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Abu DhabiBy SETH SHERWOOD

WHAT would you do with $600 billion in cash? If you’re the capital of the Unit-ed Arab Emirates, rich in oil, the answer is easy: go shopping. Once aloof from the spendthrift ways of neighboring Dubai, Abu Dhabi — which, so far, has not experienced the unrest many Arab countries are facing — is now ticking off items on a five-star shopping list. Top-notch museums?

New branches of the Louvre and Gug-genheim are rising from the sands. High-profile events? The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Film Festival and Gourmet Abu Dhabi have made their debuts in recent years. Toss in a multibillion-dollar hotel project and a stunning new mosque and you have one of the world’s most ambitious new destinations.

Come early evening, all of Abu Dhabi — expat professionals from Europe, South Asian la-borers, local families in white dishdashas (for the men) and black abayas (for the women) — strolls along the Corniche, a picturesque seaside walkway. It’s the perfect vantage point for taking in the city’s fast-rising thicket of skyscrapers.

Even if you can’t afford to make a withdrawal from the ATM that dispenses bars of gold, the gargantuan and gar-ishly opulent Emirates Palace Hotel (emiratespalace.com) is worth a visit. Built at a cost of $3 billion, the 362-room be-hemoth is said to be the most expensive hotel ever built and contains some fitting hangouts. Hakkasan restau-rant-lounge opened last year with Asian-cool décor and cocktails like

Finish up at the Heritage Village, an ersatz old fortress that tries to recreate the Abu Dhabi of yore through camel enclosures, Bedouin tents and traditional artisans. At its beachfront cafe, Al Asalah, sip a watermel-on juice (15 dirhams, or $4.15 at 3.60 dirhams to $1) while watching the twinkling city skyline across the bay.

the Hakkatini (orange fla-vored vodka, Campari, Grand Marnier, apple juice; 50 dirhams). For a tradition-al Emirati dinner, hit Mezlai. Reserve an outdoor tent and sample local specialties like creamy shark velouté, sautéed chicken livers (with garlic, cinnamon and pomegranate sauce) and lamb nachif (slow cooked in zesty garlic-tur-meric sauce). A three-course meal for two runs about 450 dirhams, without wine.Marina Mall

breakwater,

971-2-681-4455;

Al Asalah,

971-50-526-5575.

Emirate Palace;

emiratespalace.

com; Hakkasan,

971-2-690-7999,

hakkasan.com.

If you go

ON THE CORNICHE PALACE INTRIGUE5 PM 9 PMFriday

22

The fastest-growing part of town is the formerly dusty Yas Island, now brimming with diversions: a lush 18-hole golf course, a Formula One track, a sprawling indoor theme park, a marina and a host of five-star hotels. Hugh Grant, Sir Richard

Branson and Prince are among the luminar-ies who have been spotted in the fractal-like white interior of Allure. Opened last year by the Cipriani restaurant group, the glittery nightclub serves three-liter bottles of Cris-tal Champagne (68,000 dirhams) and Bellini cocktails (65 dirhams) to a BlackBerry-toting international crowd.

It’s hard not to be awestruck as you stand on what is said to be the world’s largest handmade Per-sian carpet (about 65,000 square feet), gazing up at a huge, glittering chandelier in the main prayer hall of the enormous Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which can hold more than 40,000. Opened in 2007, the marble mosque, with its 82 domes and some 1,000 columns, is a mix of Moor-ish, Ottoman and Mughal styles. Free tours are held on Saturday at 10 and 11 a.m. and 2, 5 and 8 p.m.

Yas Island Marina,

yasisland.ae

971-2-565-0050;

nightcluballure.com;

cover, 150 dirhams;

Al Salam Street,

szgmc.ae

971-2-441-6444.

If you go

ISLAMIC GLORIES

GLITTERY NIGHTS11 PM

10 AMSaturday

23

Funky, bohemian and cheap are not adjectives normally used to describe anything in Abu Dhabi, but Zyara is a rare bird indeed. Abstract art and couches upholstered with wild fabrics provide the décor at this cafe-restaurant, where locals and expats noodle on laptops (thanks to free Wi-Fi) and flip through Time Out Abu Dhabi. The menu ranges from French toast (22 dirhams) to savory manakish (warm flatbread rolled in spices and sesame seeds; 10 dirhams) and a dish called foul (mashed beans stewed with tomato, garlic and ol-ive oil; 20 dirhams).

Arabia goes avant-garde at the Souk at Central Mar-ket, a soaring new shopping center of geometric wood slats and colored glass that was designed by Norman Foster. Trouble finding a date? Zadina has them in abundance: plain dates (100 dirhams per kilo), dates stuffed with pistachios (125 dirhams per kilogram, or 2.2 pounds), chocolate truffles made with dates (450 dirhams per kilo), and much besides. For tea glasses (six for 400 dirhams) and other glass-ware etched and painted with Arabesque patterns, visit Kudu for Arts. Electronics stores, boutiques, waterpipe cafes and henna artists also fill the space.

Speed freaks, thrill jockeys, car buffs and lead-footed drivers will get their kicks at the futuristic Ferra-ri World, an amusement park that pays tribute to the most popular red product to come out of Italy since tomato sauce. The curvaceous complex houses pulse-quickening rides, from Formula One simulators to one of the world’s fastest roller coasters. Between thrills, check out the car exhibitions and the acrobatic musical show. Admission: 165 to 225 dirhams.

Madinat Zayed

area, next to

Hilton Corniche

Residence;

971-2-627-5007).

Khalifa Street;

971-2-810-7810;

centralmarket.ae/

souk). Zadina

(ground floor,

971-2-658-8637);

Kudu for Arts

(ground floor,

971-2-627-8980;

kuduforarts.com).

If you goIf you go

A sprawling low hotel

complex with 128

rooms, One to One -

The Village (Al Salam

Street; 971-2-495-2000;

onetoonehotels.com)

has an impressive

gym, a pool, a beer

and shisha garden and

several restaurants.

Doubles from about

465 dirhams, or $130.

If you go

A BOHEMIAN BREAK NORMAN’S SOUK

PEDAL TO THE METAL

1 PM 3 PM

5 PM

24

If the designer Terrance Conran had read “1,001 Nights” too many times, the result would be some-thing like Pearls & Caviar, a sul-try den near the Shangri-La hotel with chain-mail curtains, a mosaic floor and a D.J.-spun soundtrack. The menu also melds Occident and Orient to original effect.

Especially good are the tuna carpaccio (with pomegranate seeds and crispy thin bread) and tender strips of beef drizzled with hummus. The zucchini fries in a chickpea batter that are topped with a spicy tomato and red-pepper chutney are also ex-cellent. A three-course dinner for two costs around 400 dirhams.

Any lingering myths that there is no alcohol in the Islamic world will be put to rest at Souk Qaryat Al Beri, a sprawling bazaar filled with canals, bou-tiques, restaurants and ample booze-soaked nightspots. Left Bank is a den of slick black sur-faces and red banquettes where a young crowd drinks Left

Bank Iced Teas (vanilla vodka, rum, cachaça, Bombay Sap-phire, sour mix and ginger beer; 40 dirhams) and other cre-ative cocktails. Everything goes white and bright at Sho Cho, a sushi lounge whose drink list includes concoctions like the Sho Cho Infusion (Bacardi, gin-ger, lime, brown sugar, ginger beer; 43 dirhams).

Qaryat Al Beri, 971-2-509-8777,

pearlsandcaviar.com; Cafe Arabia,

15th Street between Karam Street

and Airport Road, 971-2-643-9698.

The towering Aloft hotel (Abu

Dhabi National Exhibition Center;

971-2-654-5000; aloftabudhabi.com)

has 408 rooms done in a sleek and

angular style and contains the pop-

ular rooftop bar Relax@12, among

others. Doubles from 405 dirhams.

If you go

SULTANIC CHIC DRINKS IN THE SOUK8 PM 11 PM

25

Started in 2008 and still ex-panding, the new (and free) Corniche Beach is endowed with powdery sand, translu-cent sea and abundant water sports, including waterskiing and parasailing. There are even a few private family beaches — outfitted with sun beds and umbrellas — that can be rented for 10 dirhams.

Café Arabia, a stylish new cafe and boutique, showcases cre-ations from numerous Ara-bic-speaking nations. Ensconce yourself on the rooftop terrace or airy ground-level salon and feast on Lebanese fattoush (a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, red pepper, whole-wheat bread chips, powdered sumac and pomegranate syrup), Syrian

fatteh (warm yogurt with crou-tons, chickpeas, garlic and mint), Moroccan-style mint tea and more. Afterward , shop for Pal-estinian ceramics (55 dirhams) and Egyptian mirrors (from 175 dirhams). Or score a chocolate bar made from camel’s milk. A high-end blend of East and West, it encapsulates the flavor of the new Abu Dhabi.

Picturesque waterways run

past the luxurious Shangri-La

(Qaryat Al Beri ; 971-2-509-8888;

shangri-la.com) , affording lovely

views of the Sheikh Zayed Grand

Mosque on an opposite bank.

Ameni t ies inc lude a pr ivate beach-

f ront , the A s ian- inspi red Chi spa

and the opulent Pear l s and Cav iar

res taurant and lounge. Doubles

f rom 96 0 d i rhams.

If you go

HIT THE BEACH A BOUTIQUE BRUNCH10 AM 12 PMSunday