Abu Dhabi Roads 1970s

[M19]

I have some slides from the 1970s I uploaded to Flickr, which include some of what many of the main streets were like at the time in Abu Dhabi.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/11496967@ ... res/2a7x63

There area a few of the Corniche which has since been moved seaward onto reclaimed land. On Google Earth you can just make out where the old Corniche was.

Some of the other images show that many if the grid roads at the time we're D2 with roundabouts. They have been expanded massively since them.

A big memory for me were also the street lights, I think being US General Electric lanterns, most mercury vapour.

I think these are quite rare having searched the net and not finding much at all.

Hope you enjoy.

[jimbob69]

fascinating. thanks for posting.

[Bryn666]

Those lanterns on the roundabouts appear to be the Belgian type that is ubiquitous on their motorway system.

[trencheel303]

The one with the lights curving around in the distance is rather nice, all mercury as well.

[RichardA626]

I used to work with someone who was a professional soldier for many years.

He told me In the 1970s his regiment spent time in one of the UAE & during one exercise the had to drive down a newly built main road in the middle of the desert, which suddenly had a crossroads in the middle of nowhere with 2 stubs leading into the desert, which seemed quite surreal.

This was before the oil money started rolling in, & I imagine it's long been developed.

[bothar]

I was there about 8 years ago. The park in the middle of the road thing was still ongoing in the area I was working in, but new parking regulations were moving across the city one block a week and would regularise things a few weeks after I left.

[odlum]

Unbelievable difference between then and today OP.

Very fast development. Unrecognisable now from those pics.

Thanks for sharing.

[roadtester]

Thanks, fascinating - some interesting old cars as well, including a Peugeot 504 (#mydadhadoneofthose) and a Toyota Cressida.