If you looked at the picture above and guessed, "Zayed the 1st" or "7th Street" then you would be wrong. No one uses those names. The road is actually called 'Electra', which appears no where on any signs or any maps.Not sure why. I have heard, this same road, further across the island, is called "Nagda Street'.
Funny town, Abu Dhabi.
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Najda street is actually a different street that intersects Electra. Electra is electra till the end going east.
Going west it is electra till you hit Khalidiya, then it is known as Zayed the 1st street.
So it is only electra for 1/2 it's length.
Al Najda is the street that connects from the corniche to the old military base, going past the Nissan showroom and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. Hypermarket... Its a differnt street.
Mind you Sh. Zayed the 1st is the OFFICIAL name of Electra. Ages ago when electricity 1st started coming to Abu Dhabi, all the generators, then all the shops that sold electrical parts, lights, appliances... were all on that one road (You can still see many electrical shops on Electra.
So it was called "Electra' by everyone. It was never actually its official name.
Same for Al Najda. It was called that because AGES ago the main police station, the Shurtat Al Najda (Safety police dept) was located there.
Ya dig? Many many streets and even full blocks were given official names later on, but people to this day just call it what they were always known as.
More interesting things are "Hamdan street" called that because Shaikh Hamdan's palace used to be there.
Baarhose (powe house) because the very 1st generator for power was there, Al Falah Street, because a military outpost called AL Falah camap used to be there, Madinat Zayed (Zayed City) is actually the name of an area 300 KMs away from Abu Dhabi, but a small part of Abu Dhabi, between. Falah street, Najda street, and Electra is called Zayed City.
Al Hosin is not called al hosin officially, but because the hosin, or Castle is there, it is called as such.
Also, Al Difaa rod, called that because the main military base was there.
Airport Road isnt actually called airport road officially, but back in the day it was the ONLY road that would lead to the airport and off the island... There are now 4 routes, but the name stayed.
Al Muroor street isnt officially muroor st. But becaus ethe muroor (Traffic Dept.)is on that st...
Musafah road, called that because it started as a highway to the mussafah industrial area, is called officially Arabian Gulf Rd...
Lots of history, and you can learn alot of it from taxi drivers or older Emaratis.
Very interesting! Thanks for that.
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