Peace be upon you [in Arabic]
from the United Arab Emirates.
This is one of the richest countries in the world,
also with two of the wealthiest cities in the world:
Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
We're starting the trip in Abu Dhabi,
famous for one of the most beautiful and largest buildings on Earth.
Wow.
As the name suggests,
the UAE is formed by several Emirates,
seven in total.
What's the most important Emirate?
I'd say the capital and the richest.
- They all are. They all are important.
That's a political answer. Good one.
- They all are important - Then, okay, what's the capital?
- Abu Dhabi. - Yes.
A lot of people think it's Dubai.
But, no, Dubai is the neighbor, it's a different emirate.
It's the most famous, but this is the capital,
and also it's the richest one.
- Dubai? - No, Abu Dhabi.
- Abu Dhabi? - Abu Dhabi is the richest emirate.
- Okay, just making sure. - [laughs]
And we quickly learned that the city also deserves a visit.
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The Emirate of Abu Dhabi occupies 87% of UAE's total area
while the city of Abu Dhabi
is located almost on the geographical Central Coast of the country.
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As we were in Qatar for the World Cup,
we figured it would be nice to see a little bit more
of this part of the world.
And why not, right? It is so close.
It's an hour-long flight, extremely easy to get here.
We came directly to Abu Dhabi because, guess what?
Prices are cheaper.
It's easier and more affordable to put Abu Dhabi
in between Doha and Dubai.
And from here to Dubai, it's easy to go by bus.
That's what we're gonna do later.
In this video, we're going to discover how Abu Dhabi was born,
and what it looks like today.
The very first construction over here.
You know what? We made a mistake planning this trip.
- You made a mistake.
- [laughs] No.
- Okay, what was the mistake then?
- I didn't make it, so I don't know.
- Okay, we should have planned at least five days to a week
in each city. - Why?
Because there's a lot to see, you know, a lot to see,
both in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
We already know that we cannot cover everything
because we have five days in total for both.
- Yeah. - Right?
At least it's a good excuse to come back. - Yeah.
We're staying close to the Corniche.
So for this trip, we'll mainly explore this area...
I see people in bikinis here.
...with one important exception.
So beautiful.
Get ready to spend a day with us in Abu Dhabi,
a modern city with 1.5 million people,
surrounded by desert.
We are now at the most famous waterfront in Abu Dhabi,
it's called, just like in Doha, the Corniche,
and it is huge.
You know, it's a huge park with beaches over here,
8 kilometers long.
The famous area is actually down there in the south.
We're going to save that for a future video.
But right now, I just wanted to come here to take a look at the beach.
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Very interesting, public beach, right?
No need to pay.
And it doesn't look like there's a dress code over here.
- Oh, yeah, you have to put something on.
- Well, something on, but not a strict Islamic dress code.
I see people in bikinis here.
- Yeah, not quite a Brazil bikini, but yes.
We're here during winter and the temperature is very nice.
You could comfortably go to the beach and enjoy the beach, right?
But during summer, I believe that this water
will be amazing.
- It'll be hot. - [laughs]
It will be 100 degrees scorching hot, that water.
- Still, let's go check it out. Let's go see if it's hot.
Wow, this is so cool.
Look at this, how thoughtful.
Special access for seniors, baby strollers, wheelchairs,...
The walkway goes all the way to the water.
Look at this. I love it, so thoughtful.
We can comfortably walk here with shoes
without worrying about getting sand everywhere.
You could go for a boat ride over here,
kayak.
Look at the prices.
And the water is so inviting as well.
Look at this.
This beautiful greenish, bluish, very clear.
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It is so perfect.
It's warm. Oh, my God.
We should have planned a beach day here.
A lot of the Corniche here is man-made.
I thought it was just because they wanted to expand this area,
but actually, not really.
Reading over there, I just discovered
that there are a lot of sea turtles over here.
And even this island here, there are man-made islands here,
they were built exactly to preserve the turtles.
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See? Just like in Japan, no cars...
But because the light is red, everybody waits, huh?
- I wouldn't, I'm a New Yorker.
I would cross.
- Okay, now that it's green, let's go.
And another thing I noticed, whenever there are no lights,
drivers are very respectful of pedestrians here.
If they see that you're waiting to cross, they stop.
It doesn't matter how important the road is.
Look at this, he just stopped for me.
So many mosques all over.
And to go in, men leave their sandals outside.
And it's right in the middle of the street.
Look at this, busy street, and it's totally safe.
Nobody takes anything.
- Okay, Renata. Here's your first test of the day.
What are those two items?
- I'd say religious objects.
- [laughs]
- No prize for you.
- Okay, so what are they?
Look closely at the left one.
I'm thinking that's a teapot.
Number two on the right, I think it's a perfume bottle.
- Ah, it looks like, yeah.
- Why doesn't the audience tell us who is right,
Renata or Gordon?
Okay, Renata, number two, what are those?
- I still think they are religious objects.
- The one on the left, I think is an incense burner.
The one on the right, I don't know.
- Makes sense, but an incense burner could also be a religious object.
After a 15- to 20-minute walk from the beach,
we arrived at this beautiful square.
Look at this, how nice.
There's a mosque over there, cultural center,
and there is a historic fort.
That's what we'll try to visit.
Most forts and fortresses around the world
are built by the water to protect the land from foreign invasion.
As we'll soon learn, this fort instead was built
to protect their most precious resource.
We're about to visit Qasr Al-Hosn.
Not sure this is how you pronounce it,
but this is a very important historical landmark.
It was the first stone building in the city of Abu Dhabi.
Hello, is it possible to visit?
- Yeah. - How do I properly pronounce
the name of the place here?
- Qasr Al-Hosn
Qasr means palace or castle. - Palace.
- Ah, okay.
That watchtower was the very first construction over here.
It's from 1761.
And it was built exactly to protect this area here of Abu Dhabi.
They had fresh water here.
And then the fortress was built around it.
Wow, the original gates of the fortress.
There's a legend that the people were guided by a gazelle
to this place here where they could find water.
And look at that, "father of the gazelle."
That's the meaning of this expression, Abu Dhabi.
- I told you, I'm right.
- Oh, yeah.
- A cup with a teapot.
- Yeah.
Wow, look at their map from 1559.
- Right here.
- Where we are? - Yeah.
- Do they have the Americas on the map?
- Yeah, they did, look at that.
There's a small museum here inside,
and it's very nice for you to understand how Abu Dhabi was born.
This area has been inhabited for thousands of years,
but the city of Abu Dhabi, as you know it today,
was officially founded in 1793.
So when this place here became a fort
by the end of the 18th century,
it became also the permanent house of the ruler, the sheikh at the time.
This was the room of the mother of four
of Abu Dhabi sheikhs.
She is considered one of the most influential women
in Abu Dhabi's history.
- Look at who had teapots?
Wow, how interesting.
Look at how this used to be.
look at it now.
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Again, just stopped for me to cross.
And this in main boulevards, where they could simply
just keep driving.
It's very nice.
Do you see that? - A camel.
That's a camel. Yeah. [laughs]
- Never seen a camel before?
- I've never seen a sign saying 'camel' before.
[laughs] - Yeah.
There's a falcon, and there's an oryx.
- They're animals of the desert. There you go.
- World Trade Center.
And what's that? - A mall.
- Ah, you're so smart. - And a souq
No, I'm just guessing. Do you think I'm right?
- Yes, you are.
- Is it the day that I'm gonna be right? - [laughs] Yeah.
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This is a little different. I think I'll go with this.
- Good prices for a sushi.
Wow, look at their infused water here.
Look at this, how beautiful. It's so cool, huh?
We just came to the grocery store to buy water,
and we left with all this food.
Everything looks so good and so inexpensive.
I got this manakish.
It's a dish that I tried in Qatar.
I loved it, so I'm gonna try it here again.
Mmm, cheese manakish.
It's so good. It's like a pizza.
But the cheese is different, it tastes a little different.
Still delicious.
Good? Happy?
- Look. - Yeah.
Oh, it reminds me of Rio.
Now we're going to visit probably the most famous place
here in Abu Dhabi,
the one that you must go when you come to the city.
- Where are you?
- Abu Dhabi.
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Oh, my goodness. It's almost like a mirage.
- Thank you. - Welcome, sir.
Bye-bye. Thank you. - Bye.
- Wow, this is one of the largest mosques in the world.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
It is amazing.
We came here by Uber because there is no metro,
so we wouldn't know how convenient it would be to come here by bus.
It was like US$ 14.
It's kind of far, actually, from the city center.
- But entrance is free.
- And entrance is free, yeah, it compensates.
- Take the Uber, take the taxi.
Spend your time enjoying the mosque.
- Now here is something interesting when you get here.
You think you need to walk towards the mosque to get in,
no, no, no, it's the other way around.
[laughs]
That's the entrance.
If you don't register your visit in advance,
this is where you come.
You can just walk in, and it works, right?
- With passport [in Portuguese]
Got it?
- Oh, wow. It's a whole mall down here.
I thought it was just a tunnel.
This is the dress code here, and you need to come ready.
If you don't come ready,
you have to buy some traditional clothes
here at the shops.
Price is starting at AED 45 for women's clothing,
and AED 50 for men's clothing.
Yeah, men pay more here.
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Oh, wow.
They had construction workers from all over the world.
This mosque was the vision of the founding father of the UAE.
He wanted to create a welcoming place
for all cultures and all backgrounds.
Wow, wow, wow!
I was just seeing the outdoor facade.
As you come in, there's this beautiful and open patio.
One of the largest and most beautiful mosques in the world.
Here it explains that 31,000 people can fit here inside.
And the ground is decorated with flowers from the Middle East.
This is believed to be the largest marble mosaic in the world.
You cannot walk that way, so it's closed here.
And from here, you just admire.
That main dome over there,
it's all decorated with verses from the Quran.
1,096 columns here in the entire mosque.
Look at this clock, how amazing.
Six petals, and they indicate the prayer times during the day.
This is the main prayer hall.
This is the world's largest carpet.
More than 1,200 artisans hand-knotted this carpet,
and it took them two years.
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It's interesting that they kind of guide you,
you see "photos stop" over here.
But actually, you can take pictures everywhere
they were not very rigid.
I don't know if it's prettier during the day or at night.
So beautiful.
I am so happy we came to the mosque for the sunset
because you got two different images,
and extremely beautiful: day and night,
and there is a lot to see.
We went for a walk during the day,
and then another walk at night.
It was amazing.
A lot to see inside, out, and so many spots to take pictures.
Now come dressed accordingly
because I was used to Southeast Asia,
where you can just borrow traditional clothes,
but not here. [laughs]
Here if you don't have, you got to buy.
Actually, I heard that it used to be like this before,
but with the pandemic, got to bring your own.
So now that we're at a mall, what's the plan?
- Oh, you need to eat, so we got to feed you.
- Okay, you're telling me you're not hungry.
- I could eat. But since you dragged me here, I'll get something.
- Oh.
- Oh, from Brazil! That's amazing.
- Yeah. - I'm from Cameroon.
I don't know if you watched my last match with Brazil
- Yes, you won.
You won. That was a good match.
Thank you so much.
What did we get here?
- A shawarma, didn't we?
Some vegetables, some fries.
- Middle Eastern food.
- And a little zest.
- Mmm, peanut.
- Peanut? Wow! - Peanut sauce.
Oh, my God, how big is that?
- Mmm. As big as it should be, baby.
It's delicious.
Wow, wow.
We got one plate here to share.
Look at how many pieces, look at all this.
It's a lot for two people, actually, right?
- Mm-hmm.
- The price was AED 64.
- Including two drinks. - Including two drinks, yeah.
Close to the mosque,
there's a memorial to UAE's National Heroes,
where you have this amazing view.
It was from there that Gordon shot this fantastic sequence
from the beginning of the video.
And at night, it's also worth it going for a stroll in the area
close to the World Trade Center.
Everything is lit and it gets so beautiful.