Masdar is a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Literally it means ‘Source City’. Its core is being built by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, a state-owned construction company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi.
Masdar City is a hub for innovation, research and development, advancing real-world solutions in energy and water efficiency, mobility, and artificial intelligence. Its first tenant was the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which has been operating in the city since it moved into its campus in September 2010. Masdar City is a highly planned, specialised, research and technology-intensive municipality.
Masdar City a ghost town or a green lab?
Cars are not allowed inside the city. You have to park the car in the car park provided. In the city you can take autonomous pods and self drive buses for movement within the city.
Masdar City is a living, working community where residents, academics and business professionals live, learn, work and play in an environment that pushes the boundaries of sustainable design, construction, and operation. The city contains one of the largest clusters of low-carbon buildings in the world.
Masdar City Free Zone is a powerful business enabler and incubator. More than 800 companies from six continents operate from Masdar City ranging from multinationals such as Siemens, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, to regional corporations, SMEs and startups.
Masdar City
Masdar Park features a children’s playground, music wall, and art installations themed on sustainability.
The companies in the city will concentrate on energy saving and energy substituting projects as well as reuse of water.
Due to the impact of the global financial crisis, the initial 1,000,000 square metres of buildings which was estimated for completion in 2015, was pushed back to between 2020 and 2025 and final completion was estimated to be 2030.
Qaryat Al Torath Heritage Village is located in the Ain Al Fayda district of Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. The Village features 32 market stalls offering a variety of traditional Emirati handicrafts and foods. You can watch Bedouin (nomadic Arab people) women making beautiful craft pieces.
Qaryat Al Torath Heritage Village
The shops also sell traditional clothing, spices, perfumes, date palm products and accessories.
Qaryat Al Torath Heritage Village
Dining options include authentic Emirati fare from several kitchens selling traditional tea, Arabic dishes and moreish sweets.
One of the most appreciated and popular beaches located in the north-east of Dubai. The beach was inaugurated in 1994. It covers 106 hectares of land in five separate beaches.The Park is good for relaxing with friends or family. Visitors can bring their picnic and enjoy it on the grass or under the shade of trees. You can also enjoy barbecues at the designated barbecue areas with your gear for some charcoal grilling.
There are 28 areas furnished with BBQ sets, grills, umbrellas and seats, facing beach number 5. Leisure facilities include sledges, climbing, roller skating, football, basketball, cycling, and beach volleyball.
Mondays and Wednesdays are reserved for women and children. Boys younger than 4 years old will be permitted.
There are 16 air conditioned chalets on beach number 4. Beach cabin service is also available. These can be rented from the park’s administration, near the main entrance.
Pets are not allowed at the park. Also, campfires and shisha are not permitted. As with other parks, alcohol and smoking are prohibited, and beachwear must be strictly adhered to only at the beach.
There are food kiosks throughout the beach park. There are many cafeterias and restaurants serving Mediterranean dishes in the park area. There is also a branch of the popular FiLLi Cafe,
Al Mamzar Park
Using your RTA Nol cards you can enter the park through smart gates, without having to wait in a queue at the entrance. The strange palm tree-like structures allow you to charge your phone and connect to WiFi. A similar function is also available at the ‘Smart Benches’, again without the use of any USB cables.
The park uses other technologies like paint that absorbs carbon dioxide and reduce the air pollution in the area. Smart Containers to move around the park to clear the litter. Drones analyse the health and growth of plants in the park. Drones can also spot drowning situations from above and alert a lifeguard.
Zabeel Park is an urban public park located in the Zabeel district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is situated between Al Karama and the Dubai World Trade Centre. It covers much of the Al Kifaf area. It is accessible from the Red Line of Dubai Metro via the nearby Al Jafiliya Station. It is maintained by the Public Parks and Horticulture Department of Dubai Municipality.
The park is divided into numerous sectors connected by pedestrian bridges, and there are multiple entrance gates. Zabeel Park also houses the Dubai Frame, an iconic landmark in Dubai where tourists can take in breathtaking views of old and new Dubai.
Dubai Frame
The park has an area of 47.5 ha (117.375 acres). The parking area can accommodate 2,300 vehicles. The entrance fee is AED 5 per person. The recreational facilities in the park include a 2.5 km jogging track on the park perimeter, pedestrian tracks, BMX track, skateboarding park, barbecue and picnic areas, a boating lake, lakeside restaurants, ice skating, a mini cricket pitch and golfing area, shaded seating and children’s play areas.
There is also an exhibition gallery, prayer rooms, a fitness centre, and various monuments.
Dubai Garden Glow
Dubai Garden Glow is a world of imagination with a skillful blend of unique art and theme. Glow Park is lit by millions of energy saving led lights and yards of recycled luminous fabric.
Stargate at the southern end of Area A is dedicated to children. It offers an outer space-themed indoor educational and entertainment complex. Kids can easily spend several hours playing on the various attractions under its five domes that include hi-tech mazes, 3-D shows, a roller-coaster and a lunar-themed play area. Admission to Stargate is free, but there are charges for rides.
There are educational and interactive displays as well as a 3D cinema for edutainment activities. The park also has edutainment centres such as the Alternative Energy Zone, the Communication Zone, and the Techno Zone where children can learn about different innovative technologies.
Children’s City
The Dinosaur Park is another popular section of the Zabeel Park where massive life-like models of dinosaurs are on display. Children’s City offers obstacle courses, slides and much more.
Ajman is the capital of the emirate of Ajman in the United Arab Emirates. It is located along the Persian Gulf, and is surrounded by the larger emirate of Sharjah in territory.
There are about 50 international and local retail shops and banks including Emirates National Bank of Dubai, Ajman Bank, Arab Bank PLC, Bank Saderat Iran, and Commercial Bank of Dubai.
Ajman Free Zone has a capacity to accommodate 1500 companies and serves over 1,000 vessels a year, Ajman Port and Ajman Free Zone are major contributors to the emirate’s economy. Exporting to over 65 countries, the Free Zone’s companies make up approximately 20% of the UAE’s overall industrial units, with some 256 industrial companies operating from the zone.
Ajman UAE
Distance from Ajman to Dubai is 44km. Travel time by car is 40 minutes during off peak. To avail of the cheaper and larger accommodation, there are many who are working in Dubai live in Ajaman and commute daily to work. Dubai schools provide transportation to students. There are many leisure activities near residential areas.
Tourist attractions in the emirate include the Ajman Beach, Ajman National Museum situated at Ajman Fort, the Red Fort and the museum in the inland enclave of Manama. City Centre Ajman, the Emirate’s biggest mall, is a big attraction as well for its unique architectural experience and variety of shops and confectioneries.
Villas in Ajman
Ajman’s corniche is a popular evening and weekend destination for families and features a number of fast food outlets, coffee shops and stalls.
The Dubai Mall is a shopping mall in Dubai completed in 2008. It is the largest mall in the world by total land area. It has a total retail floor area of 502,000 square metres. The mall has over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building in the world. Every year it has over 54 million visitors. It ranks 26th in the world in terms of gross usable space.
Dubai Mall
Its facilities include a 250-room luxury hotel, 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. The Mall has over 14,000 parking spaces across 3 car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system. The Mall also has Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink for skating.
The Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, with more than 300 species of marine animals, including sharks and rays, is located in the Dubai Mall. VR Park Dubai is also located in the Mall. It has a floor area of 76,000 sq ft.
The park is dedicated to virtual reality under the name of VR Park Dubai. Reel Cinemas is a 22-screen cinema located in the mall that has four cinema suites, and 17 commercial halls. Rainforest Cafe opened in 2009 faces the aquarium and is made to emulate tropical ruins with moving ruins and light shows. Hysteria is a haunted house. It is decorated with special effects, fog lights and strobe lights. KidZania is an interactive children’s sized edutainment theme park.
Dubai Mall is owned by Emaar Properties, one of the biggest developers in Dubai.
Tourist accommodation in Dubai is relatively expensive. During the last three years, the number of 4 and 5-star hotels increased while the number of hotels of less than 4 stars decreased. Between 2015 and 2017 the total number of rooms increased by 9.25% to 9,98. Up to 2018, the hotels had an average occupancy of 78%. In 2019 the occupancy dropped to 75%, while in 2020 it further dropped to 54% due to Covid-19.
Dubai Accommodation
As of 2020, there were 134 five star hotels with 44,067 rooms and 161 four-star hotels with 34,905 rooms.
In early 2013 the plan to build the first underwater hotel, the Water Discus Hotel, was announced. This will be the world’s largest hotel of its kind. This hotel will supplement the two underwater suites in existence at Dubai’s The Palm: Atlantis accommodation venue.
