Abu Dhabi History
The history of Abu Dhabi reveals that parts of the emirate were inhabited during the 3rd millennium BC! The nomadic herding and fishing pattern of the tribesmen that are synonymous broader region activities prove the claim. Modern Abu Dhabi has its roots back in the important tribal confederation, the Bani Yas in the latter half of the 18th century.
Right up till the middle of the last century, the economy of Abu Dhabi was dependent on camel herding, date and vegetable cultivation and extensive fishing and pearl diving. In the year 1958, oil was first discovered here. This led to the subsequent prosperity associated with Abu Dhabi, but in a gradual manner. At first the impact of the oil reserves was marginal. The then Ruler of Abu Dhabi HRH Sheikh Shakbut preferred to save the revenue rather than invest in development oil and associated resoruces. It was only in 1966, when Sheikh Zayed, his brother became ruler that Abu Dhabi began to reap the benfits associated with the oil reserves, worldwide.
The United Arab Emirates gained independence from the British in the year 1971. Slowly, but with consistent and dedicated approach, the traditional mud-brick huts were rapidly replaced with banks and boutiques.
Abu Dhabi is an active member of the Gulf Co-operation Council or the GCC. It shares borders thus
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the south
- The Sultanate of Oman to the east
- The Emirate of Dubai to the northeast
- The Gulf of Persia to the north
Abu Dhabi has many suburbs on the mainland like The Khalifa Cities, Between Two Bridges and the Mussafah Residential Area. The inhabitants of Abu Dhabi are mostly expatriates, workers from various under developed and developing nations. The widely spoken languages include English, Tagalog, Bengali, Urdu and Tigrinya, Hindi and a number of South Asian languages. The natives speak Arabic. The current ruler of Abu Dhabi is HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan, a ruler by inheritance.
Abu Dhabi is not only the wealthiest emirate, but also the richest city in the world! The 4,20,000 citizens of the emirate are estimated worth $17 million. It is researched that more than $1 trillion invested worldwide is within this emirate alone. However, the expatriates do not share the wealth of Abu Dhabi, and simply work as per the contracts signed. The Government of Abu Dhabi is in the planning process of many future projects. These are in colaboration with the GCC. This rapidly growing economy has great investment opportunites and is a popular tourist destination.
