There is a curiously open space in the square across the road from Qasr Al Hosn that now includes the Sheikh Khalifa Mosque and a pair of modern buildings that until last year were the home of New York University Abu Dhabi.
It is not just that the area has an unusually large number of parking spaces for the centre of Abu Dhabi, but also that there is a strange sense of the absence of buildings rather than their presence.
This is because this was once the site of the city’s first produce markets, purpose-built in the early 1970s, and selling everything from fresh vegetables and fruit to fish.
The produce market was just a short walk across Airport Road to the old souq and it was this proximity that sealed its demise.
According to press reports, the vendors were moved out in mid-2003 to make room for shop owners who were being relocated from the souq, due for demolition that November after being badly damaged by fire. Eventually the whole area was torn down.
It is also worth pointing out that the old market was rather fragrant for the heart of a city and lacked air conditioning, unlike the new markets at Mina Zayed which opened the following year.
The large number of vans and lorries making daily deliveries also created serious congestion in the area.
* James Langton
