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United Arab Emirates 2013

The United Arab Emirates leg had us taking in the amazing Dubai and Abu Dhabi


Abu Dhabi is a really interesting place, and probably largely ignored because of the amazing Dubai.

Abu Dhabi City

Abu Dhabi is the second most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (the most populous being Dubai), and also capital of Abu Dha. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The city proper had a population of 921,002 in 2013.
Abu Dhabi is the fourth most expensive city for expatriate employees in the region, and in 2014 was the 68th most expensive big city in the world. Fortune magazine and CNN stated in 2007 that Abu Dhabi is the richest city in the world, having been between $800 billion to approximately $875 billion USD. The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute puts the figure at US$773 billion .

Sheik Zayed Mosque

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and is considered to be the key for worship in the country.
As the country's grand mosque, it is the key place of worship for Friday gathering and Eid prayers. During Eid it can be visited by more than 40,000 people.

Yas Marina Circuit

The Yas Marina Circuit is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, about 30 minutes from the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi. Yas Marina is the second Formula One track in the Middle East, with the first being in Bahrain. A two-day GP2 Asia Series test was held to officially open the circuit, which was held a week before the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It also hosted the opening event for the Australian V8 Supercars series, the Yas V8 400, in February 2010.

Ferrari World

Ferrari World is an amusement park located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It claims to be the largest indoor theme park in the world. Formula Rossa, the world's fastest roller coaster, is located here.
The park is owned by Aldar Properties. It is also managed by Farah Leisure Parks Management LLC and Profun Management Group Inc.
The foundation stone for the park was laid on 3 November 2007. It took three years to develop the park and it officially opened to the public on 4 November 2010. Ferrari World covers an area of 86,000 square metres.

Dubai City

Dubai is the most populous town and emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the second largest emirate by territorial size after the capital, Abu Dhabi.
Dubai is located on the southeast coast of the Persian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country's legislature. The city of Dubai is located on the emirate's northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is to host World Expo 2020.
As of 2012, Dubai is the 22nd most expensive city in the world and the most expensive city in the Middle East. In 2014, Dubai's hotel rooms were rated as the second most expensive in the world, after Geneva. Dubai was rated as one of the best places to live in the Middle East by American global consulting firm Mercer.

Dubai Mall

The Dubai Mall recorded 60,000 tickets sold for the Dubai Aquarium and Discovery Centre in the first five days, following its opening. The Dubai Mall hosted over 37 million visitors in 2009, and attracts more than 750,000 visitors every week. while in 2010 it hosted 47 million, and saw footfall increase by around 27 percent over 2009, despite the economic crisis. In 2012, Dubai Mall continued to hold title of world's most-visited shopping and leisure destination, and attracted more than 65 million visitors, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to the 54 million recorded in 2011. It attracted more visitors than New York City with over 52 million tourists in 2012, and Los Angeles with 41 million. The numbers also surpass visitor arrivals to all landmark leisure destinations and theme parks in the world including Times Square (39.2 million), Central Park (38 million), and Niagara Falls (22.5 million).

Dubai Desert Safari

Definitely something to do when in Dubai! Drifting on the golden dunes, in a customized 4×4 Land Cruiser is an out of the world experience.
There is a lot to do on this tour other than the dune bashing. You can ski down the smaller dunes around the camp, take pictures and capture the sunset, ride a camel, get a henna tattoo, smoke sheesha, hold a falcon, ride a quad bike and partake of a fantastic Barbeque meal!