Street names and a nation’s psyche

The Al Corniche street in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain has been renamed after Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Kuwaiti Emir who passed away this week, on the orders of Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain. The move is in recognition of the great services of the late Emir for his homeland, the GCC region and the whole world.

Hailing from a country where political leaders go on a renaming spree to erase its colonial or Mughal past, I read with interest the names of major streets and places in the UAE. The one that I love the most is the emirate of Dubai’s 2^nd December Street, named after the day of the UAE’s formation in 1971. Quite like Tees January Marg in New Delhi, named to commemorate the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, whose birth anniversary we observe today on October 2.

Dubai also has a whole bevy of roads named after Arab capitals and cities since 2001 – Damascus, Amman, Tripoli, Cairo, Algiers and so on. Casablanca and Marrakesh are some of the other exotic names that 21 nameless streets had been christened in 2001 on the orders of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Municipality.

 

One of Dubai’s arterial roads is the 14-lane Sheikh Zayed Road (E11) that connects all the seven emirates of the UAE and named after the “Father of the Nation” HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan. It is the longest – running from Abu Dhabi to Ras al Khaimah – and oldest road in the country, the construction of which went on from 1971 to 1980.

Since 2013, a street running from Corniche Road to Hazza bin Zayed Street on the eastern side of Abu Dhabi Island has been called Fatima bint Mubarak Street after Sheikh Zayed’s wife who is known as the “Mother of the UAE” for her contributions to UAE society particularly in the area of women’s empowerment.

Then there are roads named after Saudi monarchs – King Abdulaziz road in Sharjah, King Abdullah road and King Salman road in Abu Dhabi. Apart from the Martyrs’ Road in Ajman and RAK-Fujairah, the names and sacrifices of individual Emirati heroes are also remembered for posterity in what has become a national move to rename streets and monuments in their honour.

Dubai or Dubayy itself is believed to have derived its name from the word daba that could refer to locusts found in the region, a market that thrived near the city, money, or the creek that runs through the city. The etymology of other emirates are also interesting – Abu Dhabi means gazelle; Sharjah means east referring to its geographical location in the country; Fujairah came from the Arabic word fajr which means dawn or a stream that runs through the region; and Ras Al Khaimah means head of the tent referring to its position at the head of the country. It is surmised that Ajman comes from the word ajam or non-Arab, in a reference to its locals while Umm al Quwain means mother of two powers.

One of the most popular residential neighbourhoods among Indian expats in Dubai is Al Karama, which Emirati vlogger Khaled al Ameri recently enlightened us means “dignity”. Ameri’s contagious smile and vivacious chatter as he vlogs about life in and outside UAE has now given Karama some popularity amongst his followers outside the country. Though technically most places are prefixed with “Al” meaning “the”, residents conveniently dispense with the appendage in their conversations. I myself learnt to dispense with the Al from Qusais and Karama on the gentle prodding of veteran resident friends.

Adjoining Karama is Oud Metha, a locality I initially mistook to have an Indian origin, but in fact Metha or Maitha means fertile land and is a name given to girls. Oud itself could mean either a musical instrument or a perfume used in Arabian lands.

A name that I took some time to decipher was Hor Al Anz, often pronounced Horlanz. It is said to be named after the warhorse Al Anz which belonged to the former Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Maktoum.

 

From Barsha to Jumeirah to Deira, the place names proclaim the heritage and culture of the Emiratis. The UAE’s map itself is a beautiful tribute to the country’s maritime and trading history – it reminds one of a dhow from some angles and a horse from others.