800-YEAR OLD OLIVE TREE IN ABU DHABI



Image Credit: Abdel-Krim Kallouche/Gulf News

Olive trees such as this particular specimen, part of the Olea Europaea species, are not common to the UAE, but grow wild in other parts of the Middle East.



This native of the Mediterranean region is not a common sight in the UAE. But an 800-year-old specimen has managed to make its way to the capital from Lebanon. The olive tree, which was originally brought here to beautify the surroundings, has now gone on to occupy the pride of place at the entrance of the future Rawdhat residential district in Abu Dhabi. Looking at the tree's journey to the capital.

Abu Dhabi: On the side of a busy highway in the capital, a lone tree with silvery grey leaves stands guard. The olive tree, a native of the eastern Mediterranean coast, has been in the UAE for only nine months. But it is already spreading its roots in its new home, and drawing the attention of everyone who passes by it.

ONLY CHRISTIAN CHRONOLOGICAL SITE IN THE UAE




The pre-Islamic monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island has now opened to the public, 20 years after it was first discovered

 

Guided tour: Visitors to the site are told about the history of the monastery as archaeologists continue to dig








From above: Rooms within the monastery become more obvious from the sky

  
CHRONOLOGY

50-350 Christianity spreads throughout the Gulf region, following the trade routes to India and China.

Circa 600 Monastery at Sir Bani Yas is established; its use continues into the early Islamic period.

750 Monastic buildings are abandoned and begin to decay.

1820s British East India Company surveys the island and the waters around it, drawing attention to natural harbour (Meriton Bay). British sources mention pearl beds.

1930s Abandonment of villages on Sir Bani Yas Island after the collapse of the pearl trade.

1950s-60s Sir Bani Yas used by British Navy for target practice.

1971-2006 Island is privately owned by Sheikh Zayed and developed as wildlife sanctuary.

1991 First pieces of pottery discovered in former llama pens by a party from the Emirates Natural History Group.

1992-1996 Survey and excavations by Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey.

1996 Excavation ends.

2007 Island begins to be developed as a tourist resort.

2009 Start of a programme of excavation, conservation and development led by Tourism Development and Investment Company to enable the partly excavated monastery site to be displayed.