đ This fact may be outdated
The carving existed and was visible from space from approximately 2009-2012, but was removed/erased around 2012-2013. The fact is written in present tense but the carving no longer exists.
Sheikh Hamad, billionaire and royal family member in the United Arab Emirates, had a huge carving of his name that's even visible from space etched into a private island.
The Space-Visible Name That Vanished From an Island
In 2009, Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan accomplished something most billionaires only dream about: he literally left his mark on Earth in a way that could be seen from orbit. The member of Abu Dhabi's royal family had his first name carved into Al Futaisi Island, his private island southwest of Abu Dhabi, in letters so colossal that satellites captured them from space.
HAMAD stretched an astounding 3.2 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) across the island's landscape. Each letter towered approximately 500 meters high. To put that in perspective, that's taller than the Empire State Building laid on its side - repeated five times.
Engineering a Cosmic Signature
Creating letters visible from space required more than just scratching lines in the sand. Sheikh Hamad hired workers from Pakistan and Bangladesh to excavate the enormous letters deep into the island's surface. The depth wasn't just for visibility - it was strategic engineering.
The carving had to withstand the Arabian Gulf's tides, which could easily wash away shallow trenches. Al Nahyan's solution was ingenious: dig the letters deep enough to form waterways that would channel and absorb tidal water rather than erode. Essentially, he turned his name into a functional drainage system.
The Mystery Disappearance
Then something strange happened. By 2012, satellite imagery showed the letters were gone. Erased. The massive carving that had taken considerable time, money, and labor to create had been deliberately removed.
Why? The official explanation remains murky, but the leading theory points to Abu Dhabi's evolving identity. The emirate was investing billions in cultural prestige projects:
- Building branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums
- Hosting New York University and Sorbonne campuses
- Positioning itself as a global cultural capital
A giant vanity project visible from space apparently didn't align with this sophisticated new image. Someone in authority likely decided the carving was too ostentatious, too gauche for the modern brand Abu Dhabi wanted to project to the world.
The Eccentric Sheikh
The name carving fits Sheikh Hamad's personality perfectly. Known for his extraordinary collections, he owns the world's largest collection of military vehicles and operates a museum housing over 200 vintage cars. He's also built a giant pyramid as a monument and created the world's largest motorhome - a custom building the size of a small mansion on wheels.
For a few years, his name literally towered over the Persian Gulf, readable by astronauts in the International Space Station. Then it vanished, leaving only satellite archives as proof it ever existed - a fleeting monument to ego that couldn't outlast shifting political image concerns.