10 things we love about Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (no, Dubai is not the capital, as much as it likes to think it is), has been getting loads of media coverage in the travel press lately. You know when a tourism body and airline has hosted a junket as a spate of stories appear as they have recently in Australia, such as these: Abu Dhabi's match for the Taj Mahal (Jan 09), A higher plane at the world's costliest hotel (Jan 09) and The future of the Emirates' Capital (Feb 09) (the last of which reads like a few other stories published in early 2008, including my own). All of this recent attention has resulted from the opening of a monumental mosque dedicated to late President and UAE founder, Sheikh Zayed. But the travel press were already starting to cover Abu Dhabi in 2007 with the announcement of the $14.5 billion Saadiyat Island cultural precinct with its Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim and branch of Paris’ Louvre among other stunning museums, and the city’s inclusion on the Formula One Grand Prix circuit. The announcement of Abu Dhabi's innovative new Norman Foster-designed eco-city Masdar also sparked some coverage in 2008, including this story Seeing the Light, which we wrote for Gulf Life, Gulf Air's in-flight magazine. Don't get me wrong, we're pleased to see the city-emirate starting to steal some of the spotlight from Dubai, as it's a city we've always loved, and one we immediately fell in love with when we first moved there in 1998. So, you want to know what we love about it? Well, take a look at this story we wrote for Viator: 10 things we love about Abu Dhabi. Let me know what you think - especially if you've been there, or live there. Planning to go there? Then get a copy of DK's Top Ten Dubai and Abu Dhabi guide, which I co-authored and Terry photographed; I don't get royalties, it's just a book of which I'm very proud.