Deira Clocktower (), originally referred to as the Dubai Clock Tower, is a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

Deira Deira ( ; Old Welsh/ or ; or ) was an area of Post-Roman Britain, and a later Anglian kingdom. Etymology The name of the kingdom is of Brythonic origin, and is derived from the Proto-Celtic , meaning 'oak' ( in modern Welsh), in which case ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(UAE). ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' newspaper listed the Dubai Clock Tower among the ''17 of the world's most beautiful clock towers''.

Location

Dubai Clock Tower is located at the intersection of Umm Hurair Road and route D 89 (Al Maktoum Road) in the locality of

Al Rigga Al Rigga or Al Riqqa () is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Located in the heart of eastern Dubai in Deira, Al Rigga is a residential and commercial centre. Al Rigga is bordered by Al Sabkha, Al Muraqqabat and Naif and bounded t ...

. Now a prominent monument in Deira, the roundabout provides access to the

Al Maktoum Bridge Al Maktoum Bridge (in Arabic: جسر آل مكتوم; also known in Arabic as جسر المكتوم) is a bridge that crosses Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of six crossings on the creek and was the first bridge/crossing in ...

, the first land crossing constructed between Deira and

Bur Dubai Bur Dubai () is a historic district in Dubai, located on the western side of the Dubai Creek. The name is a reference to the traditional separation of the area from Deira by the creek. Description The Ruler's Court is located in the district ...

. The surrounding area is commercially important, and includes the offices of major international airlines operating in UAE. It can be reached by

Dubai Metro The Dubai Metro () is a rapid transit system in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The metro system consists of a network of two main lines: the Red Line and the Green Line. A third line, the Blue Line, is scheduled to open in 2029. Du ...

. The nearest metro stations are

and City Centre Deira on the Red Line.

History

The Clock Tower was built in 1965 and was designed by Otto Bullard and the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

architect Ziki Homsi, a partner at Architecture Design Construction (ADC) Office. It was erected as a symbol of Dubai and located in Deira because major routes into Dubai converged prior to the building of Dubai–Abu Dhabi Road. Engineer Edgar Bublik, who was General Manager of Overseas AST in Dubai in the 1970s, explains the background of the Dubai Clock Tower: “Shaikh Ahmed of Qatar was Shaikh Rashid’s son-in-law. In the early 1960s Shaikh Ahmed gave Shaikh Rashid a clock as a gift. It was a very large clock. Shaikh Rashid did not know what to do with such a large clock! My predecessor Mr Bulard had just completed building Zabeel Palace for Shaikh Rashid so he made a sketch of his idea for a Clock Tower. Mr Bulard gave the sketch to his engineer to make the structural calculations and produce a design. The shape and design of the Clock Tower was from Mr Bulard’s own ideas and did not represent an Oil Drilling Bit or any other object.”

Bahria Town Bahria Town (Private) Limited () is an Islamabad-based privately employee-owned real-estate development company that owns, develops, and manages properties across Pakistan. It established its first gated community in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Its ...

built replica of Deira Clocktower in Bahria Town

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

called Bahria Clock Tower. In May 2023, it was announced the landmark is about to obtain a new look after the renovation that is going to be undertaken by the Dubai Municipality. According to Khaleej Times, this will add greenery and multi-colored lights and replace the design of the fountain with a new one as part of Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.

References

Buildings and structures in Dubai Clock towers in the United Arab Emirates {{Dubai-stub