Billionaire sheikh carves his name in
desert so big it can be seen from SPACE
A big name in the desert … Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan’s handywork
By HARRY HAYDON July 2011
A DESERT sheikh has carved out a big name for himself — by having his moniker etched in capital letters visible from space.
View from space … mega-rich sheikh’s name
Workmen scoured “HAMAD” into the sand on the orders of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.
The name is two miles across — with letters a kilometre high. It is so huge that the “H”, the first “A” and part of the “M” have been made into waterways.
The mega-rich sheikh, 63 — a member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi — in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates — boasts a £14billion fortune that is second only to the Saudi king’s.
His fleet of more than 200 cars — including seven Mercedes 500 SELs painted in different colours of the rainbow — is housed in a custom-built pyramid.
His name is etched on to an island he owns called Al Futaisi.