Abu Dhabi: Things to do and see in the emirate, beyond the bling
Mention the United Arab Emirates, and the first thing that springs to mind for most people is Dubai, that millionaires' playground of WAGs, conspicuous wealth and winter sun.
But Abu Dhabi is actually the capital of this desert state and is snapping at its blinged-up sibling's heels by branding itself as the hot new destination of the Middle East.
Interestingly, Abu Dhabi is taking a different approach to tourism and is keen to distance itself a little from the brash and somewhat soulless city down the coast on the Arabian Gulf.
Awe-inspiring: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a sight to behold
New Guggenheim and Louvre galleries are being built and this emirate, normally associated with big bucks and business, is hoping to create a buzz around wildlife.
More importantly to me, it's also where my late father used to live. My mother and I went to stay with him when he worked out there as an expat in 1997 and I was eager to pay homage to my dear dad and see how his home had changed in 14 years.
Thankfully, despite the forest of sparkling new high-rises and five-star developments, the culture that both my father and I fell in love with all those years ago is still very much intact.
Widely regarded as the richest city in the world, courtesy of the region's ubiquitous oil, it is no surprise that a lot of the attractions of this sparkling desert metropolis pride themselves on being the most luxurious on the planet.
Indeed, one of my first ports of call on this long spring weekend - after a suitably stylish Air France flight in premium economy - was the Emirates Palac! e, a sup posed seven-star hotel that's so vast it probably has its own postcode.
Seven-star style: The Emirates Palace Hotel may well be the world's most opulent accommodation
Built in 2005, way after my first visit, it's so big guests can borrow bicycles to get around the groundssurrounding the building, which is modelled on a medieval Islamic palace filled with fountains and domes glittering under impossibly blue Arabian skies.
Famousas the setting for part of the second Sex And The City movie, it's a gilded (in real gold) marble confection that is so ridiculously over-the-top, there's even a gold ATM in the lobby. Yes, if you have a desperate need for a kruggerand before lunch, you can buy one at market price, and astonishingly, before I could take a photo of this most ridiculous of hotel amenities, I had to wait for a chap to finish using it.
Then again, for a hotel that had the world's most expensive Christmas tree last year (worth 6.7million - it was hung with gold and jewels) that's not such a surprise.
Bling: The hotel's rather unusual gold ATM
Built at a cost of 1.9billion, its outrageously luxurious rooms have been stayed in by the likes of Elton John, George Michael, Beyonce and Tony Blair, as well as numerous heads of state and our very own Queen.
Of course, us mere mortals can't afford to stay there, but it's a wonderful place for lunch, even if you just hit the buffet restaurant. Not only does it serve up a fantastic opportunity for people-watching the nouveau riche from around the globe, but the food on offer is beautifully authentic Emirati cuisine.
Think houmous, olives and salads, spanki! ngly fre sh fish and the wonderfully spiced Arabic bean-based mainstay ful medames, all washed down with the best homemade minted lemonade you'll ever taste, while overlooking the sedate Persian Gulf. Finish off the experience with a helping of delicious Arabic bread pudding Umm Ali and you have a recipe for a truly gluttonous afternoon.
After lunch, Emirates Palace also hosts an exhibition offering a glimpse into Abu Dhabi's future, the development of Saadiyat Island, which will be the home for the Guggenheim and Louvre, along with more five-star hotels, a marina, five-star golf course and a brand new National Museum, all set to be ready in 2020.
All well and good, but it's not the real Abu Dhabi. For me, the true treasure of my first day there was the Falcon Hospital.
For the indigenous Bedouin population - now pretty minted due to the oil - falconry is part of their DNA. Before the area became incomparably rich, falcons were crucial for hunting food (birds, hares and suchlike), and although such pursuits are now banned across the Emirates, the birds themselves are still treated as feathered members of the family - to the extent they have their own passports and their own seats on planes (yes, really).
Run by the charismatic German, Dr Margit Muller, the hospital has encouraged Emiratis to bring in their birds for yearly check-ups. I was lucky enough to see the talon clipping and beak shaving for myself - as well as trying my hand at falconry. When these beautiful raptors land on your arm and look with alarming alacrity deep into your eyes, it's a truly magical experience.
It also gives a fascinating insight into the culture of the Emirati people and their proud heritage.
Feathered friend: Jody held a falcon and learned all about their status within the Bedouin p! eople
A visit to the Heritage Village - an open air museum where a traditional oasis village has been reconstructed - is worth it too for another taste of Abu Dhabi culture, as is a wander round the Al Meena port and its date and fish markets. Alternatively, have a poke around the gold souk in town or a stroll along the city's focal point, the bustling seafront Corniche promenade - to soak up the atmosphere.
I was staying at the Fairmont Al Babr, a sumptuous five-star beachside hotel with an immense swimming pool and fine dining courtesy of two Marco Pierre White restaurants. It is ideally placed near Yas Island for all those petrol-heads hoping to visit the Formula One track and Ferrari World (an entire indoor theme park devoted to the supercars).
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However, I was much more impressed by its breathtaking views of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest in the UAE and one of the biggest in the world.
It is certainly one of the most sumptuously decorated. With room for 40,000 worshippers - and consequently the world's largest hand-woven carpet - the mosque was commissioned by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of Abu Dhabi and first president of the UAE. After his death seven years ago he was buried in a mausoleum in the grounds, where verses from the K! oran are read to him 24 hours a day.
Even if dressed modestly, ladies have to don a black floor length abaya, but that is all the better for covering bulging tummies after that delicious Arabic lunch...
I was also lucky enough to be there for the call to prayer, which is one of the most haunting I've ever heard, and took me back to all those years ago and my first trip to Abu Dhabi.
Seeing as we're getting a bit spiritual, Abu Dhabi roughly translates as 'land of the gazelle', an example of the wildlife link that the emirate is so keen to capitalise on. And if it's wildlife you're after, make sure you head to Sir Bani Yas Island wildlife reserve.
Desert sculpture: The Al Jahili fort was built to protect the surrounding oases
A two-hour drive from the city, the journey takes you past a bridge designed by Zaha Hadid, one of the most delicious recent additions to the city's landscape.
It's then a 20-minute skip across the water in a catamaran to this vast animal haven - set up initially, like much in Abu Dhabi, by the nation's beloved late leader Sheik Zayed.
Initially his own private reserve to breed endangered indigenous species like the Arabian oryx, it's now open to the public with a beautiful spa hotel at its heart.
As well as the largest herd of oryx in the world, there's a host of different other animals such as hyrax, desert hares and sand gazelles, all left to roam fee on this ruggedly beautiful and surprisingly lush 87 sq km island. There is even a collection of African beasts such as giraffes in a separate vast enclosure and a 4x4 safari past the flamingo-stalked mangroves is a wonderful experience.
Even more fascinating however is a tour of the island's archaeological dig, where a team of passionate British e! xpats is uncovering the ruins of a monastery built in the sixth century - the only pre-Islamic Christian site in the UAE.
The remains, which include a church, chapel and tower, are still being unearthed, along with other fascinating treasures that take you back to a time before the skyscrapers and black gold, when pearl fishing was the only industry round these parts.
Venture on another two-hour drive across the desert, southeast of Abu Dhabi city, towards the border with Oman, and you'll get another sense of the history ingrained in this sandy emirate.
Al-Ain is a bustling 3,000-year-old city, the second largest in Abu Dhabi, which was founded on seven oases. You can still walk around one of them, although it is pretty much just a palm plantation with miles of irrigation channels and thousands of trees.
But it's a pleasant enough place for a peaceful walk among the groves - and if you're lucky, a friendly local will shin up a trunk with the aid of just a strap and the soles of his feet to show you how they did it in the old days - even though he's got a ladder handy.
Wildlife wonders: Gazelles are just some of the animals you can see at the Sir Bani Yas Island Nature Reserve
The Al-Ain Jahili Fort though is far more impressive. Built in the 19th century to protect the oases and the surrounding city - where the busy (and somewhat pungent) camel market is worth a look - it's a handsome building. Practically a sculpture made of earth, it houses a terrific free exhibition, Mubarak bin London: Wilfried Thesiger And The Freedom Of The Desert.
A selection of photographs is on display, taken by British researcher and explorer Thesiger, who, in the 1940s, crossed the Arabian peninsula with Bedouins, documenting what he saw with a trusty Leica. It's so evocative of the ! past you can virtually taste the dust of the so called Empty Quarter, the vast desert on the edge of which Al Ain is perched.
Another freebie that is worth a look is the Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum, the beautiful childhood home of Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayan, built in 1937, which includes an art gallery featuring portraits of the Zayed dynasty.
After all that indoor history, it was good to get out into the desert and the reality of Abu Dhabi again, that land that my father fell in love with all those years ago.
And what better way to enjoy the outdoors than with a trip up the 4,500ft high Jebel Hafeet mountain - thankfully in a minibus - a towering moonscape of rock which, despite its barren appearance, is the source of numerous hot springs which feed the oases in Al Ain.
Rather conveniently, there's a hotel at the top too for some much-needed refreshment after seven miles of hair-raising hairpin turns on what has been named one of the greatest driving roads in the world.
As I gazed from the mountain's peak across the never-ending sands of this land that my father had come to love so much, I felt like he was stood there with me, smiling at those hazy dunes blending into the impossible blue of the sky. No matter how much development takes place in Abu Dhabi, some things in the heart of the desert never change.
Travel Facts
Air France operates daily flights from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi via Paris Charles de Gaulle and fares start from 348 return including all taxes. Visit www.airfrance.co.uk for details or call 0871 663 3777.
The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital offers tours from Sunday to Thursday at 10.00am and 2.00pm, all tours must be booked in advance.
For more details on Sir Bani Yas Island, visit http://desertislands.anantara.com
For more information on Abu Dhabi, see www.visitabudhabi.ae
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