What to Do in Abu Dhabi

A visit to Abu Dhabi is incomplete if you have not stopped by
the charming Heritage VillageIt is serenely positioned
overlooking the Corniche, near Abu Dhabi's Breakwater and only a
short distance away from the imposing Marina Mall.

Visitors can guage some inkling of what life was like for Abu
Dhabi's Bedouin by viewing a reconstruction of their traditional
desert encampment - including a goat's hair tent and a campfire
with coffee pots.

The Heritage Village also features a reconstruction of the "old
well and irrigation system, mud-brick houses, old fishing
villages and suoqs (bazaars)."

Quite interestingly the Heritage Village features several
workshops that simulate old-fashioned metal work, the heritage
village craftsmen often let visitors try their hand on such
skills.

A spice shop within the Heritage Village treats the visitor's
culinary senses and a small souvenir also shop sells handicraft
items. A mini-museum featuring artefacts such as diving tools,
jewellery, weapons and coffee pots, amongst others, rounds up
the Heritage Village experience.

There are no restrictions for photography here. Therefore,
visitors are encouraged to keep their camera handy for photo
opportunities with the friendly local craftsmen amidst their
exotic landscape.

Another popular tourist attraction, and local landmark is the
Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque. Considered by many as
one of the most imposing religious and national landmarks in Abu
Dhabi to date. It is also arguably one of the most important
architectural treasures of the contemporary UAE society - and
one of the most beautiful in the world - initiated no less by
the late president HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, (who is
fondly thought of as the father of UAE.)

The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque, popularly called
Grand Mosque by local residents, is seen as a "globally
unifying" landmark from its conception to completion, bringing
together designers, features, materials and suppliers from
nearly every corner of the globe: Italy, Germany, Morocco,
India, Turkey, Iran, China, Greece and the UAE. Natural
materials were chosen for its design and construction, which
include marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals and
ceramics.

Also popular as a tourist destination is the Hili
archaeological site. Situated within a public garden, it is
accessible from the Dubai Road, some 10 kilometres outside Al
Ain.

Visitors, including those with children, can enjoy the
landscaped public garden whilst having a picnic especially
during the cooler months. This public garden features an
important site where remnants of a Bronze Age settlement was
excavated and restored.

This site yielded a tomb containing the remains of well over
200 individuals as well as valuable artefacts including ceramic
and soft-stone vessels believed to be imported from Iran or
Baluchistan that are now displayed at the Al Ain Museum. Hili is
near Fossil Valley, an area which was covered by sea many
thousand years ago, and hence, serves as a mini-reservoir of
countless fossils.

Archaeological surveys over the past few decades have been
conducted at a number of sites including Rumeilah, a district of
Al Ain. Rumeilah yielded what is believed to be the first Iron
Age settlement in the emirate where a series of mud brick
buildings, some still with roofs intact, has been discovered.
The settlement, possibly occupied between 1000 and 300 BC,
contained grinding stones, pottery, metal tools and some bronze
weaponry.

Other archaeological sites are located in Qattarah (Al Ain),
Mantiqa Al-Sirra (Abu Dhabi interior) and Ayn Al Fayda (Al Ain),
to name a few. Plans are afoot to open at least one of these
sites to the public in future.

About The Author: Property Select http://www.propertyselect.com
offers a comprehensive selection of overseas Property in Dubai
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