Al Nahyan are one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates, and are based in the capital Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Al Nahyan is a branch of the House of Al-Falahi (Āl Bū Falāḥ), a branch of the Bani Yas tribe, and are related to the House of Al-Falasi and also related to House of Al-Yassi, these two powerful houses/tribes are from which the ruling the family of Dubai, Al Maktoum, descends. Al Nahyans came to Abu Dhabi in the 18th century and hail from Liwa Oasis.[1] They have been the rulers of Abu Dhabi since 1793, but have been ruling their tribe in Liwa Oasis hundreds of years back. Five of the rulers killed one another who ruled from the late 1800s to early 1900s; they were brothers.

Head to our landmark Corniche and enjoy an impressive eight kilometers of manicured waterfront that includes children’s play areas, separate cycle and pedestrian pathways, cafes and restaurants, and the Corniche Beach – a lifeguarded beach park. Beach-goers should also spend some time on the stunning Saadiyat and Yas public beaches or for a spot of luxury they can book a day in the uber-luxurious Monte Carlo Beach Club, Saadiyat. While in Abu Dhabi, don’t forget to get on the water! From wake-boarding to surfing and parasailing, from cruising in a traditional pearling boat to kayaking through our natural mangrove forests, from zooming to the pace of a speedboat tour to diving, cruising, snorkeling or swimming, the emirate’s waters are yours to discover.

For a 360˚ entertainment experience, head to Yas Island where you can burn rubber at Yas Marina Circuit – home to the annual Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, have a coffee or stay at the iconic Yas Viceroy – the world’s only hotel to straddle an F1 race track. Ride the world’s fastest roller coaster at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, have a giant splash at Yas Water world, play Arabia’s only links course and relax on a white sandy beach.

Shopping is something of a national pastime in Abu Dhabi, perhaps because it’s so diverse and tax-free; everything from luxurious and ultra-modern malls with the latest brands, to small, souk-like shops where you can buy traditional perfumes, handicrafts, spices and carpets. To explore our lifestyle, head to The Collection at The St Regis, Saadiyat Island Resort, Abu Dhabi and enjoy high-end shops, restaurants and cafés – all within a Mediterranean-style ‘village’ complete with terraces, courtyards and piazzas. Alternatively, visit the Eastern Mangroves Promenade for a mix of restaurants, health & beauty and leisure venues, with an arch-fronted open pedestrian zone and stunning mangroves-view terraces. For a more-community orientated experience, take the family to Al Raha Beach Plazas and shop, dine or relax on the promenade with stunning Arabian Gulf views. If you’re interested in culture and heritage, catch a cab to the Heritage Village on the Corniche Breakwater and step back in time to a traditional desert lifestyle. Bargain with souvenir sellers and watch craftsmen at work producing pottery, weaving and metal work. Diversity of experiences characterize Abu Dhabi’s great golf offering – whether it’s championship-ready parkland, ocean or Links facilities, a gentle urban centre course, the sheer uniqueness of a world-class ‘sand’ course or a country course in our heritage heartland of Al Ain.

LEARN MORE ABOUT AL AIN

For reference, https://visitabudhabi.ae/en/explore/regions/al.ain.aspx

Abu Dhabi worked in the pearl business and traded with others. According to a source about pearling, the Persian Gulf was the best location for pearls. Pearl divers dove for one to one-and-a-half minutes, and would have dived up to thirty times per day. There were no oxygen tanks and any other sort of mechanical device was 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.

In the 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. However, 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 struck in the Umm Shaif field at a depth of about 8,755 feet (2,669 m). This was followed in 1959 by PDTC’s onshore discovery well at Murban No.3.

In 1962, the company discovered the Bu Hasa field and ADMA followed in 1965 with the discovery of the Zakum offshore field. 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.

The city of Abu Dhabi is on the northeastern part of the Persian Gulf in the Arabian Peninsula. It is on an island less than 250 metres (820 ft) 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 multilayer interchange bridge and it has 27 lanes which allow roughly 25,000 automobiles to move per hour. There are three major bridges of 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 suburbs on the mainland, for example: Khalifa City A, B, and C; Al Raha Beach; Al Bahia City A, B, and C; Al Shahama; Al Rahba; Between Two Bridges; Baniyas; and Mussafah Residential.

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s land surface measures 67,340 square kilometers, which is equivalent to about 87% of the UAE’s total land area. Only 30% of the emirate is inhabited, with the remaining vast expanses covered mainly by desert and arid land — constituting about 93% of the total land area.

Land cultivation and irrigation for agriculture and forestation over the past decade has increased the size of “green” areas in the emirate to about 5% of the total land area, including parks and roadside plantations. About 1.2% of the total land area is used for agriculture. A small part of the land area is covered by mountains, containing several caves. The coastal area contains pockets of wetland and mangrove colonies. Abu Dhabi also has dozens of islands, mostly small and uninhabited, some of which have been designated as sanctuaries for wildlife. Abu Dhabi has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Sunny blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months of June through September are generally extremely hot and humid with maximum temperatures averaging above 38 °C (100 °F). During this time, sandstorms occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility to a few meters.

The cooler season is from November to March, which ranges between moderately hot to cold. This period also sees dense fog on some days. On average, January is the coolest month in the year, while July and August are the hottest.

The oasis city of Al Ain, about 150 km (93 mi) away, bordering Oman, regularly records the highest summer temperatures in the country; however, the dry desert air and cooler evenings make it a traditional retreat from the intense summer heat and year-round humidity of the capital city.

Abu Dhabi has a diverse and multicultural society. The city’s cultural imprint as a small, ethnically homogeneous pearling community was changed with the arrival of other ethnic groups and nationals—first by the Iranians in the early 1900s, and later by various Asian and European ethnicities in the 1950s and 60s. Abu Dhabi has been criticised for perpetuating a class-based society, where migrant workers are in the lower classes, and suffer abuse which “is endemic to the system”.Major holidays in Abu Dhabi include Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, Eid ul-Adha which marks the end of Hajj, and National Day (2 December), which marks the formation of the United Arab Emirates.

This unique socioeconomic development in the Persian Gulf has meant that Abu Dhabi is generally more tolerant than its neighbours, including Saudi Arabia.Emiratis have been known for their tolerance; Christian churches, Hindu temples, and Sikh gurdwaras (but no synagogues) can be found alongside mosques.The cosmopolitan atmosphere is gradually growing and as a result, there are a variety of Asian and Western schools, cultural centres and themed restaurants.