Wahat Al Karama: The Oasis of Dignity in Abu Dhabi

In a shallow patch of water, barely ankle-deep, an inverted reflection of the pristine white Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque wavers under the late afternoon Sun. Georgette, my guide, informs me that the artificial freshwater pool is drained and refilled every day at 5 PM except during this time of the year—Ramadan. I am at Wahat Al Karama, which means ‘Oasis of Dignity’, a monument dedicated to United Arab Emirates’s heroes who lost their lives on duty— the country’s first war memorial.

The site is across the street from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, deliberately constructed close to the mosque so that the departed souls of young men and women to whom the memorial is dedicated may always get prayers from the mosque.

Designed by Idris Khan and inaugurated in 2016, Wahat Al Karama has a Pavilion of Honour, a Memorial and a Memorial Plaza. The falaj system, an ancient way of irrigating fields in the region by bringing in water from the mountains, has been recreated here as a design element to depict the flow of life. Wahat Al Karama is a place that stands at the intersection of religion (Islam) and patriotic pride.

The Memorial Plaza is surrounded by a shaded viewer’s gallery that can house 1200 people. The circular shallow pool is here. On days of national importance, the pool is drained, dried and is transformed into a parade ground for the Wahat Al Karama ceremony. Patriotic citizens occupy the seats in the gallery. Georgette adds that the bubbling fountain here symbolizes the first phase of life, full of energy.

The Memorial area in the Oasis of Dignity

A little ahead, in the Memorial area, 31 tablets clad in aluminum lean against each other. The leaning pillars are the main attraction of the site. They portray interdependence among the Emirates and its several units. The tablets are etched with poems written by the current president of UAE who is also the Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his brother Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the current vice president of UAE who is also the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Makhtoum. The panel running horizontal represents the soldiers of the nation. It is called the “The Allegiance Panel”.

Seeking protection from the blinding glare of the Sun in the desert city, I sit under the shade of a cedar tree. The gardens of Abu Dhabi, including the green patches in Wahat Al Karama, are well populated with indigenous trees of the region—olive, cedar and date palm. The ubiquity of date palm in the UAE is self explanatory. Here, it is considered the tree of life. It’s very logical once you think what the tree provided the locals with. The tree gave the desert trotting Bedouins shade. The fruits could be stored for an entire year without rotting. Huts in the region were roofed with palm fronds. Ropes were manufactured from the trunk of the date palm trees.

Towards the Pavillion of Honour in Wahat Al Karama

A little ahead in a circular trench, water is being constantly spiraled inwards—the whirlpool. It stands for the feelings and experiences that humans gather in their lifetime, the highs and lows, the good and bad, all put together at the time of death. Ahead of that lies the last section—The Pavillion of Honour.

As I stand here, trying to decode the meaning behind this section, daylight penetrates from the roof system. In this circular platform, the roofing is a collection of eight panels, seven of them representing the seven Emirates, and the eighth one stands for UAE’s heroes. The sophisticated skylight illuminates seven leaning glass panels, over which UAE’s Pledge of Allegiance is inscribed in Arabic, in such a way that visitors would be able to read them from any position inside the pavilion.

A circular pool with calm water moats the glass panel. Muslims believe if they have lived by the five pillars of Islam they would be rewarded with paradise in the afterlife. Georgette informs me that the last pool, calm and quiet, symbolizes the tranquility in heaven. The walls of the pavilion made of recycled pieces of armoured vehicles are scribbled with names of all heroes who sacrificed their lives while serving UAE.

As I leave Wahat Al Karama, I take a last look at the reflective shallow pool again. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque dazzles in the water in broad daylight. In my mind, I conjure up the imagination of how pretty it would seem at night, with the mosque’s designer illumination and cloud projections.

To watch my Abu Dhabi video on Youtube, please click here.

Have you been to Wahat Al Karama or the Oasis of Dignity? Did you already know the facts and idea behind the monument? Comment below and let’s get talking!

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Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Abu Dhabi Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.

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