Al Wathba ( ar, ٱلْوَثْبَة, Al-Wathbah) is a suburb of Abu Dhabi in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

that has a wetland nearby. It is located not too far from the international airport.

History

After Sheikh

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

became the

Ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

of the

Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi (, , or ; ar, إِمَارَةْ أَبُوظَبِي , ) is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is by far the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area o ...

in 1966, he set about further developing the Emirate, spending on healthcare, education and infrastructure. As part of his plan to develop the city of Abu Dhabi, in the 1980s, he invited Sir William Atkins, of the company W.S. Atkins and Partners (Atkins), to plan the development of Abu Dhabi and what would become the satellites of Wathba, Shahama and Bani Yas, where a number of local Bedouins and immigrants from other parts of the Arabian Peninsula had settled under Sheikh Zayed's encouragement.

Wetland reserve

Located between

Bani Yas Bani Yas ( ar, بَنُو ياس) is a tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition which consists of tribes from Dubai to Khawr al Udayd southeast of Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition. The tribe has ...

Mussafah Muṣaffah ( ar, مُصَفَّح) or Musaffah is an industrial district to the southwest of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Also known as ''Muṣaffah Aṣ-Ṣanāʿiyah'' ( ar, مُصّفَّح ٱلصّنَاعِيَة), it is one of the mo ...

, and the Abu Dhabi–Al Ain Road, ''Al Wathba Wetland Reserve'' was established by Sheikh Zayed in 1998, and is home to birds like the

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

, besides aquatic life. The reserve has been designated as a Ramsar site since 2013.

Al Wathba Jail

in the 1990s, Filipino worker Sarah Balabagan was held here on charges of murdering her employer which she claims was an act self-defence. She was intitially sentenced to death but was later pardoned after intervention from Sheikh Zayed. Her sentence was shortened to 1 year and she was later deported back to the Philippines. In 2009, a member of the Abu Dhab Royal Famiiy,

Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, عيسى بن زايد آل نهيان) is the son of former United Arab Emirates President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the half brother of the former President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the half brother of ...

was the subject of a lawsuit brought to him by his employee whom he allegedly imprisoned and tortured in Al Wathba Jail. In 2011, Ahmad Mansoor, who received the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015 was jailed for speech related activity “publishing false information and rumours",

Mansoor Mansour ( ar, منصور, Manṣūr); also spelled Mounsor, Monsur (Bengali), Mansoor, Manser, Mansur, Mansyur (Indonesian) or Mensur (Turkish), is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious", from the Arabic root '' naṣr'' (نصر), m ...

was held in solitary confinement and prohibited access to a lawyer.

Notable people

Hazza Al Mansouri Hazza Al Mansouri ( ar, هَزَّاع ٱلْمَنْصُوْرِي, Hazzāʿ Al-Manṣūrī, surname also spelled "Al Mansoori", full name Hazzaa Ali Abdan Khalfan Al Mansoori () is an Emirati astronaut and the first person from the United Ara ...

, Emirati astronaut

References

External links