Deira Clocktower

Deira Clocktower at night, 2015

Deira Clocktower (Arabic: دوار الساعة ديرة), originally referred to as the Dubai Clocktower, is a roundabout in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Clocktower is located in eastern Dubai in Deira, at the intersection of Umm Hurair Road and route D 89 (Al Maktoum Road). Situated in the locality of Al Rigga, the Deira Clocktower, now a prominent monument in Deira, provides access to the Al Maktoum Bridge, the first land crossing constructed between Deira and Bur Dubai. The Dubai clock tower was built in 1965 and was designed by Otto Bullard and Ziki Homsi,^[1]^[2]^[3] a partner at Architecture Design Construction (ADC) Office.

The Clocktower was erected as a symbol of Dubai and located in Deira because major routes into Dubai converged prior to the building of Dubai - Abu Dhabi Road.

The Deira Clock Tower can be reached by Dubai Metro. The nearest metro station is Al-Rigga on the Red Line. The area around Deira clock tower is very important commercially, and includes the offices of major international airlines operating in UAE.

The Telegraph newspaper listed Dubai Clock Tower among the 17 most beautiful clock towers around the world.^[4]

History[]

Engineer Edgar Bublik who was General Manager of Overseas AST, builders of the clock, in Dubai in the 1970s. He explains the background to Dubai’s Clock Tower.

“Shaikh Ahmed of Qatar was Shaikh Rashid’s son-in-law. In the early 1960s Shaikh Ahmed gave Shaikh Rashid a clock as a gift. It was a very large clock. Shaikh Rashid did not know what to do with such a large clock! My predecessor Mr Bulard had just completed building Zabeel Palace for Shaikh Rashid so he made a sketch of his idea for a Clock Tower. Mr Bulard gave the sketch to his engineer to make the structural calculations and produce a design. The shape and design of the Clock Tower was from Mr Bulard’s own ideas and did not represent an Oil Drilling Bit or any other object.” ^[5]