Money, Money, Money......it’s a rich mans world. This Abba song could have been written with the United Arab Emirates in mind. The biggest, largest, fastest, newest are all words that our Egyptian guide uses over and over again when he talks about the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE. The UAE holds the most multi-millionaires than anywhere else in The World. If you are lucky enough to be a national of this country, and no foreigner will ever receive an UAE passport, you are bestowed wealth upon you for not doing much at all. You are given free hospital, school, medical, electricity, water, telephone and your very own villa. You don’t like the villa, just ask for another and your country will provide it. Taxes - none. The men are given “jobs” as managing directors for which they are paid vast sums of money. The wives have so much money that they find it very difficult to spend it and invariably buy objects, gold in particular, by the kilo just to “show off” to their friends who then go and purchase something a little bit bigger. You don’t see anyone walking on the streets. Even if you were visiting your next door neighbour you would drive. The only time you see anyone walking is in the giant shopping malls. The oil rich country is lead by Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan.
We had chosen many months ago to have High Tea at Emirates Palace. This beautiful palace has a very deserved reputation of being one of the most opulent in The World and it is a place where many dignitaries have graced its magnificent foyer. The Sheik has his palace almost in walking distance from Emirates Palace but if he is to meet a dignitary at Emirates he would most certainly fly his helicopter to and from.
It is hard to believe that before oil was discovered in the 1950’s this country was desert and the country's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearl industry. It is a transformation beyond belief.
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