Qasr Al Watan: Abu Dhabi Cultural Attraction
For any avid student of culture, there are many places to visit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. One of them is Qasr Al Watan, the Palace of the Nation and a working presidential palace. It was opened to the public in 2019,the Year of Tolerance in the UAE, to foster intercultural exchanges, interaction, and a deeper understanding of Emirati heritage.
For five years, Qasr Al Watan has claimed the World Travel Awards’ title of the Leading Cultural Tourist Attraction in the Middle East for solo, family, and group travelers from around the globe. If you want to deepen your appreciation of Emirati and Arab culture, this is a cultural attraction in Abu Dhabi you simply cannot miss.
Magnificent Architecture
The cultural adventure begins with the architecture. The entire Qasr Al Watan complex is the home of fully functional government offices, but utilitarian is not a word you’d ever associate with it. In fact, magnificent and resplendent may be an understatement.
Qasr Al Watan is both splendid and imposing. As you approach the palace, just looking at its unsullied white façade made of white granite and limestone should be enough to render you speechless at the incredible beauty and proportion of it. The way it gleams, like a jewel, against the backdrop of the distant blue horizon could churn poems out of untutored tongues.
The palace’s design is deeply rooted in Arabian and Islamic architecture. Proof of this lies in the radiating structures, rhythmic patterns, cupolas or domes, columns, colonnades, and arches. The palace grounds also feature an Islamic garden featuring lush greenery, reflective pools, and fountains.
Inside, you’ll find repeating patterns of honeycomb in the moldings and lattice in the windows. The marble walls and floors are book-matched to create traditional decorative patterns. Look up and enjoy how the stained-glass windows beautify the interiors and crystal chandeliers sparkle in the reflected light.
Note also the palace’s color palette. The colors yellow and blue are recurring throughout. The yellow represents the desert, while the two shades of blue represent the sky (light blue) and the sea (dark blue). Generously interspersed with the browns and the blues are the whites, representing the Emirati people’s desire for purity. It also references the white exterior color common among buildings in the Arabian Gulf (including Qasr Al Watan).
What’s Inside
Qasr Al Watan is divided into the east and west wings, and it has multiple zones. Below are some notable zones and features you must check out.
1. The Great Hall
The Great Hall is great indeed, not only in size (it measures 100 by 100 meters) but in the richness of the Emirati, Arabic and Islamic culture it showcases. The entire Great Hall is filled with geometric patterns characteristic of traditional Islamic design. View these patterns through the art installation of four mirrored cubes.
The Great Hall showcases the eight-pointed star, a quintessentially Islamic symbol. Make your way to the center of the hall and gaze up 60 meters to appreciate the immense central dome, which is 37 meters in diameter and decorated with an expanse of stained-glass windows.
2. Qasr Al Watan Library
Proceed to the east wing to go to the palace library. It’s accessible to the public, so if you have a library card from the Department of Culture & Tourism, you can use the library’s facilities and even check out books.
A two-story foyer flanked by a twin pair of towering bookshelves welcomes visitors. Inside are 12 wings, each with a distinct theme and book collection. Moreover, every wing has study rooms for visitors’ convenience.
The library has around 50,000 printed books in Arabic and English, including 2,000 rare titles. It also has an extensive repository of digital editions.
3. House of Knowledge
Located beside the library is the House of Knowledge. It contains a selection of rare and historically significant manuscripts and artifacts that showcase the Arab world’s contributions to science, art, literature, and other domains of knowledge.
Among the most notable items on exhibit is a replica of the Birmingham Quran manuscript. It is believed this piece was created in the late sixth century or early seventh century CE. You should also check out a 16th-century original by Venetian cartographer Giacomo Gastaldi. This masterpiece is the first modern and accurate cartographical representation of the Arabian Peninsula.
4. Calligraphy Sculpture
Mattar bin Lahej created the calligraphy installation art. You’ll find it beside the House of Knowledge and see it as you depart the Great Hall for the east wing.
It may look like a simple spherical sculpture, but the golden swirls represent Arabic calligraphy. It’s the artist’s calligraphic render of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's famous quote about wealth.
5. Spirit of Collaboration
You should also definitely visit the Spirit of Collaboration in the west wing. It is a round hall, embodying the spirit of equality and cooperation that makes successful collaborations possible.
It’s a beautiful room with a ceiling decorated with traditional patterns and a 12,000-kilogram chandelier with 350,000 pieces of crystal.
Qasr Al Watan: A Bastion of Rich Emirati Heritage
Qasr Al Watan is a stunning palace. Beyond the magnificence and splendor, however, it is one of the cultural attractions in Abu Dhabisignificant for showcasing the depth and breadth of Emirati heritage and traditions.
