Qaṣr Al-Waṭan ( ar, قَصْر ٱلْوَطَن, lit=Palace of the Nation) is the presidential palace of the United Arab Emirates, located 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. ...

History

Construction of the palace was completed in 2017. To celebrate the heritage of the country,

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

s Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( Ruler of Abu Dhabi and

President of the United Arab Emirates The president of the United Arab Emirates, or the Raʾīs ( ar, رَئِيْس), is the head of state of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The president and vice-president are elected every five years by the Federal Supreme Council. Though the p ...

) and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Crown Prince of

and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces) decided to open the palace to the public in 2019. Prior to its opening, the palace was used only for official purposes, Mainly hosting foreign leaders of states, and for meetings of the country's supreme council and federal cabinet. Even after being opened to the public, the palace continues to be used for these purposes. The palace was opened to the public on the 11th of March 2019, in a ceremony hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai). In August, the palace was named by the travel and tourism website of ''Hotel and Rest'' among the top 20 landmarks of art and culture in the World. In 2020, the Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace was nominated for the World Travel Awards as the main cultural tourist attraction in the Middle East.

Interior and exterior

With a façade made of white granite and limestone, the mainly white palace is intricately designed and ornately decorated. It includes a dome with a diameter of , a chandelier with 350,000 pieces of crystal, and a number of compartments. The dome is located on top of the central chamber known as "The Great Hall", which is surrounded by two wings to the east and west.

Eastern wing

The eastern wing has the "House of Knowledge", where a number of artefacts and other objects of importance are stored. Stored objects include gifts presented by visiting officials from other countries, and 2 religious texts in the "House of Knowledge": the Quran (including a replica of the

Birmingham manuscript The Birmingham Quran manuscript is a parchment on which two leaves of an early Quranic manuscript are written. In 2015 the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham, was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE (in the Isl ...

) and the Bible (including the Psalms of David). There is also a library with more than 50,000 books which document the cultural, social and political history of the country.

Western wing

The western wing has halls which are used for official purposes. Here, there is a room known as the "Spirit of Collaboration", where meetings of the UAE Cabinet and Federal Supreme Council would be hosted, besides summits of international bodies like the Organisation of the Islamic Conference,

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

and Gulf Cooperation Council. Elsewhere, banquets for official events, besides diplomatic gifts from other countries, are kept.

References

External links

Inside the Abu Dhabi Presidential Palace
(

Gulf News ''Gulf News'' is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was first launched in 1978, and is currently distributed throughout the UAE and also in other Persian Gulf Countries. Its online edition was launch ...