Al Ain
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- Alain was also the pseudonym of Emile Auguste Chartier.
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Al Ain is a city in the United Arab Emirates located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, directly adjacent to the border with Oman. It is often called the 'Garden City of the Persian Gulf' given the many parks and garden areas within the city. Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and Dubai form a kind of geographic triangle in the center of the country, each roughly 150 kilometers from the other two.
Al Ain is the fourth largest metropolitan area by population in the Emirates with just under 300 000 people. As elsewhere in the country, the majority of its citizens are expatriates particularly from the Indian sub-continent. While tourists do regularly visit, Al Ain has fewer permanent Europeans and North Americans than do the larger centers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. This partly accounts for its rather conservative character.
The area has been continuously inhabited for more than four thousand years and Al Ain is considered central to the cultural heritage of the country. The name Al Ain means "spring" in Arabic, a reference to the numerous underground water springs in the area, which explains its attractiveness as an area of settlement. Traces of its traditional past remain, including camel racing and breeding. The ancient falaj system of irrigation is still in use in some areas distributing underground water by a network of tunnels emerging eventually into open channels whose flow can be directed and regulated.
Tourist attractions include a zoo, amusement park named "Fun City", many parks, a heritage village as well as malls and other modern sites. Important social and governmental infrastructure Emirates University, well-equipped medical facilities, military training areas and Al Ain International Airport.
The city is home to the succesfull association football (soccer) club, Al Ain FC.de:Al-Ain