We are very grateful to Mirjana DeLaey, Executive Producer at Abu Dhabi Media Zone, for helping us organize our production and trip to the United Arab Emirates from start to finish.

She and her colleagues not only offered help and support in obtaining location permits, but also with the entire logistics for the production and crew during our stay in the UAE. She was our producer for over 2 weeks full time, and even after our shooting, Mirjana continued working with us over 2 months to the very end ensuring the material goes live, all in the spirit of our project, so that everyone around the globe can enjoy the sights of the UAE.

Of the coast of the Arabian Peninsula, on an island just a few hundred meters from the UAE main land, lies the island-city of Abu Dhabi, surrounded by many other islands that are just a bridge away. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the emirate of Abu Dhabi and the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the political, industrial, commercial and cultural center of the country.

The main part of the city life is concentrated on the northern side of the island where several street blocks flow out into the Corniche, an 8 km-long picturesque waterfront. It contains almost all of the city's beachfront hotels, numerous shopping centers, cafes, restaurants, parks, children's play areas and fountains. Corniche beach holds a prestigious Blue Flag — an award given to beachfront vacation spots where the water and other conditions meet the highest standards.

One of the main landmarks on that waterfront is the luxurious five-star hotel, Emirates Palace. It is a magnificent building with 114 domes that light up at night with changing colors, and enormous greens and gardens along with a kilometer-long private beach. The hotel totals 394 rooms with the biggest room measuring 680 square meters. Tourists often visit the lobby to admire the riches of the hotel: the 13 different kinds of marble brought over from Italy, Spain, China and India, 1002 Swarovski chandeliers, and other items of luxury.

The City's waterfront has many gigantic skyscrapers that thrill visitors with their size and architectural forms. Among the most known Abu Dhabi landmarks are the Etihad Towers. In this complex of five towers that range in height from 217 to 305 meters lie luxurious apartments, offices and one more hotel from Jumeirah Group luxury hotels company, named Jumeira.

The Emirates is a great, vibrant, wondrous country —  people are relaxed and friendly, the standard of living there is rather high. They build majestic cities with unusual buildings, make man-made islands, create convenient conditions for business, and ensure safety. These two cities that we had a pleasure to visit, Abu-Dhabi and Dubai, are definitely aspired for greatness in the future.

And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the weather in Abu Dhabi: it is one of the hottest cities in the world. There is almost no precipitation there, temperatures in the summer can reach +50°C, and in the winter it stays at about +25°C. Because of this, during summer months it is far more enjoyable to view the sights of Abu Dhabi on our aerial photo panoramas in the comfort of your own home and plan your visit for the winter time.

Filming in Abu Dhabi and in the UAE was great collaborative effort of numerous authorities, companies and media enthusiasts. AirPano team is very grateful to all for their kindness, perseverance and support.

We would like to express our special thanks to the UAE authorities and media companies:

— National Media Council

— Ministry of Interior

— Ministry of Defense

— Ministry of Presidential Affairs

— General Civil Aviation Authority

— Department of Transport

— twofour54 — Abu Dhabi Media and Entertainment Hub

— The Media Company — one of the fastest growing media production companies in the Emirates

and our most sincere appreciation and gratitude to our Emirates production crew: Mohammad Fathii, Ahmed Al Kaabi and Mirjana DeLaey for making this production possible.

Photos by Stas Sedov and Dmitry Moiseenko