Al-Maktoum Institute For Arabic and Islamic Studies, Student Information, Dundee City

Dundee & Tayside

Dundee is Scotland’s fourth largest city and is located on the estuary of the River Tay on the east coast. It is a lively, affordable and very friendly city with a sizeable population of people from diverse backgrounds and cultural heritage. The diversity of culture and religion is clearly reflected by the fact that Dundee has been twinned with the City of Nablus in Palestine for almost twenty years.

With two universities and more young people in full-time education than any other, Dundee is Scotland’s student city. There are almost 40,000 people studying in Dundee, which itself has a population of approximately 150,000. Here at Al-Maktoum Institute we are proud to be an active part of this community. Apart from our own research library, there are many libraries within Dundee itself, with the two main academic libraries of the University of Abertay Dundee and University of Dundee being very close.

Being the sunniest city in Scotland with over 1400 hours of sunshine per year, in addition to having the purest air quality and more green spaces than any other Scottish city, Dundee provides an unrivalled quality of life. For Muslims, the main Mosque of Dundee is located within a few minutes walk from the Institute and there are also two other mosques in the city. It is cosmopolitan city, and the diversity of culture is echoed by the variety of food available in the city centre ranging from the traditional Scottish food to delicacies such as Greek, Turkish, Arab, Indian, Chinese and French cuisines. Many of these serve halal food, and fresh halal food is also available from local groceries.

Travel

Getting about is easy in Dundee which has excellent bus and taxi services giving access to all parts of the city and suburbs.

However, distances are relatively short and walking or cycling are reliable alternatives.

The rail, road and air links provide reliable options for everyone. Dundee Airport is a expanding and thriving regional hub from which ScotAirways fly direct to London City Airport several times a day (flight time just over one hour) and Eastern Airways fly to Manchester Airport a few times daily (flight time under one hour). Dundee’s train station is on a main line of the UK east coast train line with direct links to London and the European continent. London is only six hour away by train and the extensive rail network serving the main UK cities provides quick and efficient access to and from Dundee. In addition to this, Dundee is well served by local and national bus and coach networks. The train station, airport and main bus station are all within walking distance from the Institute’s central location.

More information

For any other information about Dundee and the surrounding area, there are excellent online resources available. For example, visit the official website of Dundee on http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/ for information on everything from bus-times to local holidays and weather forecasts, as well as local politics, sports and society and the local tourist board on http://www.angusanddundee.co.uk/ provides information on sights and sounds of Dundee and the local area (Angus) surrounding the city. Both sites have extensive links to any further information that they cannot provide as well as contact details.