Al Wathba () is a suburb of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

in the

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 ...

that has a wetland nearby. It is located not too far from

Zayed International Airport Zayed International Airport (), also known as Abu Dhabi International Airport, is the primary international airport serving Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the second busiest airport in the UAE after Dubai Inte ...

. It is also known as Zayed Festival village because of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, an important festival in Abu Dhabi which is held here. Al Wathba was introduced after

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he became ...

became the

Ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

of the

Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area or . Abu Dhabi also has the second ...

in 1966, he set about further developing the Emirate, spending on healthcare, education and infrastructure. As part of his plan to develop the city of Abu Dhabi, in the 1980s, he invited Sir

William Sydney Atkins Sir William Sydney Albert Atkins (6 February 1902 – 15 August 1989) was the founder of Atkins, a large British engineering consultancy. Life Born in London and educated at the Coopers Company School and University College, London, William Atki ...

, of the company W.S. Atkins and Partners (Atkins), to plan the development of Abu Dhabi and what would become the satellites of Al Wathba, Al Shahama and Baniyas, where a number of local

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

s and immigrants from other parts of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

had settled under Sheikh Zayed's encouragement.

Wetland reserve

Located between

Bani Yas The Bani Yas () is a tribe, tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition, consisting of tribes from Dubai to Khor Al Adaid in southeast Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition (). The House of Nahyan, Al ...

Mussafah Muṣaffah () or Musaffah is an industrial district to the southwest of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Also known as ''Muṣaffah Aṣ-Ṣanāʿiyah'' (), it is one of the most important economic areas of the United Arab Emirates and has been ...

, and the Abu Dhabi–Al Ain Road, ''Al Wathba Wetland Reserve'' was established by Sheikh Zayed in 1998, and is home to birds such as the

greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. Common in the Old World, they are found in Northern (coastal) and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent (south of the Him ...

, besides aquatic life. The reserve has been designated as a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Al Wathba Jail

in the 1990s, Filipino worker

Sarah Balabagan Sarah Balabagan-Sereno (born March 8, 1979) is a Filipino former migrant worker and media personality who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates from 1994 to 1996 for murder. She was initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was later re ...

was held here on charges of murdering her employer which she claims was an act

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

. She was initially sentenced to death but was later pardoned after intervention from

Sheikh Zayed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Al Ain Region, Eastern Region from 1946 un ...

. Her sentence was shortened to 1 year and she was later deported back to the Philippines. In 2009, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family,

Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan () is the son of former United Arab Emirates President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the half brother of the former President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the half brother of President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. A ...

, was the subject of a lawsuit brought to him by his employee whom he allegedly imprisoned and tortured in Al Wathba Jail. In 2011, Ahmad Mansoor, who received the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015 was jailed for speech related activity “publishing false information and rumours",

Mansoor Mansour (, Manṣūr); also spelled Mounsor, Monsur (Bengali), Mansoor, Manser, Mansur, Mansyur (Indonesian) or Mensur (Turkish), is a male Arabic name that means "He who is victorious", from the Arabic root '' naṣr'' (نصر), meaning "victory ...

was held in solitary confinement and prohibited access to a lawyer.In Al Wathba prison nobody is treated like prisoner because it provides access to rehabilitation programs, including vocational training, educational programs, and religious guidance aimed at reintegrating inmates into society.

Notable events which happened in Al Wathba

The following is a notable events happened in Al Wathba

Sheikh Zayed Festival

The Sheikh Zayed Festival is one of the largest heritage events in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which sheds light on multiple bright aspects of the heritage and culture of the United Arab Emirateshttps://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dhabi-sheikh-zayed-festival-to-begin-on-november-18

Notable People

Hazza Al Mansouri Hazzaa AlMansoori (, surname also spelled "Al Mansoori", full name Hazzaa Ali Abdan Khalfan Al Mansoori () is an Emirati astronaut and the first person from the United Arab Emirates in space. In 2019, he embarked on the UAE's first scientific m ...

, Emirati astronaut

References

External links

In pictures: First look at Abu Dhabi's Jumeirah Al Wathba Desert Resort and Spa
Populated places in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Ramsar sites in the United Arab Emirates Central Region, Abu Dhabi {{UAE-stub