# Sheikh writes his name in sand.... two miles wide **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260 "2011-07-25T13:00:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/1 "2011-07-25T13:00:08Z")
_On a sandy island in Abu Dhabi Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan has inscribed what is in effect the biggest graffiti tag the world has ever seen. Hamad, 63, a scion of the billionaire Abu Dhabi royal family, has gouged his name in capital letters two miles across and half a mile wide. His moniker is so big it can be seen from space (as this Google Earth pic demonstrates). The tip of the “H” reaches into the strait that leads to the Arabian Gulf, allowing Hamad to fill the first two letters of his name with water. The “M” looks partially filled as well._ [Link](http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2011/07/20/abu-dhabi-oil-sheikh-writes-his-name-in-the-sand-two-miles-wide/) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/2 "2011-07-25T13:22:20Z")
Next up: he’s writing “CHA” on the moon. On the one hand, that’s a really ridiculous thing to do. On the other, I have to admit that were I in a position to do that I’d be sorely tempted too. Maybe not my name, but certainly something. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/3 "2011-07-25T13:38:11Z")
I searched it out and it’s just not that big. There’s no way you could see it from space; Google Earth photos are taken from an airplane. Still, your very own name carved into your very own beach! The rich just aren’t that different from us, they do the same absurd things we’d do if we had a shit-ton of money. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Enn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dave_enn/32/426_2.png) [@Dave\_Enn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Enn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/4 "2011-07-25T14:11:12Z")
I’ll bet he used a different technique from the one I used to write my name in the snow when I was eight. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/5 "2011-07-25T14:26:23Z")
Oddly, he writes his name using the western alphabet, not Arabic characters. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/6 "2011-07-25T14:30:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Next up: he’s writing “CHA” on the moon. My first thought as well. Da DWEE da da da dwee dah! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/7 "2011-07-25T14:50:24Z")
Here’s a question: if he’d written, say, [Allahu Akbar or something similar](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sz3MNxlv9Xw/TVXLPe6F98I/AAAAAAAAB1k/99lT-gP2jJ0/s1600/AllahuAkbar.gif) instead of his name, would this have been seen as an act of great devotion or a blasphemy? I’m not posing this to be incendiary; I was just wondering how it would be viewed there. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/8 "2011-07-25T15:00:08Z")
> [@Dave\_Enn](#): > > I’ll bet he used a different technique from the one I used to write my name in the snow when I was eight. Eight? I do that now and I’m 56! Well, not “now” because it’s July and very non-snowy outside, but you get my meaning. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/9 "2011-07-25T15:55:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > … > > Well, not “now” because it’s July and very non-snowy outside, but you get my meaning. If you are in southern california I’d say “never”. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/10 "2011-07-25T15:56:07Z")
> [@Dave\_Enn](#): > > I’ll bet he used a different technique from the one I used to write my name in the snow when I was eight. Maybe he just had more people? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/11 "2011-07-25T16:00:21Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > Maybe he just had more people? He does have cheap labour all around him. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/12 "2011-07-25T16:33:27Z")
I’d love to sneak people in there at night to add “is a Buttfuc\*er” to that name. 😃 I wonder how long before the wind & sand cover the name? It will require maintenance to keep those letters visible. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/13 "2011-07-25T16:34:43Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > He does have cheap labour all around him. It was a mistake to have an asparagus themed week at the dig site cafeteria. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/14 "2011-07-25T16:44:22Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Oddly, he writes his name using the western alphabet, not Arabic characters. I was wondering about that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/15 "2011-07-25T20:28:59Z")
Whatever. What you need to do is [write your name in trees](http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/04/luecke/). It looks like it’s a little more than two miles wide. It’s been there for years. Or if you’re going to write your [name in a desert, at least do it in style](http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/06/caterpillar-tractor-co/). Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/16 "2011-07-25T23:02:56Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > Whatever. What you need to do is [write your name in trees](http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/04/luecke/). It looks like it’s a little more than two miles wide. It’s been there for years. Or if you’re going to write your [name in a desert, at least do it in style](http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/06/caterpillar-tractor-co/). > > Enjoy, > Steven That second one reminds me of an ad campaign for a grass fertilizer, I think it was, where they wrote the name of the product in fertilizer, and the grass came up green and lush where they applied it. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/17 "2011-07-26T01:22:22Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I searched it out and it’s just not that big. There’s no way you could see it from space; Google Earth photos are taken from an airplane. > > Still, your very own name carved into your very own beach! The rich just aren’t that different from us, they do the same absurd things we’d do if we had a shit-ton of money. AFAIK most Google Earth imagery is taken from satellites. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/18 "2011-07-26T08:39:28Z")
I didn’t see a Google link or coordinates so spent some time looking for HAMAD myself. [Here it is](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Al+Futaisi&hl=en&ll=24.347722,54.324474&spn=0.041523,0.077162&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.915634,79.013672&radius=15000.000000&t=h&z=14) (upside-down with North at top). https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=24.347722,54.324474&spn=0.041523,0.077162&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.915634,79.013672&radius=15000.000000&t=h&z=14 (I’m a fan of short URLs, but don’t know which parameters here are inessential.) > [@Shmendrik](#): > > AFAIK most Google Earth imagery is taken from satellites. Is there a good discussion soemwhere of Google’s Earth maps? I’m curious. I live in a remote place where even the nearby town appeared on no map I was aware of other than certain unavailable maps used by government. Now there is a thoroughly labeled Google map. I was astounded to see our dirt driveway as a marked road and would have gotten paranoid, except our neighbor’s driveway was also marked. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/19 "2011-07-26T08:57:04Z")
It can be seen from space if you are using a powerful telescope. To me, ‘seen from space’ means with the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260/20 "2011-07-26T09:22:31Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Oddly, he writes his name using the western alphabet, not Arabic characters. That does seem strange. Arabic has more of a flowing script, which is useful if you want to fill it with water. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sheikh-writes-his-name-in-sand-two-miles-wide/590260.md?page=2)