Abu Dhabi
The origin of the name “Abu Dhabi” is uncertain. Meaning “Father of the Gazelle.
Abu Dhabi houses federal government offices, is the seat of the United Arab Emirates Government, home to the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE, who is from this family. Abu Dhabi’s rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed the city into a large and advanced metropolis. Today the city is the country’s center of political and industrial activities, and a major cultural and commercial centre, due to its position as the capital. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $400-billion United Arab Emirates economy.
Dubai
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[4] It is located on the southeast coast of the Arabian Gulf and is one of the seven emirates that make up the country. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are the only two emirates to have veto power over critical matters of national importance in the country’s legislature.[5] The city of Dubai is located on the emirate’s northern coastline and heads up the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Dubai is to host World Expo 2020.
Dubai has emerged as a global city and business hub of the Middle East.[7] It is also a major transport hub for passengers and cargo. By the 1960s Dubai’s economy was based on revenues from trade and, to a smaller extent, oil exploration concessions, but oil was not discovered until 1966. Oil revenue first started to flow in 1969.
Sharjah
Sharjah is the third largest and third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. It is located along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula.
Sharjah is the capital of the emirate of Sharjah. Sharjah shares legal, political, military and economic functions with the other emirates of the UAE within a federal framework, although each emirate has jurisdiction over some functions such as civil law enforcement and provision and upkeep of local facilities. Sharjah has been ruled by the Al Qasimi dynasty since the 18th century.
Ajman
The name of the smallest emirate probably came from the strong tribal confederation Adjman with more than 5000 warriors. Another version-from the word “adjm”, that is “non-Arabian”, foreigner, Persian. So it means “non-Arabian, evil place”.
The city has a population of 238,000 (2010 estimate), The urban area runs directly into the city of Sharjah along the coast to the south west, which in turn is adjacent to Dubai, forming a continuous urban area.
Umm Al Quwain
Umm al-Quwain is the least populous of the seven sovereign emirates in the United Arab Emirates, located in the north of the country. The emirate is ruled by Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla. The emirate had 62,000 inhabitants in 2003 and has an area of 750 km2 (290 sq mi).
Umm al-Quwain holds significant archaeological interest, with major finds at both Tell Abraq and Al Dour. Arrowheads and other polished flint tools have been unearthed in various sites across the UAE while pieces of Ubaid pottery have been unearthed along the shores of the emirate. All evidence obtained so far indicate that contact with Mesopotamia existed as early as the 5th millennium BC as an indigenous ceramic industry did not emerge until the 3rd century BC.
Ras Al Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah is a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Its name could be taken to mean “Top of the tent” or alternatively “headland of the small hut”. The emirate is in the northern part of the UAE, bordering Oman’s exclave of Musandam. It covers an area of 1,684 square km.
The capital city and home of most residents is also called Ras Al Khaimah. The emirate had a population of 210,063 at the 2005 Census, of which 41.82 percent or 87,848 were Emirati citizens. Latest estimates put the total population at between 250,000 and 300,000. Locals accounted for 97,529 in the population estimate for 2010. The city has two main sections, Old Ras Al Khaimah and Nakheel, on either side of a creek. It is served by the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.
Fujairah
Fujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one of the seven that has a coastline solely on the Gulf of Oman and none on the Persian Gulf.
Fujairah, dominated by the Sharqiyin tribe, sits at the mouth of the important trade route, the Wadi Ham (which is guarded by the Sharqiyin fort at Bithnah), through the mountains to the interior and the Persian Gulf Coast. Known as the Shamaliyah, the east coast of what is now the UAE was subject to Muscat until 1850, when it was annexed by the Al Qasimi of Sharjah.
