Chronicling the UAE’s formation, Etihad Museum (etihadmuseum.ae; entry Dhs10) is an impressive 25,000-sq-meter building. It's set on the same site as the historic Union House, where documents signed in 1971 established the country as we know it today. Inside are hundreds of photos, films, books and other archival media showing how the UAE has developed over the past 50-plus years. Explore interactive pavilions, a library and the exhibition hall, and be sure to take a photo of the 123m-tall flagpole sporting a huge UAE flag.
The museum building is an elegant design by the Canadian architecture firm Moriyama & Teshima. Its parabolic roof represents the sheet of paper upon which the declaration was written, while the seven golden columns in the entrance hall symbolize the pens with which it was signed. An expansive white travertine plaza links the building with the historic round Union House and the recreated guesthouse where the founding fathers stayed while the negotiations were underway.
The generously proportioned below-ground galleries are accessed from the monumental entrance hall via a sweeping white marble staircase. On your right hangs a giant painting by Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rais that depicts the geography of the UAE. Just beyond are giant, eye-catching photographs of the rulers of the seven emirates that founded the nation, along with their family tree and personal effects such as Sheikh Zayed's cane and sunglasses and Sheikh Rashid's passport.
The name, by the way, has nothing to do with the airline: Etihad is simply the Arabic word for "union." The museum is located in Jumeirah 1.
