The Palace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Status: Email hoax (real pictures, fake caption)
Bad: Falling for an email hoax. Worse: Using the hoax as the basis for your presentation to the local city planning commission, thereby displaying your gullibility to the entire public.

As reported by the Muncie Star Press (no link), Don Love gets the award for doing the latter. He received an email containing a series of pictures of an opulent estate (shown below), with the caption:

In case you're wondering where this hotel is, it isn't a hotel at all. IT IS A HOUSE! It's owned by the family of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the former president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu-Dhabi.

Enraged, he made a slide presentation out of the pictures and showed them to the planning commission, as part of his effort to get them to approve construction of an ethanol plant. His point was that they should promote local energy projects, to prevent all the city's money going to greedy, oil-rich sheiks. He told them: "This is the type of thing being done with your petro dollars that I want to re-patriate. Keep in mind the gentleman has more than 20 wives. This is one of 70 baths. Some are bigger than my house. This is his little swimming pool. These are his cars."

Of course, the pictures don't show a sheik's palace. In reality they show a fancy hotel in Abu Dhabi called the Emirates Palace. All the stuff about 20 wives is bogus too. If Love had bothered to do any research, he would have found this out. He probably could also have found some real pictures of a sheik's palace, which would have been a more effective way of making his point. Incidentally, my other house (the one in my daydreams) looks just like the one in the pictures.

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Email Hoaxes Photos Places

Posted on Tue Nov 15, 2005



Comments

The funniest thing, I think, is that it LOOKS like a hotel xD
Posted by Mera  on  Tue Nov 15, 2005  at  11:03 PM
I could swear this was covered before, but I can't find any reference to it.
Posted by Charybdis  on  Wed Nov 16, 2005  at  10:36 AM
Why didn't see the reception desks in some of the pictures? It's pretty damn obvious. And if he did, what could he possibly mistake them for, offices?
Just goes to show it pays not to be blinded by jealousy!
Posted by Carmen  on  Wed Nov 16, 2005  at  01:18 PM
I know Alex covered this before as a hoax, but this is someone who's supposed to know shit from shingles making an ass of himself in front of everyone, so it deserves another entry.
Posted by Citizen Premier  on  Wed Nov 16, 2005  at  11:13 PM
It's beautiful, very beautiful:)
Posted by Neri  on  Wed Jan 18, 2006  at  07:05 AM
you know, i honestly thought it was a hotel at first. it seemed too crazy to just be someone's house! but honestly if it were me and it was MY house i'd have to rent it out, or something. because that's just crazy!!!
Posted by adri  on  Fri Feb 03, 2006  at  08:08 AM
Follow-up: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan died on February 11, 2004. So even if he did have an opulent palace, he couldn't enjoy it from where he is. Here is link to His Highness's official website: http://www.sheikhzayed.com
Posted by Atta Boy  on  Tue Mar 07, 2006  at  06:23 PM
It's really a big WOW!! for a house. That's what money can do. Hehehe!!! I really loved viewing it again and again
Posted by Hanah P. Montejo  on  Mon Mar 13, 2006  at  07:17 PM
This is just a joke right?... I think this is just a mockery... This is not fair, we can see people dying in the streets, in every place of the world, and this people having this kind of house? IS JUST A JOKE...
Instead of building "This type of houses" you should help the people dying in every corner of the world...
Posted by Maria Fernanda  on  Mon Apr 10, 2006  at  11:45 AM
hmm im from the place and what u guys talking about its 7 stars hotel located in the capital of UAE and its not the palace of shiekh zayed as what u ppl said and regarding helping people i think shiekh zayed helped alot of people around the world .😊
Posted by Ghadeer Almansoori  on  Wed May 17, 2006  at  05:35 AM
i love this sheikh 😊
Posted by Ridzy  on  Thu May 25, 2006  at  05:43 AM
I think this is just ridiculous for some one to tell lies like that.
Posted by Tshepang  on  Sat May 27, 2006  at  02:56 PM
Ahora s
Posted by Yanory  on  Mon Jun 12, 2006  at  05:32 PM
Its amazing what gas can buy.
Posted by Kevin  on  Sun Jul 30, 2006  at  01:13 PM
well hw old the owner or owner's son is......
Posted by zzzzzzzzzz  on  Fri Aug 25, 2006  at  05:31 AM
Its really funny,, am feeling so sorry for those who believed such stupid lie.. Indeed they never have been in a 5 star hotels or above in their life. Sorry guys this is a real hotel in the capital of UAE.
Ooofffff,,,Come on guys stop thinking as you are in the stone age.. We are in the information age
Posted by salem  on  Thu Aug 31, 2006  at  09:18 PM
Me pudieran mandar los planos de la casa?
Estoy planeando hacer una igual en Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Posted by Corina Galvan  on  Fri Sep 01, 2006  at  10:49 PM
it's just amazing!!!
Posted by Carol Magalh  on  Sun Sep 03, 2006  at  09:55 AM
it is really perfect life.
Posted by Abdul Majeed Afzali  on  Thu Sep 07, 2006  at  02:05 AM
for all you idiots out there this is not sheikh zayed's palace! this is a 5 star luxury hotel in abu dhabi called emirates palace! and yes it's amazing what people can do with money instead of going BOMBING other countries for BILLIONS of dollars.
Posted by nyxx  on  Wed Oct 04, 2006  at  02:25 AM
5 star hotel? This is seems like a 6 star.
who cares if we were fooled? Wow, I can create something that'll fool you if I wanted to waste my time and what would that prove, really? That you're dumb? NOT!
Posted by esau  on  Mon Oct 23, 2006  at  04:15 PM
blooooooooodcloth the first time i seen dat house or hotel i was like this arab is fucking doing it reaal fucking BIG,only to find out it aint real damn if he did have a house like dat he b a fucked up leader leaving his people to suffer wen he riding around in bentley n a real silver audi damn thank god it aint fucking real
Posted by kippo  on  Fri Oct 27, 2006  at  09:32 PM
Are you ppl stupid, or what? One of the richest man in the Middle East, if not the world, couldnt afford a $1million, $2million, or even $150million, you think he cant afford it. People like this family, by whole hotels in London, Paris... just because they like its style or service. He even owns his own airlines, Entihad. How cant he afford this?
Posted by hsda  on  Thu Nov 09, 2006  at  02:42 AM
This is a 7 Star hotel and Kempinski was the hotel group chosen to operate Emirates Palace. Is the oldest European luxury hotel group. The Hotel palace is owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi and it is not a private house. Go to its website.
http://www.emiratespalace.com/
Posted by Alli  on  Sun Nov 12, 2006  at  03:22 PM
This is one of the signes of the end of the world. It states "the end will not come until you see the BARE FOOTED BEDOUINS competing with high buildings". So the end of the world is surely near. In 1950, sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan was riding a camel in the desert where one of the worlds tallest buildings now stands in dubai...Present day..Burj Al Arab...
GOD BLESS THE ARAB WORLD!!!
Posted by Saif  on  Sun Nov 12, 2006  at  06:51 PM
WELL, when i first saw it i was told it was someone's house i almost believed but not until i saw the reception. love just made a mockery of himself and this shows how jealous he is
Posted by atl  on  Thu Nov 23, 2006  at  04:41 AM
for all you fools that believe in everything people say and also to sly that told me about this without making research this is not a sheikhs house but rather a seven (7) star hotel in dubai
Posted by fuad(atl)  on  Thu Nov 23, 2006  at  04:47 AM
hmm, and doesnt anyone notice the number signs next to the doors? Its obviosly a hotel holy crap people.
Posted by brandon  on  Wed Nov 29, 2006  at  06:53 PM
Just received this e-mail and for some weird reasons started to search for the real pictures. something told me it was not true.
Dont know why stupid people do things like this, i guess jelousy, instead of spending their free time in something better than confusing people that unfortunatelly are not smart enough to tell the diference.
Posted by Jackie  on  Sat Dec 02, 2006  at  02:01 AM
This isnt a house, its a hotel, ive been to it and lived in it, dark from the inside too. Its owned by Sheikh Zayed, true about that.
Posted by Ex  on  Tue Dec 05, 2006  at  06:40 AM
holly this guyz loaded with everything imma go give him a visit soon timez
Posted by =)  on  Thu Dec 14, 2006  at  04:11 PM
well it dosnt matter u peeps the bottom line is the hotels in u-a-e so a arab owns it so be quite its an arabs hotel or house a arabs ok
Posted by usman  on  Sun Dec 17, 2006  at  11:46 AM
a few americans from u-s have comented above they should understand that the pictures above and the hotel belongs to an arab and u u-s peeps need to wake up the hotel belongs to sheikh zayed the arab king so please shut up if you dont know anything besides burger king or kfc
Posted by wasim  on  Sun Dec 17, 2006  at  11:51 AM
It does does not matter who owns the place, the bottom line is that people should be directing funds to useful, beautiful things, instead of kiiling others and obusing national funds, like some leaders in certain countries do. Sheikh if it is your keep it up.
Posted by Salani  on  Sat Jan 06, 2007  at  08:05 AM
why do you guys care if someone is fooled or not? and you complain about this guys jealousy. I know jealous people and they DON'T paint people in good light, which is the opposite of what this guy did. You all are IDIOTS, and just enjoy the F@%*ing pictures.
Posted by Triz  on  Fri Feb 02, 2007  at  11:55 AM
Salam to all .. Emirates Palace is one of the most beautiful and renowned Hotels in the world ..The cost for makin Emirates Palace was 3 billion dollars which makes it the most luxurious and costly Hotel in the world..It is in Abu Dhabi (DAR aL maS) capital of U.A.E which has the fastest growing GDP of the world and the riches economy of the world ..Emirates is a place to be and has the best standard of livin in the world ..Hope this information helps LOVE ..and the rest of ma friends visiting here ...all the very best .
Posted by Hussain Al Zaidii  on  Mon Feb 12, 2007  at  10:48 AM
Asslam-o-Alaikum:
I pray for u Sir Shaikh Zayed that God bless u.U should live long.
Posted by sammiullah khan  on  Mon Feb 19, 2007  at  03:23 AM
Hi people,
This is a 7 star hotel in the U.A.E,
it is NOT the palace of the late ruler sheikh zayed. The people of the U.A.E loved sheikh zayed because he was the one who united 7 small emirates into one new country called the U.A.E, He was a sheikh who cared alot for his people and always helped foreign countries who needed help.
Posted by alain  on  Wed Feb 21, 2007  at  12:52 AM
http://www.sheikhzayed.com/index_flash.htm

the worst web site ever!!!!
Posted by abdulah  on  Fri Feb 23, 2007  at  07:53 AM
This is a hotel for people who didn't read it. in response to Maria fernanda. It's called roalty. alot of people in this world cannot be helped no matter how much money you have. why would you give up all your money to people with nothing if it will make no difference whatsoever when you could live in luxury? why add yourself to the list of those who suffer when there is no point? for thousands of years, select people have lived in splendour and most people in poverty. INFACT, having a computer, even these days, having a roof over your head, food every day, and a family who loves you, makes you in something like the top 10% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION. there has never been, nore will there ever be a person who is completely slefless. it is natural to put yourself before anyone else. certain royal families have more than 8 residences in use and many more that they still own but are open to the public. the website for this hotel is :
http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/main.htm
Posted by John  on  Sun May 13, 2007  at  02:27 AM
OMG.... I just got this email from someone I know in California.. The VERY FIRST thing I thought was THIS IS A NICE HOTEL... My dear friends (who are really my second family) are from Dubai.. The nicest people I know.. and God Bless Sheikh Zayed.. may he rest in peace in Heaven.. Yes.. Dubai is a VERY WEALTHY Arab nation.. God blessed them with OIL and a mind to develop the desert into a REAL OASIS... They Japanese LOVE to play golf there, too!! When it is not 70C in the summer.. and everyone who can gets out to cooler countries.. People come from ALL OVER the world to work.. and DUBAI has the nicest native population of people I know.. I have been to Dubai.. and I LOVED it... They didn't spend BILLIONS of dollars bombing anyone.. and so they have TONS of money.. who knows what is it all from .. but they are ONE RICH COUNTRY... Go GOOGLE DUBAI and look at how beatiful the city is.. the Palms, the Bur Ali Hotel... and they are even building a LOUVRE there, too!! God Bless you UAE and all of your wonderful people....
Posted by Leesa G.  on  Tue May 15, 2007  at  03:32 PM
;-) Can some body send me the palace prints? I am going to build my house, and I want to copy/paste this nice home in Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua. Mexico.
Posted by Corina Galvan  on  Tue Jun 19, 2007  at  11:18 PM
I just want to make a quick point that not everyone from this country is stupid, granted some of the more recent political decisions in our country have been made by mindless masses, but that can be said of any democracy given the right political climate. I came upon this site because I obviously knew that the email was false, and wanted to inform people, not spread sensationalist ideas.. I encourage everyone else to do the same, and calm down, if it sounds unbelievable, it probably is.
Posted by Krash  on  Wed Jun 20, 2007  at  09:28 AM
irrespective of the ownership of this beautiful structure its is clear that some one own it and cannot possibly be richer that the prince him self as per state law..HOwever what needs to be remebered here is that all praises are for Allah almighty. I wish i had 2 of these, but jealousy is definitely not goin to help here..and true atleast they are not using the monies to attack other countries like many superpowers do...
Posted by ahem  on  Fri Jun 22, 2007  at  01:20 AM
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh am really laughing loud !!
you lil kids have a look at this
http://www.emiratespalace.com/en/main.htm
its a HOTEL.. we dont have to explain more, its just because u WANT TO BELIEVE that it was his house !!

and by the way
if he lived in such hotel in his life time.. we will keep loving him till the last minute of our lives,, in fact, we as a nation would build him such palace and give it to him as a gift..he is the real father of all of us, not only UAE ,, but mostly all arab countries.. and even foreign ones used to love and respect him...

I've studied in the states, and uk, and really realized how much you folks believe the outer shells of matters and always willing to make propaganda out of it for no obvious reason just to prove to yourselves how much stupid you are! plz get out of the box and think wise!!

Cares !!
Posted by Architect  on  Thu Jul 26, 2007  at  02:00 AM
Its kind of late to clarify but yes the snaps are not a residence but a hotel called 'Emirates Place Hotel' in Abu Dhabi. Its many times confused with being a palace of Sh Zayed but its not.
Posted by Asim  on  Thu Jul 26, 2007  at  03:18 AM
So it's a hotel. And a very nice hotel at that. That said, the wealth that built this hotel is oil money nontheless. And I wish I had more of it. But since I don't, I certainly hope we can come up with an alternative source of energy to fuel the future.

All things considered, I would rather fund my kids' (or others') educations than continue pouring billions of dollars each month into the pockets of OPEC nations, while spending billions more fighting the rest of the world for fossil fuels.
Posted by GB  on  Thu Nov 15, 2007  at  04:46 PM
hello people>>>>>>I really wanted to say that this is really the shaikh's palace but it is in abu dabi>>>> it is known for us because we are arab gulf people >>>>
Posted by hamad  on  Sun Dec 30, 2007  at  03:53 PM
That is bull ****!!!

I live in Abu Dhabi, and I can assure you that this is a hotel, and not anyones house!

Its called Emirates Palace Hotel, and you can google it out if you want.

I was there last month, as Justin Timberlake held his concert there.
Posted by Toni  on  Thu Jan 17, 2008  at  03:48 AM
The fact that it's being confused with a hotel only proves that the sheikhs in that region live in homes that look like hotels or better. I for one believe that it is the sultan's palace. That's obvious. The name of a hotel is always mentioned in front of the building. Nowhere does it say "such and such hotel." But that's hardly the point. Even if this is a hotel, the sheikhs live in places still more ostentatious.

The Arab Americans and the American boot lickers of the sheikhs are trying to downplay the debauched and extravagant lifestyle of these repugnant creatures. I'm also shocked on how shallow their own minds are when they look upon such crap as a source of "jealousy" between each other.

Last but not least .. common guys! It's just another 150 or 200 years at most .. when the oil wells run dry and the descendents of our much admired sheikhs and sheikhas will be seen selling corn on the cob along the streets where their palaces once stood at the expense of the hungry children in their region.
Posted by Whoever  on  Sun Jan 20, 2008  at  04:42 PM
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