National Day

 

There were flags a plenty to be seen on the street outside the villa where I am housed in Abu Dhabi. But they were not held aloft by proud horsemen, like the one shown in the photo above. The patriotism in my part of Khalidiya involved not horses but horsepower!

Hyper-tuned trucks, infernally loud SUVs, beflagged muscle cars, Lambos and Jags decorated in the national colours... all with screaming, smoking tyres and their sound systems blaring out patriotic tunes... came together in an impromptu high-octane gymkhana!

There were volleys of loud bangs, which were probably firecrackers. But such was the raw and frenzied exuberance that I wondered for a while if firearms were being discharged. And I decided not to open the gate of the front courtyard to go out and verify this!

Tonight when I leave the office at six I shall not be alone on my walk back along the Corniche to the villa. That is when... according to Time Out magazine... a colourful official parade is supposed to commence. I"m sure there will be photos I can re-blog tomorrow from the sites of Gulf News or The National.

Until then, the photos below are from the website of Munich's Abendzeitung.