Qasr Al Watan

Qaṣr Al-Waṭan is the presidential palace of the United Arab Emirates, located in Abu Dhabi. The palace stands as a symbol of governance, functioning as a venue for political meetings, both diplomatic state receptions and Council of Ministers meetings, as well as a destination for visitors and tourists. It is not a residential space.

WWW qasralwatan.ae

History

Construction of the palace was completed in 2017.
Prior to 2019, the palace was used to serve for official purposes only until it was opened to the public as a tourism site by President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2019.
Prior to its opening, the palace was used only for official purposes, mainly hosting foreign leaders of states, and for meetings of the country's supreme council and federal cabinet. Even after being opened to the public, the palace continues to be used for these purposes.
The palace was opened to the public on 11 March 2019, in a ceremony hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In August, the palace was named by the travel and tourism website of Hotel and Rest among the top 20 landmarks of art and culture in the World. In 2020, the Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace was nominated for the World Travel Awards as the main cultural tourist attraction in the Middle East.

Interior and exterior

With a façade made of white granite and limestone, the mainly white palace is intricately designed and ornately decorated. It includes a dome with a diameter of, a chandelier with 350,000 pieces of crystal, and a number of compartments. The dome is located on top of the central chamber known as "The Great Hall", which is surrounded by two wings to the east and west.

Eastern wing

The eastern wing has the "House of Knowledge", where a number of artefacts and other objects of importance are stored. Stored objects include gifts presented by visiting officials from other countries, and 2 religious texts in the "House of Knowledge": the Quran and the Bible. There is also a library with more than 50,000 books which document the cultural, social and political history of the country.

Western wing

The western wing has halls which are used for official purposes. Here, there is a room known as the "Spirit of Collaboration", where meetings of the UAE Cabinet and Federal Supreme Council would be hosted, besides summits of international bodies like the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council. Elsewhere, banquets for official events, besides diplomatic gifts from other countries, are kept.