Deira Clocktower ( ar, دوار الساعة ديرة), originally referred to as the Dubai Clock Tower, is a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/Cumbric: ''Deywr'' or ''Deifr''; ang, Derenrice or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic *''daru' ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

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

(UAE). The

Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

newspaper listed Dubai Clock Tower among the 17 most beautiful clock towers around the world.

Location

Dubai Clock Tower is located at the intersection of Umm Hurair Road and route D 89 (Al Maktoum Road) in the locality of

Al Rigga Al Rigga or Al Riqqa ( ar, الرقة) is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located in the heart of eastern Dubai in Deira, Al Rigga is a residential and commercial centre. Al Rigga is bordered by Rigga Al Buteen, Port Saeed, Al M ...

. Now a prominent monument in Deira, the roundabout provides access to the

Al Maktoum Bridge Al Maktoum Bridge (in Arabic: جسر آل مكتوم; also known in Arabic as جسر المكتوم) is a bridge that crosses Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of six crossings on the creek and was the first bridge/crossing in D ...

, the first land crossing constructed between Deira and

Bur Dubai Bur Dubai (in Arabic: بر دبي) is a historic district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located on the western side of the Dubai Creek. The name literally translates to ''Mainland Dubai'', a reference to the traditional separation of the Bur ...

. The surrounding area is commercially important, and includes the offices of major international airlines operating in UAE. It can be reached by

Dubai Metro The Dubai Metro is a rapid transit rail network in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is currently operated by the French company Keolis. The Red Line and Green Line are operational, with a major 15 km (9.3 mi) extension to the Red L ...

. The nearest metro station is Al-Rigga on the Red Line.

History

The Dubai Clock Tower was built in 1965 and was designed by Otto Bullard and Ziki Homsi, a partner at Architecture Design Construction (ADC) Office. It was erected as a symbol of Dubai and located in Deira because major routes into Dubai converged prior to the building of Dubai–Abu Dhabi Road. Engineer Edgar Bublik, who was General Manager of Overseas AST in Dubai in the 1970s, explains the background of the Dubai Clock Tower: “Shaikh Ahmed of Qatar was Shaikh Rashid’s son-in-law. In the early 1960s Shaikh Ahmed gave Shaikh Rashid a clock as a gift. It was a very large clock. Shaikh Rashid did not know what to do with such a large clock! My predecessor Mr Bulard had just completed building Zabeel Palace for Shaikh Rashid so he made a sketch of his idea for a Clock Tower. Mr Bulard gave the sketch to his engineer to make the structural calculations and produce a design. The shape and design of the Clock Tower was from Mr Bulard’s own ideas and did not represent an Oil Drilling Bit or any other object.”

References

Buildings and structures in Dubai Clock towers in the United Arab Emirates {{Dubai-stub