The leaning tablets
31 tablets by Idris Khan, up to 23 m.
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Wahat Al Karama, the Oasis of Dignity, is the UAE's national memorial to the soldiers, police, diplomats and civilians who have died in its service since 1971. Its 46,000-square-metre grounds face Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Inaugurated on Commemoration Day, 30 November 2016, it opened to the public on 6 December. Its centrepiece, by British artist Idris Khan, was chosen in a competition: a 90-metre row of 31 steel tablets clad in hand-painted aluminium, the tallest 23 metres high. Leaning on one another to symbolise unity between leadership, people and those who serve, they carry poems and sayings by the country's leaders, Sheikh Zayed's among them, and rest on a spine bearing the armed forces' oath of allegiance. The Memorial Plaza, built for the annual Commemoration Day ceremony, has travertine seating for 1,200 around a pool only 15 mm deep that mirrors the tablets and the mosque. Beyond, the circular Pavilion of Honour lists the fallen, each on a panel cast from metal reclaimed from armed forces vehicles, around seven glass panels for the seven emirates. The visitor centre at the entrance tells their stories on interactive screens. The mosque lies about 430 m west, Mangrove National Park 7 km north-west and Zayed National Museum 15 km away on Saadiyat Island, all as the crow flies. A footbridge crosses the main road, so the mosque pairs easily; allow 45 to 90 minutes here. Abu Dhabi's official tourism site lists the plaza as open 24 hours and the visitor centre 9:00 to 19:00. National occasions and official visits can close the memorial.
31 tablets by Idris Khan, up to 23 m.
The tablets and the mosque in the water.
The names of the fallen on a circular wall.
Opposite Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi
In April 2026 a weekly ceremony began on Saturday evenings, with a flag salute, a band and a mounted parade, open to families and the public. It started at 17:00 and was held at 18:00 by late April, so check that it is still running, and its time, before you go.
The UAE's day of remembrance for those who died in its service, held on 30 November since a 2015 decree by the late President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Flags fly at half-mast from 8:00, a minute's silence is held at 11:30, and the flags are then raised to the national anthem.
