UAE | General
Plans afoot to make Abu Dhabi souq permanent
The traditional souq at Al Dhafra Camel Festival will be turned into a permanent market which will stay open throughout the year.
- By Eman Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Deputy Editor
- Published: 23:39 December 26, 2008
- Participants at the ongoing Al Dhafra Camel Festival present their prized possessions during a judging contest.
- Image Credit: Ravindranath/Gulf News
Madinat Zayed, Abu Dhabi: The traditional souq at Al Dhafra Camel Festival will be turned into a permanent market which will stay open throughout the year.
"We are studying the final designs for its location, which will also include hotels," said Salem Al Mazroui, director of operations and logistics at Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.
The festival taking place near the camel race truck in Madinat Zayed will be a permanent location to keep the Bedouin culture alive.
This year it has succeeded in attracting more than 2,000 owners from UAE and GCC countries who brought 24,000 camels to participate in camel beauty contest and the camel auction which continues till January 1, 2009.
During the first event that took place in April, General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, issued instructions to make the area a permanent traditional souq, that will act as a source of tourist attraction throughout the year.
"He instructed that the building be cool and proper to receive people even in hot summer," said Al Mazroui.
The initial plan was changed from just a traditional souq to a mall with a traditional-style building that portraits the simple traditional buildings in the UAE," he added.
Sand dunes
The mall will include brand shops, traditional crafts, supermarket, pharmacy, exchange, children's play ground and food courts to serve more than 200 animal camp owners and other people living around Madinat Zayed. Currently the traditional souk is built of wood and dried palm-tree leaves on top of sand dunes.
Once the plans are approved the construction works will commence, according to Al Mazroui.
Share this article
More from UAE General
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
The best reader pictures from around the emirates this week
Latest news
- Residents raise a stink over garbage collection
- Policewoman charged with stealing Dh12,000
- Discipline those reserving parking slots
- Lifesavers to pit skills during Dubai event
- Media, employers can do more to help disabled
- Support colleagues with arthritis, doctors advise
- Music to get into the patriotic mood
- Saif: December 2 stands out in history
- Well-wishers welcome Haj pilgrims back
- Lebanese singer May Hariri dedicates song to people of the UAE
- Majida El Roumi's concert a big hit
- Top movie stars likely to grace DIFF
- National Day decorations
- Girl dies in fire started by stepbrother
- A road that is best avoided
Community Reports
-
Discipline those reserving parking slots
Some residents in Hor Al Anz are using unauthorised methods to hold parking spaces to ransom even when they have no use for them
-
A road that is best avoided
Thoroughfare connecting capital's Hamdan Street and Electra Street poses safety and health hazards
-
Please don't use two parking spaces
Thoughtless drivers means other motorists are losing out in a city where places to leave cars are often hard to find
-
School buses must do safe drop-offs
Some bus drivers let students off at the wrong side of the road
