Oil is the hot topic around the globe of late. From the price of crude to environmental concerns, the power of OPEC to shortage fears, “black gold” dominates the international headlines from one week to the next.

One notable ripple effect of our collective lust for oil is the rise of the United Arab Emirates. The federation of seven states between Saudi Arabia and Oman on the Persian Gulf has become a potent force since the development of petroleum and natural gas reserves about a half century ago. The economic success story was almost overnight, at least by historical standards. Rudimentary towns with mud huts and camels on dirt roads gave way to super skyscrapers and Bentleys in a matter of decades. Whether or not you take the hyper development of the UAE as a sinister allegory of our insatiable appetite for oil, the urban transformation of the country has been remarkable and in some areas, dwarfs the recent accomplishments of China.

Not to suggest that Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the twin UAE powers in light speed construction booms, are a modern Sodom and Gomorrah. However, there is an element of ominous fascination in their phenomenal (and literal) rise, not to mention a sense of epic Biblical scale. Dubai is on a mission to horde the giant cranes of the world, with myriad construction projects without precedent. The travel press has a love affair with the emirate city. Ventures like underwater hotels, gargantuan theme parks and record skyscrapers tend to draw attention.

But Dubai is not the only UAE city with a contingency plan to combat oil caches in decline. Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, has a big bet on tourism as a key driver of the future economy as well. Here are some of the best attractions the city has to offer, as well as major projects on the horizon.

Qasr al-Hosn

Extensive archaeological research is under way to discover the myriad secrets behind the old stone structure known as Qasr al-Hosn. The fort, palace and former sheikh residence complex is a virtual leap back to a time when oil wealth was alien to the people of Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation

Culture is where Abu Dhabi may well try to create distance from Dubai in terms of tourist allure. The Cultural Foundation is one such display of a lofty vision to jostle with Cairo for supremacy in the Arab World and Diaspora. Next to Qasr al-Hosn in downtown Abu Dhabi, the Foundation hosts a variety of exhibits, lectures, concerts, workshops and events that relate and connect to the cultural heritage of the city and UAE as a whole.

Saadiyat Island

One of the most ambitious urban development projects in the world, Saadiyat Island is many attractions in one. The hope is to complete the artificial extension of Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat by 2018, at a total investment of $27 billion USD.

Residential pockets on the island should support upward of 170,000 people, with new causeways to ferry them to Abu Dhabi proper. In terms of entertainment and leisure however, citizens of Saadiyat may never have cause to leave their new home. From museums to recreation, boutique hotels to beachfront, on paper at least, Saadiyat appears idyllic.

The marina will have room for 1,000 boats, hotels and luxury apartments. Of course, ample space will be available for commercial and entertainment enterprises. Another area will house a grand city park with equestrian centre and waterside property. Vast swaths of land will provide beaches, championship golf courses, wetlands and other natural attractions, all with the requisite regalia that seem banal now in the UAE, such as five-star hotels and state-of-the-art leisure and entertainment options. The jewel of Saadiyat however, will be the cultural district. If outside investment and tourism is going to flourish and save the project from potential bankruptcy, it should happen here.

For one, the district will house a brand new Guggenheim Museum, with design by Frank Gehry. In his trademark style, Gehry will produce what many expect to be the Guggenheim of record, at least in terms of architecture and size. With his indelible stamp left on the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, Abu Dhabi expects the impossible from Gehry this time around.

In addition to the Modern Art Museum, the Saadiyat cultural district will have a new Louvre to boast about. The UAE incarnation of the Paris staple will be complete by 2012, at a cost of $1.3 billion USD. Other attractions include a performance arts centre, a maritime museum and a defact national museum of the UAE. Tourists to the cultural district will be quite comfortable in the luxury hotels on tap for development.

This is all of course, the tip of the iceberg for Abu Dhabi. Similar new city developments will stretch the metropolitan area of the UAE capital to support the population growth and tourism industry. One such project, Masdar City, will rely on renewable energy and will open a new branch of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A strict ban on automobiles, as well as other “green” initiatives, will be in place with the hope that Masdar City will become a world model to emulate. On the other side of the coin is Ferrari World, a theme park whose sole purpose is to draw more attention to the Italian brand. Abu Dhabi will further support Formula One with a new Grand Prix circuit on Yas Island.

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