There are no street addresses in the UAE. If someone knows how to use the grid system you can send
them a pic of your address board, which is posted on the wall to your apt or villa. Here is a pic of mine:
If they cant use the grid, then to tell people how to find you, you have to use roundabouts! There are
them a pic of your address board, which is posted on the wall to your apt or villa. Here is a pic of mine:
If I remember right, the numbers tell what city, what section, the street, then the villa. I know I live on 16 street,
and my villa is number 11A. I believe that the 04 stands for the Zakher section of Al Ain, which is
where my villa is located.
If they cant use the grid, then to tell people how to find you, you have to use roundabouts! There are
few stop lights in the UAE, mainly roundabouts. Below are pics of some of my favorites in Al Ain.
Driving in roundabouts takes skill and deep concentration! First of all, they dont follow the design of roundabouts-
the idea, when they were first designed, was that the left lane was for those that were 3 exits from where they wanted
to go, middle lane for 2 exits, and right lane next exit. As you go around, you should move to the right so that when
your exit comes up you are ready to exit. They dont do that here! If they are 3 exits away, they get into the left
land and stay there! You have to watch for people making a right turn (exit) from the left lane! I usually stay
in the middle lane and keep an eye on those to my left and right! Bad news here is that if you get into a wreck with
an Emirati, it is your fault no matter what. So defensive driving is a must! Also, they LOVE their horns here! They will
honk at your the split second a light changes, or if they think you held them up at a roundabout for a split nano-
second! It is illegal here to curse, and you can be arrested for "flipping" someone off, so you have to have a lot of
patience to drive here. I used to wave at people who honked or yelled at me but someone suggested that my wave
might be misunderstood so I no longer do that! Lol!
Finding my way around Al Ain has become less difficult now that I have learned 4 key areas- where the municipality
is (Jimi Mall area), Town Centre, the Jebel area (where I live), and Hilli...I use these 4 places as a guide to
figure out where I need to go. If all else fails, I have Copilot on my iphone and a Garmin. Hubby, Tony, had me
buy the Garmin, and don't tell him I said this, but it has been valuable, especially when I go to Abu Dhabi or
Dubai. Let that be out secret!
I find it hard to not want to look a the roundabout when I am going around. They are so architecturally beautiful
that I want to look at all the details! Each and every one is so pretty and interesting.
Driving in roundabouts takes skill and deep concentration! First of all, they dont follow the design of roundabouts-
the idea, when they were first designed, was that the left lane was for those that were 3 exits from where they wanted
to go, middle lane for 2 exits, and right lane next exit. As you go around, you should move to the right so that when
your exit comes up you are ready to exit. They dont do that here! If they are 3 exits away, they get into the left
land and stay there! You have to watch for people making a right turn (exit) from the left lane! I usually stay
in the middle lane and keep an eye on those to my left and right! Bad news here is that if you get into a wreck with
an Emirati, it is your fault no matter what. So defensive driving is a must! Also, they LOVE their horns here! They will
honk at your the split second a light changes, or if they think you held them up at a roundabout for a split nano-
second! It is illegal here to curse, and you can be arrested for "flipping" someone off, so you have to have a lot of
patience to drive here. I used to wave at people who honked or yelled at me but someone suggested that my wave
might be misunderstood so I no longer do that! Lol!
Finding my way around Al Ain has become less difficult now that I have learned 4 key areas- where the municipality
is (Jimi Mall area), Town Centre, the Jebel area (where I live), and Hilli...I use these 4 places as a guide to
figure out where I need to go. If all else fails, I have Copilot on my iphone and a Garmin. Hubby, Tony, had me
buy the Garmin, and don't tell him I said this, but it has been valuable, especially when I go to Abu Dhabi or
Dubai. Let that be out secret!
I find it hard to not want to look a the roundabout when I am going around. They are so architecturally beautiful
that I want to look at all the details! Each and every one is so pretty and interesting.
First up is the Sheik Zayed Roundabout:
This rounadabout is on Khalifa Street, one block of the Islamic Institute. You can
see it onGoogle Maps here. As you can see, it has a pretty interesting statue of Sheik Zayed and four palm trees.
Here is a closer view of the top. Gorgeous detailing even on the base.
Here is a closer view of the top. Gorgeous detailing even on the base.
Below that is this, which I assume is stylized Arabic writing.
It looks like it begins with aleph and ends with ya and ra. I am trying to learn to read Arabic, but not
getting too far yet.
This is the Jabal Roundabout, one of several combination roundabout/overpasses in Al Ain.
At this roundabout, Khalifa Street (the Abu Dhabi road) runs under the roundabout. You can see
it in this satellite image. Khalifa Street is the road running left-right.
Jabal is Arabic for mountain (as in Jabal Hafeet), so as you can guess, the roundabout has a mountain
theme, with waterfalls as well. This is one of my favorites! This is how it looks from above the overpass:
Here is a close up of the rocky design:
The waterfall:
Once again, lots of beautiful landscaping and flowers. I think that the plant growing from out of the "mountain"
Here is a close up of the rocky design:
The waterfall:
Once again, lots of beautiful landscaping and flowers. I think that the plant growing from out of the "mountain"
is a really nice touch.
This is what it looks like from the other side of this rocky wall (so this is what you see when you drive
This is what it looks like from the other side of this rocky wall (so this is what you see when you drive
under the underpass on Khalifa Street):
Then the whole pattern is repeated on the other side of the roundabout. In other words, all these photos
Then the whole pattern is repeated on the other side of the roundabout. In other words, all these photos
have been from the north side of the roundabout, but the same sort of photos could have come from
the south side as well.
My girlie friends and I have talked about trying to get up early one morning while traffic is light to go take pics of each
other on the roundabouts. Maybe we will do that soon!
Here is a list of all the roundabouts I have seen:
Sheikh Zayed Roundabout
"Greenhouse" Roundabout
Al Ain Hospital Roundabout
Jabal Roundabout
Murabbaa Roundabout
Deer Roundabout
Tawam Hospital Roundabout
Sheikha Salama Mosque Roundabout
Zoo Roundabout
Diwan Roundabout
Baladiya Roundabout
Sheikh Mubarak Roundabout
Al Qala Roundabout
Other Jabal Roundabout
Other Coffee Pot (or Al Foah) Roundabout
My Favorite Roundabout
Mandoos Roundabout
Planning Roundabout
"Pizza Hut" Roundabout
Globe Roundabout
