abu dhabi Travel Guide
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Etihad Slowly But Surely Getting The Word Out About Abu Dhabi
Dubai, Dubai, Dubai. The Middle Eastern city on everyone's lips these days is still Dubai, despite the economic beating they're currently taking. Nonetheless, inch by inch Abu Dhabi is eeking its way up there, and Etihad Airways is majorly helping the Emirati capital to capture the world's attention.
In the last few years, Etihad has scrambled up to serving 58 destinations, with a goal of 70 worldwide by 2010. Is it a ploy for world domination or what? Our guess is that Etihad just wants to make a profit, since they haven't yet. Here's the next few routes we can expect from this growing Abu Dhabi giant:
Tags: Etihad Airways / Pilots / Women / Airline News / → All Tags
Etihad Now Comes Complete With Women Pilots
From a region of the world not exactly renowned for recognizing women in the work force, Etihad Airways is keen to let the world know that they have just graduated their first local female pilots from their flight training program.
Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi and has only been up and running since 2003—and their pilot cadet training program has only just taken on its 100th trainee, so the female-male ratio is not too tragic, especially since they've got four more local women still in training now.
Tags: Middle East / UAE / Art Museums / Guggenheim / Culture Travel / → All Tags
Abu Dhabi Sneaking Out Of Dubai’s (Big) Shadow
Playing little brother to international city of the moment Dubai would definitely suck, but tourism officials are keen to make the UAE’s second city Abu Dhabi famous for something other than bizarre morphing skyscrapers. Abu Dhabi is proudly striving to become the cultural capital of the Middle East instead.
And while we scoffed a bit at first, on closer investigation it seems like Abu Dhabi does know something about culture. There’s going to be a Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by 2012, and in keeping with the UAE's penchant for world records, it'll be the world's biggest Guggenheim museum.
They've also got a bunch of national cultural buildings in Abu Dhabi like the National Theater and the main national library. Perhaps we’ll soon be able to skip the skyscrapers of Dubai and spend our layover soaking up the museum culture of Abu Dhabi. Pity the shopping will probably never be as good.
Related Stories:
· Oil’s Well in Abu Dhabi [The Age]
· The Incredible Morphing Skyscraper [Jaunted]
[Photo: Ioan Barbulescu]
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Prince Charles and the McDonald's-Free Vacation
We woke up this morning to the news that Prince Charles wants McDonald's banned. Everyone's screaming about it. Such a ban--and this is assuming he was being serious--would be a lost cause in Britain, but perhaps not so much in the United Arab Emirates (where the suggestion was made). If they want McDonald's out and McDonald's puts up a fight, the UAE will build a giant, diamond-encrusted, multi-billion dollar robotic lion and keep Micky D's out.
So, what if you are seeking solace from the golden arches? Where can you travel to be free from the Big Mac, or any of its international incarnations? The best answer we've found so far comes from Yahoo!. You can roam free in Benin, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Tajikistan, for starters. Those 'stans always come through.
[Photo: The McGuires/Kramchang]
Related Stories:
· Report: Prince Charles advises banning McDonald's food [Boston Herald]
· Are there any countries in the world without a McDonald's? [Ask Yahoo!]
