Deira Clocktower, Clock tower and roundabout in Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Deira Clocktower is a roundabout monument of four white tapering legs that rise from the ground and meet near the top around a central concrete column. Two white cylindrical clock faces sit at the peak, angled outward in opposite directions, with illuminated white lettering reading "Ω OMEGA Ω" above each. A pinkish water jet rises between the front legs.
Built in 1965 over ten months in two stages, the tower was designed by Otto Bullard of ADC Office with Syrian architect Ziki Homsi, and constructed by the development company Overseas AST. It was placed in Deira because the main routes into Dubai converged there before the Dubai–Abu Dhabi Road existed. The large clock that Sheikh Ahmed of Qatar gave his father-in-law Sheikh Rashid had no home, so Bullard sketched the tower to display it; he stressed the shape was his own idea, not an oil drilling bit.
The tower was designed so that it faces four streets and can be seen from any direction of the roads it links. Its shape came from a sketch by engineer Otto Bullard, not from an oil drilling bit or any other object, as is sometimes assumed.
The tower stands at a central roundabout connecting Deira and Bur Dubai near the Al Maktoum Bridge, making it a practical reference point in the busy area. The surrounding zone is filled with offices, shops, and markets, so visiting early in the morning offers easier navigation when traffic is lighter.
The tower's shape came from a sketch by engineer Otto Bullard, who had just built Zabeel Palace for Sheikh Rashid; Bullard stressed it was not modelled on an oil-drilling bit. The clock itself was a large gift from Sheikh Ahmed of Qatar, Sheikh Rashid's son-in-law, in the early 1960s. In 2008 the clocks were replaced with GPS-linked mechanisms to keep accurate time.
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