Possibly this Blog's First Umm al-Qaiwain Story

Flag of Umm al-Qaiwain

Next month I will complete my third year of blogging and begin my fourth. In all that time, and in slightly more than 2500 posts, I have apparently never had a post devoted to the Emirate of Umm al-Qaiwain, if my Google search bar up there on the upper left is to be believed. (I did mention it once, in a post about camel beauty contests in the Emirate of ‘Ajman, in what remains my only ‘Ajman post. (‘Ajman is smaller in size than its neighbor and fellow UAE Emirate Umm al-Qaiwain, but in recent years has grown to have a larger population.) Now I have reason to redeem my previous inattention to things Umm al-Qaiwain: they are hoping to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Not, as you might imagine for their obscurity, but rather for trying to create the world's largest outdoor photo gallery, on a 300-meter wall in a park according to the story in The National linked above. The Ruler of Umm al-Qaiwain himself pinned up (pinned up? how permanent is this gallery?), the final photo, a picture of Abu Dhabi Ruler and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa. Guess which Emirate has a lot more of the UAE's wealth than Umm al-Qaiwain? Right the first time; that's why you've all heard of Abu Dhabi a lot more often than Umm al-Qaiwain.