Ruler
H. H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the president of the UAE and the 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi.
History
civilizations in Abu Dhabi date back to the third millennUMSm b.c.; Umm Al Nar island and jebel hafeet, in particular, are sites of great archaeological importance.
the ruling al nahyan family descends from a sub-section of bani yas tribe, known as al bu falah. they originally lived at the liwa oasis and settled in abu dhabi in 1793.
How it was named
literally, abu dhabi means father of deer, probably because the area had lots of deer roaming the desert.
Geography
abu dhabi is the largest of the seven emirates and makes up 87 per cent of the entire country. it lies on the coast of the arabian gulf and is bordered by sultanate of oman to the east, the kingdom of saudi arabia to the south and the emirate of dubai to the northeast. it also enjoys a coastline stretching 700 km.
the two main regions of the emirate are:
- the eastern region, represented in the city of al ain
- al gharbia, which embodies seven main cities: liwa, madinat zayed, ghayathi, ruwais, mirfa sila and delma island.
Nature and environment
70 per cent of abu dhabi is an open desert. it has 200 islands including: sadiyat, al futasi and sir bani yas.
the city of abu dhabi is connected to the mainland by three bridges: maqta bridge, mussafah bridge and sheikh zayed bridge.
it has two major oases:
- al ain oasis in al ain city
- liwa oasis in al gharbia
jebel hafeet is the emirate's highest peak (1,240 metres) and is located south of al ain city.
Economy
abu dhabi is the world's eighth-biggest producer of oil. it has 95 per cent of the nation's oil reserves and about 94 per cent of gas reserves. in 2014, because of the diversification policy, it maintained agdp of aed 952.6 billion, and the share of non-oil activities increased to 49.5 per cent.
Landmarks
these vary between old and new:
- sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan mosque
- emirates palace
- al maqta fort
- heritage village
Population
according to statistics centre−abu dhabi, the population of the emirate was estimated at 2.65 million, as per mid 2014.
