Al Ain City Guide

by moveforward on August 13, 2007

Al Ain is a city of the emirate of Abu Dhabi that is known as the garden city of the UAE. The fourth largest city in the country, Al Ain shares a border with the neighboring country, Oman.

As far inland as Al Ain is, not many people who come to the UAE have the opportunity to visit it. This is unfortunate, as the city stands as a great example of what the country was like before it was opened up to tourists many years ago. Today, Al Ain serves as an ideal destination for travelers who have had their fill of the shopping malls and beaches of the other more popular tourist destinations in the country, and now wish to explore this still mysterious and always fascinating country in depth.

Residential Places in Al Ain

Almost all of the expatriates currently living in Al Ain rent apartments, flats, or villas for the duration of their entire stay in the city. Of course it is now possible for foreign buyers to purchase property in the city, as well as throughout the UAE, after the implementation of the freehold property law in 2002.

Some of the annual rental prices that you can expect to pay in Al Ain are 25,000AED to 40,000AED for a studio apartment, 40,000AED to 55,000AED for a one bedroom apartment, 55,000AED to 75,000AED for a 2 bedroom apartment and 70,000AED to 100,000AED for a 3 bedroom apartment. All of these prices are for air conditioned units.

Hospitals and Universities of Al Ain

Health care all over the UAE is generally first rate and you can expect the same high quality medical care and facilities in Al Ain. One of the most prestigious hospitals in the city is the Alkhaleej Medical Centre, which offers a wide range of services such as Electrocardiography, Ultrasonography scanning, and Radio and X-ray diagnosis. They also have a fully equipped Clinicopathological Laboratory on the premises. You can contact them at P.O. Box 15066, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. You can also call them at +971(3)7662355 or at +971(50)6438355 and fax them at +971(3)7659415.

For any dental concerns you may have, you can contact the Swedish Dental Clinic, which you can find at P.O. Box: 24097, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. You can call them at +971(3)7666227 or fax them at +971(3)7666228.

There is also a fairly large pharmacy in the city called the Yathreb Pharmacy, and you can find them at P.O. Box: 18132, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. You can also call them at +971(3)7669121 or +971(50)7933272 and fax them at +971(3)7669121.

Educational Facilitites

Like many major cities in the UAE, Al Ain has a large number of educational institutions and many of them offer instruction in English. The city is home to the main campus of the world renowned Abu Dhabi University, and there are a host of other well regarded secondary learning institutions as well. Among the other colleges that you can find in the city are the Al Ain University of Science & Technology, the UAE University Al Ain, and the UAE University College of Business & Economics.

Commercial Places in Al Ain

Shopping in Al Ain is a sheer joy with all the small souks located throughout the city where you can find anything from local produce to traditional artifacts. If that is not enough for you, the city also has two large shopping malls, namely: the Al Jimi Mall and the Al Ain Mall.

For your day to day needs, there is a branch of the French hypermarket Carrefour in the Al Jimi Mall, and you can also go to the Abu Dhabi Co-op in the Al Ain Mall.

Furnitures and Household Appliances

You will probably have a need to outfit your home with furniture or appliances. If you do, then Interiors may just have the thing–or things–for you. Affiliated with the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, the company has almost 40 years experience in providing excellent quality, name brand furniture to thousands of customers all over the UAE.

Carrying only the best brands from furniture manufacturers from the U.K., the U.S, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Scandinavia, and the Far East, Interiors has a wide range of products for every household need. From sofas, bedroom sets, dining room furniture, outdoor furniture, carpets and curtains, Interiors has got you covered. You can find them at P.O. Box: 80889, Industrial Area, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates and you can call them at +971(3)7211233 or fax them at +971(3)7211244.

Service Establishments of Al Ain

The primary provider of water and electrical services in Al Ain is the Al Ain Distribution Company or the AADC. The company is responsible for providing these services to over 100,000 customers throughout the eastern section of Abu Dhabi. In a move to make bills payment more convenient for its customers, AADC has combined the water and electricity bills into one, and they have also increased the operation hours of their busier payment centers.

You can contact them at P.O. Box: 1065, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates and you can call them at 800-5335 and at +971 3 7636000. You can also fax them at +971 3 7632025 or drop them an email at aadc@aadc.cc.

Digital TV services in the city are provided by E-Vision through a wireless network installed by the company in 2003.

Embassies in Al Ain

For any diplomatic concerns that you may have while in Al Ain, you can contact the office of the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi at PO Box 248, Abu Dhabi, UAE. You can also call them at (00) (971) (2) 6101100 and at (00) (971) (2) 6101111 for commercial concerns, and you can fax them at

(00) (971) (2) 6101585 for commercial inquiries, at
(00) (971) (2) 6101586 for consular or management related issues, and at
(00) (971) (2) 6101587 for Visa assistance.

The British Embassy in Abu Dhabi also has a number of email addresses that you can contact, with the prefix of each descriptive of the particular service that they provide.

These are:

chancery.abudhabi@fco.gov.uk,
commercial.abudhabi@fco.gov.uk,
consularenquiries.ad@fco.gov.uk,
defence.abudhabi@fco.gov.uk,
management.abudhabi@fco.gov.uk and
visa.abudhabi@fco.gov.uk

Office hours are from Sunday to Thursday, 0730 to 1430 local time.