A final reminder of frontier Abu Dhabi

As Abu Dhabi island becomes increasingly modernised, hints of the recent past still exist – but for how much longer and at what cost when they go?

Freelance furniture remover Mohammed waits with his truck in the sun for anyone seeking to hire him. Delores Johnson / The National

Bit by bit, the last reminders that Abu Dhabi was once a frontier oil town are being replaced by a modern and sophisticated city. Carpentry and tyre-repair shops that were once dotted throughout the downtown area have all been packed off to Mussaffah, the introduction of paid parking has ended the previously prevalent practice of triple-parking and all but a few of the ubiquitous ramshackle – though characterful – groceries have been replaced by gleaming Baqala shops.

But a few lingering reminders of the old days remain. One example, as The National reported yesterday, is the posse of freelance furniture movers who congregate in the car park beside the Central Post Office and a few other areas on Abu Dhabi island. The process is entirely unregulated: if you want something heavy moved from one place to another, you front up to one of these locations, haggle a price using whatever languages you have in common, get into a truck of dubious roadworthiness and – hopefully – move what you wanted moved to its new location. Even for those with the most underdeveloped bargaining skills, this will cost a fraction of the price of a corporate moving service.

One cannot help wondering whether the time will soon come when these freelancers are phased out, to be replaced by something entirely more corporate and more expensive. This is a process that has happened to one industry after another in Abu Dhabi, such as the old white and gold taxis being replaced by the cleaner and better maintained fleet of silver taxis, featuring drivers who met higher standards of language proficiency and professionalism.

These kinds of improvements are making life easier for those who call the capital home, but is this form of progress delivered at the expense of some of the character of old Abu Dhabi? Is it simply nostalgia that sees us hanker after a few reminders of frontier Abu Dhabi to remain?

Dealing with these unlicensed drivers is a delicate balancing act for the authorities. They do, after all, perform a valuable service and offer an affordable solution. Maybe, amid all the frenetic progress towards a modern metropolis, there is a place for a little of the old to remain.