R. Doug Wicker — Author

Today and Wednesday I’m going to show you the west “working” wing of Qasr Al Watan Palace. Wednesday will be devoted mostly to the room housing presidential gifts, but today we’ll complete our tour of the hallway north of the Great Hall, then head into the west wing to view the Presidential Banquet Hall (informational link below). Let us begin with that hallway just north of the Great Hall:

As we made our way around to the west wing, we were continually rewarded with yet more spectacular views of the Great Hall from vantages we had not yet seen:

The interesting thing about taking this route is that you’ll discover wonderfully adorned walls with intricate designs framing the Great Hall for your photographs:

Turn into the west wing and you’ll soon arrive at the Presidential Banquet Hall on the right side (Item 5 on the diagram below).

The banquet hall has hosted many foreign dignitaries. But it is also used for iftar (informational link below). Iftar is something I had to research several years ago, when I invited for dinner a Lebanese American friend and his wife during Ramadan, as I didn’t want to place either in an uncomfortable situation. During Ramadan, Muslims fast daily from the suhur meal before dawn, and do not eat or drink again until after sunset. This second meal is the iftar. So, I had to not only plan our multicourse meal around Muslim dietary restrictions, but I had to ensure the first course wasn’t served until just after sunset.

My planning must’ve been a success, because afterward my friend told me that I knew more about his religion than he did. That was certainly a pleasing compliment.

The two photos above do not adequately convey the immense size of the banquet hall. And, unfortunately, the entrances into the hall were cordoned off, so I had to photograph from outside the room peering in. Nevertheless, I did manage a panoramic that might give you just a hint at the scale in this room:

Stepping away from the banquet hall, make sure you look up. As with the east wing, the west wing ceiling is also a beautiful sight:

On Wednesday I’ll take you inside the Presidential Gifts area. Prepare yourself for some hugely impressive treasures. Until then, and this week’s Fun Photo Friday, I’ll leave you with this outside palace view of Abu Dhabi:

For additional information on the Qasr Al Watan Palace see:
● Qasr Al Watan Palace
● Qasr Al Watan Presidential Banquet Hall
● Iftar
● Suhur
● Ramadan
● Qasr Al Watan Abu Dhabi site
● Qasr Al Watan official website
● Islamic architecture
● Abu Dhabi
● United Arab Emerates
● Arabian Peninsula
● Middle East

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