Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi spreads across flat islands between a turquoise gulf and the desert. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque sets the tone: eighty-two white domes, columns inlaid with mother-of-pearl and stone flowers, and one single carpet under the whole prayer hall. Qasr Al Watan, the presidential palace opened to visitors, plays the same hand of white and gold. Older and plainer, the fort at Qasr Al Hosn recalls the pearl-diving years, when the town was a handful of coral houses. On Saadiyat Island, the Louvre Abu Dhabi sits beneath a pierced dome that breaks the light through nearly eight thousand steel stars. Corniche Beach runs eight kilometres of sand and palm trees at the foot of the towers. A little further out, the still water of Mangrove National Park is paddled between the roots. Evenings smell of grilled meat, lemon and stuffed dates.