The Gulf has become synonymous with epic construction projects, from the world’s third-biggest mosque in Abu Dhabi to the world’s tallest building, expected to top 800 metres, in Dubai.

The emirate is home to serried ranks of soaring cranes – perhaps fancifully quoted as more than a quarter of the world’s crane population by some – and an army of expatriate staff who are shaping the futuristic city of skyscrapers and man-made islands on sand and sea.