As one of the only working Palaces of its kind in the world, Qasr Al Watan is a unique cultural landmark that reflects centuries of Arabian architectural design and tradition in a palace built for the 21st century. Representing much more than a traditional palace, Qasr Al Watan stands an exquisitely crafted tribute to the region’s Arabian heritage and artistry.
The craftsmanship and artistry of the Palace is not only limited to the design of its walls; it can also be seen by the breath-taking landscape that has been purposely designed to complement the Palace of the Nation’s core architectural elements.
The design language shown throughout the green areas and paving of the Palace infuse traditional Arabian art and Islamic geometrical patterns and landscape concepts.It has been structured in a way to always have open views towards the Palace, while considering spaces that are meant for art structures such as Mattar Ben Lahej’s two silver Power of Words structures. These structures are smaller replicas of the original Power of Words sculpture housed within the Great Hall of the Palaceand echo the inspiring words of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Just like the Palace’s wall, visitors will find that the landscape design is quite detailed and intricate, with every pavement and tile serving a purpose of creating the unified and timeless identity of Qasr Al Watan.
As part of its enriching visitor journey that gives visitors the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the UAE, visitors will find that even the trees surrounding the Palace have a lot of historical significance to the nation. For example, visitors can find the Ghaf tree, Prosopis Cineraria,which is the national tree of the UAE, and the tree that was chosen as a symbol for the UAE’s Year of Tolerance, for its role as a historic and cultural symbol of stability and peace in the UAE’s desert environment. The Date Palm, Phoenix Dactylifera, which also symbolises and represents a big part of UAE heritage and tradition, can also be found. Fountains and water features have also been included as part of the overall landscape design to not only allow visitors to look and see, but also awaken their sense of sound and feel as they walk through the Palace’s landscape.
Many beautiful shrubs and ground covers such as Atriplex halimus, Bougainvillea glabra, Sesuvium portulacasteum and Wedelia trilobata are used to achieve this marvellous outdoor design, and this not only attracts people to visit the Palace and enjoy the outdoor space, it also frequently attracts many birds such as parrots, falcons, ospreys, socotra cormorants, Egyptian geese and more. As visitors take in the scenic views of the Gardens that surround them, they can simply look up and also spot lovely birds flying around.
The exquisite experience at the Palace of the Nation is truly unlike any other, for visitors of all ages to explore time and time again. With its architectural marvels, artistic wonders and a rich historical legacy to discover, one visit to Qasr Al Watan is never quite enough.
Qasr Al Watan welcomes visitors of all ages daily from 11:00AM to 7:00PM; for more info and to buy your tickets please visit: https://www.qasralwatan.ae/en/booking.
