The Founder's Memorial ( ar, صرح زايد المؤسس), a monument and visitor centre in
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a memorial to
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 ...
, the first President of the United Arab Emirates, who died in 2004. Zayed was the driving force behind the formation of the United Arab Emirates, becoming the Union's first
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
( ar, رَئِـيـس, Ra’īs), a post which he held for a period of almost 33 years (from 2 December 1971 until his death in 2004).
Zayed was appointed the governor of the
Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi in 1946,
and was based in the
Muwaiji Fort in
Al Ain
Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...
. He became Ruler of Abu Dhabi on 6 August 1966, following the announcement by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
government that it intended to abrogate its treaties with them and to withdraw from the area. In a seminal meeting on 18 February 1968 at a desert highland on the border between
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
and Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed and
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president ...
of Dubai shook hands on the principle of founding a Federation and attempting to invite other trucial rulers to join in order that a viable nation be formed in the wake of the British withdrawal.
Zayed's tireless determination to cement the foundation of the Federation that he saw as critical to the survival of the
Trucial States
The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...
as a viable political entity bore fruit when, on 2 December 1971, the UAE was founded. Zayed is often referred to as the Father of the Nation.
Memorial
The memorial consists of an open Heritage Garden and Sanctuary Garden at the centre of which is a cubic pavilion housing ''The Constellation'', an artwork dedicated to Zayed's memory. There is a visitor centre, which includes an interpretive film of Zayed and his life.
Heritage Garden
The Heritage Garden is planted with
Ghaf
''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Saud ...
trees, the national tree of the United Arab Emirates, as well as
sidr,
acacias
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
and
date palms
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle Eas ...
. A range of desert plants and shrubs planted in the Sanctuary Garden reflect Zayed's long connection with the desert, including
desert cotton,
henna
Henna is a dye prepared from the plant ''Lawsonia inermis'', also known as the henna tree, the mignonette tree, and the Egyptian privet, the sole species of the genus ''Lawsonia''.
''Henna'' can also refer to the temporary body art resulting fr ...
, ''
Caralluma
''Caralluma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, consisting of about 120 species.
In 1795 William Roxburgh published the name '' Stapelia adscendens'' for a plant found in India. He commented that the name for the plant ...
'',
harmal
''Peganum harmala'', commonly called wild rue, Syrian rue, African rue, esfand or espand,Mahmoud OmidsalaEsfand: a common weed found in Persia, Central Asia, and the adjacent areasEncyclopedia Iranica Vol. VIII, Fasc. 6, pp. 583–584. Originall ...
and
sewak, a plant long used by desert people as a toothbrush.
The Garden also features a water feature representing a ''
falaj
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
'' (water channel), through which water flows constantly.
''The Constellation''
At the centre of the Sanctuary Garden is ''The Constellation'', a collection of 1,327 geometric shapes suspended on 1,110 cables, which combine to form a three dimensional portrait of Zayed. Designed by artist
Ralph Helmick
Ralph Helmick (born 1952) is an American sculptor and public artist.
Early life and education
Helmick was born in Pittsburgh, PA, the middle of three sons of an electrical engineer and a homemaker. While in elementary school he partook in the ...
, and fabricated and installed by UK based company Stage One Creative Services, ''The Constellations suspended shapes consist of five different types of regular, convex polyhedrons known as '
platonic solids
In geometry, a Platonic solid is a convex, regular polyhedron in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Being a regular polyhedron means that the faces are congruent (identical in shape and size) regular polygons (all angles congruent and all edges c ...
'. ''The Constellation'' is lit at night. The whole structure is surrounded by an elevated walkway.
Visitor centre
The visitor centre is open daily from 9:00am to 10:00pm and includes an interpretive film of Zayed's life as well as multimedia presentations. Tour guides are available, offering free tours of the site and information about Zayed and his life.
See also
*
Qasr Al Watan
Qaṣr Al-Waṭan ( ar, قَصْر ٱلْوَطَن, lit=Palace of the Nation) is the presidential palace of the United Arab Emirates, located in Abu Dhabi.
History
Construction of the palace was completed in 2017.
To celebrate the heritage ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Founder's Memorial, The
Buildings and structures in Abu Dhabi
Tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi
Buildings and structures completed in 2018