Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, is located on its own island about 250 metres from the mainland, connected by 3 bridges.

The name Abu Dhabi literally translates as 'Father of the Gazelle'. Dhabi means deer and it is thought that there were both deer and gazelle roaming in the area.

Similar to their neighbours Dubai, Abu Dhabi worked in the pearl business but suffered the same fate when the depression hit in the 1930's. It was after this that interest started to grow in the possibility of finding oil. Exploration started in the late 1930's with oil finally being struck in 1958.

Its location in the Persian Gulf made it a key player in the trade route between Britain and India. As such, Britain had a vested interest in protecting the area from the threat of pirates. Not surprisingly, Britain's interest and influence in the area remained once oil was discovered.

Today Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest Emirate holding 9% of the worlds proven oil reserves and 5% of the worlds natural gas. There are now plans to use some of this wealth for tourism with the view to making Abu Dhabi less reliant on one source of revenue.

If you travel to Abu Dhabi you will find it less overwhelming than Dubai. But with investment increasing, there are new projects being developed all the time. The skyline will no doubt be a constantly changing feature.