2002) Brisbane, Australia (2009) Minsk, Belarus (2007)
Government
Abu Dhabi City is the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the local government of Abu Dhabi is directly led by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the largest, and wealthiest of the seven emirates, and it plays a crucial role in the UAE's governance and economy. The Ruler has the executive authority to issue local laws, create or merge government departments, and appoint heads of departments.
The Ruler of Abu Dhabi appoints the Abu Dhabi Executive Council to lead the day-to-day management of government affairs. The Department of Municipal Affairs is responsible for municipal affairs for the entire emirate. Abu Dhabi is part of the Central Capital District, which is separate from the eastern and western municipal regions of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The main settlement of the eastern region, officially "Al Ain Region" since a decree by Sheikh Khalifa in March 2017, is Al Ain City, and that of the western region, officially "Al Dhafra Region" as per the same decree, is Madinat Zayed.
The Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi officially leads both the city and greater emirate with agencies operating out of Abu Dhabi with branches in other cities. The Abu Dhabi Government has agencies and organisations operating across the emirate such as the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council and the Regulation and Supervision Bureau, which are responsible for infrastructure projects in the city.
Because Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, it also serves as the headquarters of the Federal government of the United Arab Emirates, the office of the President of the United Arab Emirates, and seat of the Federal Supreme Council.
The Abu Dhabi Government Media Office (ADGMO) was formed in 2019 and is responsible for representing the government in the media, organising press conferences for the emirate and monitoring local and international media. It is a state-sponsored organisation that communicates the latest developments in the capital, and the emirate's vision, values and traditions.
Cityscape
Architecture