The National Council Chamber was constructed betwen 1968 and 1970 by Sheikh Zayed, by analysing numerous historic aerial photographs of Abu Dhabi.
The building was constructed with the idea that the unification of the Sheikhdoms, or the then Trucial States, would be undertaken here. The place witnessed many important historical decisions and hosted the Federal and National debates up to the late 1990s.
The building hosted The National Consultative Council ‘Al Majlis Al Watani Al Istishari’ and The Federal National Council ‘Al Majlis Al Watani Al Ittihadi’. At a local and at a national level, this chamber witnessed the development of a new modern governmental system, which has its roots in the traditional concepts of ‘Majlis’ and ‘Shura’ (consultation).
Locating the National Council Chamber outside the walls of Qasr Al Hosn ensured the Fort remained at the forefront of governance in Abu Dhabi and the unified country of the United Arab Emirates.
The festival allows you to gain a first-hand experience by visiting the chamber from inside and seeing how it has been frozen in time.
The fort tour takes you through the Council Chamber, where visitors will hear audio reconstructions of key decisions including meetings that took place in the chamber.
The chamber showcases the original articles of the chamber including the recording equipment which is still in place and the tissue boxes from those 1990s meetings are still kept there!
You can see how the building was extended in the 1980s as part of refurbishments. Toward the rear of the building, the addition of a kitchen and toilet block extended the structure closer to the walls of the Fort.