Ramadan 2009 began on August 21, the first time the Holy Month had started in the summer month since 1980.
In the intervening 29 years much had changed in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. A visitor returning to the capital would have found it difficult to recognise the same city.
For a start, they would have landed at a completely airport - what is now the executive airport at Al Bateen. The current international airport opened in 1982.
From that part of the city today, it is impossible to miss this building: the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, whose minarets and domes rise above the skyline in dramatic fashion. The mosque was officially opened for Eid in 2007, but two years later, when this magical image was taken by The National’s Ryan Carter, it was world famous, the most popular landmark for visitors to the city of all faiths and at any time of the year. And so it remains today.
*James Langton
