A Tale of Two Cities
Since i've lived in the UAE for most of my life, i thought i would begin with a post on Abu Dhabi and Dubai...
The United Arab Emirates[UAE] is a federation of seven emirates- Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, each having a capital with the same name. Since Abu Dhabi is the largest emirate of them all[greater than the rest of them combined, if my memory serves me right!], it was decided that Abu Dhabi would function as the capital city of the federation, and that the Ruler of Abu Dhabi would be elected as the President of the UAE.
The UAE gained independence from the British on December 2nd, 1971, and over the three decades that have passed since then, they have undergone a stunning transformation from being a homeland for wandering Bedouin tribes to now reaching "developed nation" status- all due to the magic of the oil deposits that it possesses in abundance.
Thanks to the vision of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who guided the country on the path to development and prosperity, the UAE is now one of those few nations, where people are satisfied with the quality of life...
Well, coming back to my point, the capital Abu Dhabi is situated on an island. It is a well planned city, with huge shopping malls, six laned roads in each direction, well laid out gardens, a beautiful coastline, magnificent high rises, the whole works. In fact, the presence of numerous towering buildings has earned Abu Dhabi the sobriquet of "Manhattan of the Middle East".
Dubai, on the other hand, is the ultimate antithesis to everything that Abu Dhabi stands for. its built in a rather haphazard fashion. the city is divided into several zones that function as separate 'cities', for instance, you have the Internet City, the Gold City, the Entertainment City, the Business City, and so on. Its a city that never sleeps, with a truly cosmopolitan outlook, and numerous discos, pubs, and what not. As the saying goes," If its happening, its happening in Dubai, dude!!!".
Its the classic comparison- Washington D.C versus New York, New Delhi versus Mumbai...But both cities tend to compliment each other. Dubai is nice to visit once in a while, but Abu Dhabi is the better city to live in. Both cities have several ongoing projects- Disneyland is reportedly considering Abu Dhabi for the Gulf Disneyland, while Dubai is busy constructing the world's tallest building, largest mall, the Palm Islands Project, the underwater hotel....whew!!! its a never ending list...
And you know what?? i consider myself lucky that I was brought up in the UAE... I've grown to appreciate urban life, and i think i'm hooked onto it for good!
