Abra (boat)
Encyclopedia
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
made of wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
, used to transport people across Dubai Creek
Dubai Creek
Dubai Creek or Khor Dubai is a saltwater creek located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . It ends at Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary. Some sources say that the creek extended as far inland as Al Ain, and that the Ancient Greeks called it River Zara. Historically, the creek divided the city into two...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. A medium-sized single-engine
Engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert energy into useful mechanical motion. Heat engines, including internal combustion engines and external combustion engines burn a fuel to create heat which is then used to create motion...
craft with a capacity of about 20 passengers, it is driven by a single operator from a cockpit stepped in the center of the hull. The short platform around the cockpit, sheltered by a canopy, is where the passengers are seated, all facing outwards, 10 on each side. The speed of the engine may vary, while the steering system is basic: often a wooden rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
connected to the cockpit's mechanism by means of ropes and pulleys.
Abras used to be the primary means of transportation between the two sides of the creek before car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s could cross it via the several bridges or the Al Shindagha Tunnel
Al Shindagha Tunnel
Al Shindagha Tunnel is a tunnel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It goes under Dubai Creek to connect the neighborhoods of Deira and Al Shindagha. It is the only underwater crossing at Dubai Creek. The tunnel has a total of four lanes, two in each direction. It opened in 1975....
. It is now mostly used by tourist
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
s, common folk and nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
s. They still ferry up to 20 million passengers annually. It takes under 10 minutes to cross between Deira
Deira, Dubai
Deira is an area in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates bordered by the Persian Gulf, Sharjah and Dubai Creek. Historically, it has been the center of Dubai, but has been losing its importance during the past few decades due to recent development along E 11 road and areas further down the...
and the other side of the creek, Bur Dubai
Bur Dubai
Bur Dubai is a historic district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located on the western side of the Dubai Creek. The name literally translates to Mainland Dubai, a reference to the traditional separation of the Bur Dubai area from Deira by the Dubai Creek...
. Minor collisions are common as the abras jostle for space.
The abra service of today is regulated by the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority. The old boarding piers have been replaced with six official boarding stations and fitted with spacing gates for crowd control; these facilities were built and are maintained by the Dubai Municipality
Dubai Municipality
Dubai Municipality is the municipal body with jurisdiction over city services and the upkeep of facilities in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1954 by the then crown prince of Dubai, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum...
. There are about 149 abras in service. All abras operate from about 5:30 a.m. till about midnight
Midnight
Midnight is the transition time period from one day to the next: the moment when the date changes. In the Roman time system, midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise, varying according to the seasons....
, while 10 abras run one of the three routes at all hours. The abras charge a nominal rate (2011) of 1 dirham
United Arab Emirates dirham
The dirham is the currency of the United Arab Emirates. The ISO 4217 code for the United Arab Emirates dirham is AED. Unofficial abbreviations include DH or Dhs. The dirham is subdivided into 100 ....
per direct crossing per head, or 100 dirhams per hour for exclusive hire. "Rowing" abras are also available at 1 dirham per head or 30 dirhams per hour.
The fees and capacity are also regulated by the public transport authority, and the abra operators are issued permits by the RTA to grant them the license to operate within the law. The authorities are currently considering an increase in the traditionally accepted fare, and a switch to eco-friendlier CNG
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
fuel or even solar energy
Solar power
Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
.
Abras are a part of the traditional creekscape of Dubai, and are considered a part of the city's heritage. In January, as a part of the Dubai Shopping Festival
Dubai Shopping Festival
Dubai Shopping Festival started on February 15, 1996 as a retail event intended to revitalise retail trade in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has since been promoted as a tourist attraction...
, an abra race is run on the creek with a 6,000-dirham first prize.