0:00:01 > 0:00:04Coming up at six o'clock, it's Breakfast with Charlie Stayt
0:00:04 > 0:00:05and Steph McGovern.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07But first on BBC News, The Travel Show.
0:00:14 > 0:00:22Is fill in but I had always reckoned the oil-rich Abu Dhabi, the hear me
0:00:22 > 0:00:26leave, it was never that interested in attracting tourists is, unlike
0:00:26 > 0:00:31its flashy neighbour Dubai, for example. But on this trip, I think I
0:00:31 > 0:00:37might have to revise that opinion. Because Abu Dhabi seems to be upping
0:00:37 > 0:00:45its game, especially in the cultural stakes. On my journey, I am going to
0:00:45 > 0:00:48experience world-renowned architecture like the new Louvre
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Museum, and find out how traditional local musical instruments are being
0:00:51 > 0:01:00revived. But I will also be exploring both urban and desert
0:01:00 > 0:01:04landscapes to get a sense of how this emirate is making the most of
0:01:04 > 0:01:05its unique environment.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17Abu Dhabi is entering a new phase in its breakneck speed development. Is
0:01:17 > 0:01:22it really going to reach the heights as must see tourist destination in
0:01:22 > 0:01:25its own right?
0:01:35 > 0:01:39It is hard to believe Abu Dhabi was just a fishing village only a few
0:01:39 > 0:01:46decades ago. In 1971, the United Arab Emirates became a nation and
0:01:46 > 0:01:53its dominant stakeholder has always been Abu Dhabi, led by a family,
0:01:53 > 0:02:01thanks largely to huge oil revenues. And when it opened in 2007, this
0:02:01 > 0:02:05impressive white marble edifice became a spiritual landmark.
0:02:15 > 0:02:23Abu Dhabi's grand Mosque, brands in ambition, grand in scale, and grand
0:02:23 > 0:02:30in design. And when it was finished a decade ago, it became this
0:02:30 > 0:02:38emirate's calling card to the rest of the world. -- brand in ambition
0:02:38 > 0:02:46-- brand. Now, when they made this Mosque, they were making a
0:02:46 > 0:02:52statement, Wednesday, about Abu Dhabi?Absolutely.What were they
0:02:52 > 0:02:55trying to say?I think when people think about the United Arab Emirates
0:02:55 > 0:02:59and the Middle East, the first city that comes to your mind is
0:02:59 > 0:03:02definitely Dubai. I think after we built this Mosque and it was the
0:03:02 > 0:03:06vision of his late Highness, he knew that this was going to be the icon
0:03:06 > 0:03:11that would ring people to Abu Dhabi and ensure the true message of the
0:03:11 > 0:03:20Middle East.10,000 visitors come here every day. Inside, up to 40,000
0:03:20 > 0:03:25worshippers can be accommodated on key days in the Islamic calendar.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Just look at the details of every single part of the Mosque. It is
0:03:29 > 0:03:34absolutely beautiful. The carpet is from Iran. You have the chandeliers
0:03:34 > 0:03:39upper Baa-Baas.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40-- up above us.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49In fact, this is the largest handknotted carpet in the world and
0:03:49 > 0:03:57this cold chandelier is one of the biggest in the world. Islam is
0:03:57 > 0:04:01regarded here as a living, breathing faith, with verses from the Koran
0:04:01 > 0:04:06the inspiration for the design and architecture here. What I wanted to
0:04:06 > 0:04:10know from Imam is the grand vision in Abu Dhabi really includes
0:04:10 > 0:04:14everyone who lives here, like the expat community and the migrants are
0:04:14 > 0:04:20working relatively low paid jobs. After all, them at his own in the
0:04:20 > 0:04:24minority here.Just look around you, you find a lot of people from all
0:04:24 > 0:04:27over the world in all different backgrounds who come here and make
0:04:27 > 0:04:31this place home. The US always sell the American dream, there is the
0:04:31 > 0:04:36Emma Rossi dream. Believe it or not, the Emma Rossi dream is definitely
0:04:36 > 0:04:40leaving a great quality standard of life and, of course, living amongst
0:04:40 > 0:04:51people from all over the world. This is definitely the Emma Arty dream.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55-- Emirati dream.
0:04:55 > 0:05:03There have been other large-scale construction projects, on Saadiyat
0:05:03 > 0:05:09Island, art galleries and museums, including quite possibly the most
0:05:09 > 0:05:13prestigious art brand in the world, which has just opened its doors. For
0:05:13 > 0:05:21a decade now, the grand Mosque has been Abu Dhabi's most popular
0:05:21 > 0:05:26tourist location, and till this astonishing creation came along. --
0:05:26 > 0:05:35until. The Louvre Abu Dhabi houses artefacts on loan from Paris, and
0:05:35 > 0:05:41others bought and permanent. From ancient pieces to African
0:05:41 > 0:05:46sculptures, facing European masterpieces from every era. While
0:05:46 > 0:06:05contemporary Arabic at shares space with Chinese culture. -- -- art.It
0:06:05 > 0:06:10is the universal museum, it is museum that takes you through
0:06:10 > 0:06:14different cultures and similar stations in contact with each other.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18To me, walking to the gallery is walking to time and seeing what is
0:06:18 > 0:06:23happening in different cultures at the same moment.There is a Medina
0:06:23 > 0:06:27or Arabic Village feel to the layout and as for the architecture here,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31well, it is all about geometry and light.
0:06:33 > 0:06:40It is a dime, symbolising Islamic architecture, but as you can see,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44there are eight layers up there that allows the light to filter through
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and come down as you can see it, with what the architect calls the
0:06:48 > 0:06:49reign of light.
0:06:53 > 0:06:59So, this whole display of the Museum is in a way representing who we are,
0:06:59 > 0:07:03because we have always been in the middle of this region. The golf
0:07:03 > 0:07:07resort has been a connection of trade in different civilisations, so
0:07:07 > 0:07:11going through this narrative allows you to capture the essence of who we
0:07:11 > 0:07:19are, the essence of who the UAE is today.And the museum is yet to
0:07:19 > 0:07:23reveal its most publicised exhibit, a 500-year-old painting of Christ
0:07:23 > 0:07:27which recently achieved the highest auction price for any work of art,
0:07:27 > 0:07:35by the very same artist who created this, Leonardo da Vinci.So
0:07:35 > 0:07:39basically, the chances are that the world's most expensive painting is
0:07:39 > 0:07:47going to be in this room, possibly in this very spot.At 400 million...
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Exactly who bought the painting for nearly half $1 billion has been
0:07:51 > 0:07:58shrouded in some mystery. Reports claimed it was a Saudi billionaire
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Prince, the Louvre people tell me it was the Abu Dhabi government. Either
0:08:01 > 0:08:06way, it will be on display very soon. Watch this space, literally.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Playing the cultural card here is not just about splashing cash on
0:08:15 > 0:08:17famous international brands and collections, there are indigenous
0:08:17 > 0:08:25art forms that are being revived, like traditional Arabic instruments.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29In this academy, 60 students of all ages are learning how to play this
0:08:29 > 0:08:37instrument. The ood. It is related to the European route and has
0:08:37 > 0:08:42origins as far back as the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. What is really
0:08:42 > 0:08:46great about this place is that you do not just learn how to play the
0:08:46 > 0:08:52ood, it can watch one being made. This is how the whole process
0:08:52 > 0:08:53begins.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04The craftsman he assessed by working eight hours a day for a month he can
0:09:04 > 0:09:08make two of these instruments. This is partisanship of the highest
0:09:08 > 0:09:14order.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17-- artisanship.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22Thank you so much. It has been a privilege to watch you at work,
0:09:22 > 0:09:27thank you. So, fresh from the workshop. Now, let's see if we can
0:09:27 > 0:09:33make any music from it. I'm not going to find out more about the ood
0:09:33 > 0:09:38from just anybody but actually, quite possibly the most famous
0:09:38 > 0:09:40female ood player in the world.
0:09:48 > 0:09:57What is unique about it?The uniqueness, it has at the back, not
0:09:57 > 0:10:02flat like a guitar. This gives a deep as in the sound and also, we do
0:10:02 > 0:10:06not have great, so that gives richness.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10-- frets.
0:10:10 > 0:10:16Particularly in Abu Dhabi, I think the ood is very important,
0:10:16 > 0:10:21particularly for older people because in every home, you can find
0:10:21 > 0:10:27a ood.Maybe they are playing it for fun, not for a professionally, but
0:10:27 > 0:10:29they like ood here.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38OK, time for me to get a lesson from the expert. His double strings are a
0:10:38 > 0:10:47bit tricky for a starter. That is relatively easy.That is very good
0:10:47 > 0:10:56for the first time.Can you play chords with this?Yes, sure. This is
0:10:56 > 0:11:00C, E, G.
0:11:03 > 0:11:13Yes. And sometimes, we are using it that technique.
0:11:13 > 0:11:14-- guitar.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47I just jammed with...That is very good for a first time. It was very
0:11:47 > 0:11:53good.I was lucky, I was just playing one chord. That is amazing,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55thank you.Thank you very much.
0:12:01 > 0:12:07Of course, culture is not only about finite and classical music. Now, Abu
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Dhabi is staking its claim as the capital of sports in the golf, and
0:12:11 > 0:12:15not just by owning the elite football brand, Manchester City, or
0:12:15 > 0:12:22by hosting Formula 1 races. Because women like this are breaking new
0:12:22 > 0:12:34cultural grounds by turning iconic urban landmarks into concrete gyms.
0:12:34 > 0:12:49Amal is the first woman to compete and coach in park parkour.
0:12:52 > 0:12:56There are so many things that you are actually doing, you are just
0:12:56 > 0:13:03doing outdoors in a different way. You find a space and you start
0:13:03 > 0:13:08trying to put things on that space that you have.When was the
0:13:08 > 0:13:14epiphany, when you thought actually, I can do this?Since I was a child,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17I was always the rebel in the neighbourhood, I was the one running
0:13:17 > 0:13:22around and... The way that we were brought up was literally barefoot on
0:13:22 > 0:13:27concrete. Girls play with boys and we used to beat the boys, like the
0:13:27 > 0:13:35girls were the stronger ones, you know? I feel like we have created
0:13:35 > 0:13:37these barriers for ourselves. Especially when I first started park
0:13:37 > 0:13:45or, I thought society wouldn't accept me and I was so afraid and I
0:13:45 > 0:13:51felt I was afraid of it -- parkour. But when I started doing the sport I
0:13:51 > 0:13:55had so much support and it surprised me because that is contradictory to
0:13:55 > 0:13:59what people might have thought about a society, especially in the Middle
0:13:59 > 0:14:11East and it being an Arabic country. She has created such a stir, that
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Nike Peter Robinson on the ship and commercials.Of course not everyone
0:14:15 > 0:14:19is going to like what I'm doing but I feel at if you are genuine, like
0:14:19 > 0:14:23for me sport has shaped me since childhood, that the super important
0:14:23 > 0:14:27and the message I want to give.
0:14:33 > 0:14:39From the restricted subways of an urban jungle, my journey takes me to
0:14:39 > 0:14:47the seemingly limitless desert, Abu Dhabi's defining feature.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Little wonder it was one of the locations for the most recent Star
0:14:56 > 0:15:07Wars movie. 3.5 hours south-west of the big city is the vast expanse of
0:15:07 > 0:15:15desert. It is the UAE's driest region. It is remote but beautiful.
0:15:15 > 0:15:22It is a world apart from the big city. At this annual sports
0:15:22 > 0:15:33festival, there are camel and horse races. But basically this is party
0:15:33 > 0:15:36time for petrol heads, attracting tens of thousands from all over the
0:15:36 > 0:15:47Gulf region.When you just enter this area, it's like the feeling of
0:15:47 > 0:15:56excitement. The adrenaline? Yeah. And truth be told it's very much a
0:15:56 > 0:16:03male domain. Supposedly respectable grown-ups and boys bring their
0:16:03 > 0:16:09buggies for a romp on the dudes and you don't get much bigger than this.
0:16:12 > 0:16:19300 metres high at an incline of 50 degrees. It's crazy here! It's
0:16:19 > 0:16:28madness! Almost panicky. All of this race is getting it out of their
0:16:28 > 0:16:33system! But I'm going to meet at Guy now who's a bit of a seasoned
0:16:33 > 0:16:41campaigner here. Muhamed, hi. Can you show me some skills? By date,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Muhamed is the director of his own business, while also studying for a
0:16:45 > 0:16:51Ph.D.. But this is his real passion. I think I was born with this thing
0:16:51 > 0:16:56in my blood. So I remember when they used to wake me up for school, when
0:16:56 > 0:17:01we were kids, like, I want to sleep little more and they would say,
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Mohamed, here are the keys. Go and start your brother's car and I would
0:17:06 > 0:17:14just jumped out of bed, just for that, you know?So tell me, how long
0:17:14 > 0:17:19have you been coming to this festival for?I recall I came the
0:17:19 > 0:17:27first time here in 2006. It has been going so fast. Initially I recall we
0:17:27 > 0:17:31used to come and find only a few things. Right now it is like a
0:17:31 > 0:17:41complete festival.Can you show me a few other that you do?I can.Wow!
0:17:41 > 0:17:52Fantastic.This car is like as it came from the factory. So from a
0:17:52 > 0:17:57factory it has around 250 horsepower. It will not be enough to
0:17:57 > 0:17:59take us to the top.Yeah.
0:18:04 > 0:18:13But I refuse to give up. You know what? I spend looking at one of the
0:18:13 > 0:18:18world's highest and steepest sand dunes for a while now. I really want
0:18:18 > 0:18:26to reach the top and, luckily, I've got myself belief to. -- a lift.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Whoa!
0:18:31 > 0:18:42Whoo! We are getting to the top.
0:18:50 > 0:18:56Meanwhile, it turns out, my man Mohamed who took me for a spin
0:18:56 > 0:18:59earlier isn't just an average punter here. He is a serious competitor in
0:18:59 > 0:19:08the nightly races between teens. This is one of the world famous car
0:19:08 > 0:19:15races. Around 30- 40 cars per day at the event. So imagining two days you
0:19:15 > 0:19:23have around 50,000 competing.And he is back after a lengthy gap, when a
0:19:23 > 0:19:28mechanical failure put him in serious peril.I had a smooth race,
0:19:28 > 0:19:33to be honest, until the top and all of a sudden the car stopped. On the
0:19:33 > 0:19:37way back, I lost the brakes. Seriously.Actually they didn't
0:19:37 > 0:19:47work. They didn't work! Mohamed wasn't injured, but it has been
0:19:47 > 0:19:54three years since that incident. Maybe before that time I was almost
0:19:54 > 0:20:01easy on safety measures and now... Now you are different man? Yeah.The
0:20:01 > 0:20:08engines alone in some of these cars cost up to $80,000 each and royal
0:20:08 > 0:20:12families and famous names sponsors invest in the teams. Mohamed's team
0:20:12 > 0:20:18has been working for six months on this machine alone.This is
0:20:18 > 0:20:27custom-made and obviously all of the materials that we have the prepare a
0:20:27 > 0:20:37car for, 1000 plus horsepower.It may be a different kind of
0:20:37 > 0:20:41horsepower, but there's something timeless about the prerace rituals.
0:20:41 > 0:20:47Gladiators coming out to test their nerves and keep their vehicles.
0:20:47 > 0:20:58Spluttering like boxes of firecrackers against each other.
0:20:58 > 0:21:07What the hell? It's like a crazy box of fireworks, storming up the hill.
0:21:07 > 0:21:14They don't care if the whole car blows up, as long as they get to the
0:21:14 > 0:21:25top. Now it is Mohamed's big moment. The car didn't make the distance and
0:21:25 > 0:21:29engine problems mean it is now a write-off and not able to do its
0:21:29 > 0:21:32second trial. But Mohamed didn't seem too downhearted.I'm super
0:21:32 > 0:21:45excited. Seriously, under that dune, you just aim for the top and that's
0:21:45 > 0:21:50it. You forget about your fears, those butterflies in your stomach,
0:21:50 > 0:21:55nothing, seriously.Fantastic. Well done.Take care.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04A glorious fireworks display to match the fitting and popping of the
0:22:04 > 0:22:07souped up cars. 20 years ago this extravaganza would have been
0:22:07 > 0:22:13unimaginable here. But these emirates still has quite a climb to
0:22:13 > 0:22:25sell itself as a tourist destination with its power they'll -- power
0:22:25 > 0:22:29neighbour Dubai. It is attracted to people who want something unique and
0:22:29 > 0:22:33off the beaten path and that's as true of the desert festival as it is
0:22:33 > 0:22:41of the new buildings. The hope is that by taking this route Abu Dhabi
0:22:41 > 0:23:17becomes a must see destination in the Middle East.