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UAE: One of the Middle East’s Best Kept Secrets
March 3, 2009 by Fractional Property Ownership, Timeshare & Luxury Travel Magazine · Leave a Comment
You might not have heard much about the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the news, but you have certainly seen images of its pride and joy – the 52-storey Arabian Tower – in magazines and on television. With huge atriums and gigantic cross beams, the sail-shaped edifice – dramatically set on a man-made island off Jumeirah Beach – has become a symbol of the modern face of a changing Middle East.
The UAE – a federation of seven emirates, or states – is a land of contrasts. Modern highways crisscross the landscape and tree-lined boulevards bisect the cities, where shopping malls rise like mirages in the desert. And yet camel caravans continue plying the sands as they have since the region was first settle more than 5,000 years ago.
Blessed with tremendous natural wealth, the UAE has one of the world’s highest per capita incomes. This wealth has been wisely invested in a modern infrastructure, turning the country – and its capital – into a center for commerce and trade.
Abu Dhabi, the nation’s capital, is one of the world’s most up-to-the-minute cities. High-rise buildings rub shoulders with ancient wind towers. Five-star hotels sit next to ancient mosques. There are leafy parks, tree-lined boulevards, airconditioned shopping malls, and the Abu Dhabi Cultural Centre, where a variety of cultural events are held throughout the year. Key attractions include Al-Hosn Palace, also known as the Old Fort, the oldest structure in town. For local colour, check out the Old Market, or soukh, and the Dhow Wharf and Fish Market.
Dubai, the country’s second largest emirate. The Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, the world’s fifth largest, has attracted more than 900 multinationals, including such household names as Aiwa, Daewoo, General Motors, and Heinz. The Dubai Air Show is ranked the world’s third best, attracting tourists from around the globe. Occupying the Al-Fahidi Fort on the waterfront, the Dubai Museum is thought to be the oldest building in the city. The Bastakia Quarter has a number of wind tower houses that the city’s rich and famous once called home.
Sharjah, the country’s self-proclaimed cultural capital – has made rapid progress since oil was discovered near the island of Abu Musa in 1971. It was the first port in the Middle East to possess fully equipped container facilities. Ships not needing to enter the Gulf can offload their cargos at the Port of Khorfakkan. The attraction for tourists, however, is the plethora of museums, art galleries, and theaters that have been popping up all over town in recent years. The Sharjah Archeological Musuem, the Sharjah Science Museum and Planetarium, and the Sharjah Natural History Museum all warrant a visit.
Umm Al Quwain, the least poupulated of the emirates, has clean beaches and an enclosed lagoon. There is a natural reserve for birds, deer, and Al Qaram trees. The world’s largest aqua park, Dreamland, is currently under development.
Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate, features a treasure trove of archeological finds, indicating that an advanced civilization had flourished there thousands of years ago. It has been ruled by the Muslim Caliphs, the Persians, Portuguese, and the Dutch before becoming a part of the Al Qawasim State.
Tiny Ajman, which accounts for just 0.3 per cent of the country’s total area, is the smallest of the seventh emirates. It has an excellent swimming beach and the Ajman Museum, which occupies an 18th century police fort. It served as the ruler’s palace until 1970.
Fujairah is the only emirate located along the Gulf of Oman, the others being situated along the Arabian Gulf. Its unpolluted waters offer swimming, yachting, surfing, and deep-sea fishing.
Flying Visit: Dubai Desert
A drive of less than an hour leaves the city of Dubai behind and brings you to the edge of the Arabian Desert. Almost 4,000 sq km of this vast expanse – second in size only to the Sahara – belongs to the Emirate of Dubai.
At first glance, red dunes under a hot sun look like an environment that can take care of itself. But in fact, the desert was no match for the aftershock of Dubai’s prosperity. If the everexpanding city centre was one problem, the effects of the 4W drive vehicle were worse. The tracks of these vehicles squeezed the life out of fragile plants that had survived, until then, for millennia and by 1964, mechanized hunters had all but wiped out the desert’s most beautiful creature, the white Arabian Oryx.
The breed was saved from extinction by the then ruler of Dubai, Sheik Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the architect of modern Dubai. He sent a small herd of Oryx to a sanctuary in Arizona, USA where they bred in safety. Thirty-five years later, 90 Oryx, the descendants of the original herd, were brought back to Dubai’s
desert and released in a newly established national park where they now number 250.
When five percent of the desert was designated a Desert Conservation area in 2002, the problem of ‘dune bashing’ was addressed. Previously, some 19 tour operators had been offering these desert joy rides; that number was reduced to four and wild as the rides may seem, they follows an agreed route.
For your foray into the desert, book a dune drive and desert dinner with Arabian Adventures. The evening begins with a hair-raising 4W drive over the rolling dunes (consider taking a Dramamine) then a stop where you struggle up a dune on your own two feet to photograph the setting sun. At dusk, you get your first glimpse of the Bedouin tent set out for the evening’s feast; the sight is pure romance. During the evening, there’s a chance to have your hands painted with henna, try a puff on a Hubble-bubble pipe, watch some belly dancing and to take a short ride on a camel.
At the end of the evening, before guests climb back into the long convoy of 4W drive vehicles for the return to the hotels, the lights are switched off for several minutes. The scene is dimly lit by the moon and stars, the dunes like dry ocean waves rolling into the darkness. Hundreds of people sit in absolute silence for several minutes. When the lights come on again, there’s a momentary pause – and then applause. It could be for the feast, or for the entertainment, but I think it’s probably for the desert.
Arabian Adventures: book at your hotel or directly on www.arabian-adventures.com for the Sundowner Dune Dinner.
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