Visiting the National Auto Museum of the Emeritus in Abu Dhabi
The United Arab Emeritus is a fascinating place. One can't imagine that just 5 decades back this entire area was a large desert dotted with fishing villages on the Arabian Sea.Now it is a tourist hub and Dubai is the second busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic after New York. The capital of the UAE is Abu Dhabi and it houses a unique auto museum often referred to as the Emeritus National Auto Museum.
The museum houses an amazing collection of vintage cars and military vehicles . This is the brain child of HH Sheikh Hamad bin al Nahyan who conceived the idea of this auto museum right in the desert. The museum is about 45 miles from Abu Dhabi, with a fantastic super highway connecting it on the road to Liva. It is housed in a large pyramid like structure and will require at least 3 to 4 hours to see all the exhibits. One can reach the museum within an hour by car from Abu Dhabi.
There is an entry ticket and an adult or a child above the age of 10 will be charged AED 100( about $ 25). once inside the pyramid one can see a fascinating collection of cars. Most of teh cars were owned by the Sheikh, but some are presents and some the Sheikh picked up from distant places like Las Vegas and Orlando. The museum houses the worlds largest jeep. This vehicle is so gigantic that it has been kept out in the sand and is 50 ft in height. It reportedly ran for one kilometer.
The Museum houses vintage cars like the old Mercedes and Rolls Royce. It also houses the military vehicles used by the UAE army down the years. Thus the Hummer, Humvee, Desert Trucks and water bowser are tastefully displayed. Most of these vehicles were modified for desert use.All the vehicles are kept clean and shining. The work force is entirely from India and they really slog to keep the exhibits shining.
The museum is open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm and a traveler will have to set a day apart for visiting this museum. There is also a small cafe , which is managed by a man from Kerala and one can get hamburgers, cold drinks and juices. All in all its a place worth visiting. I have visited the museum 3 times and each visit is a revelation for me. Reaching the museum is easy and one can hire a taxi from Abu Dhabi which will however cost you AED 400 ( $100). I will say it's money well spent.
The Photo is taken by me including another 25 photos and video
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