For most people, the United Arab Emirates means just one place: Dubai, the sci-fi-esque city of iconic skyscrapers, palm-shaped islands, city-sized malls, indoor ski slopes and palatial beach resorts. But beyond the glitter awaits a diverse mosaic of six more emirates, each with its own character and allure.
We moved towards the KSA border after dinner with Luna and other travelers in Abu Dhabi. Our last stop to relax and work before crossing it was Al Sila Beach, nestled in the rolling dunes of the Arabian Desert some 350 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi in Al Dhafra. It’s an excellent...
After our service in Saluki Motorsport, we spent our free afternoon again in Old Dubai around the Al Fahidi historical district. We got there by Dubai Metro (🎟️8 AED, GOLD🎟️ 14 AED), it was supposed to take us some 14 minutes to walk from the Sharaf DG Metro Station, so we first had a...
We had the great honor of meeting HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan and had a great time with him on a private tour of his unique museum, where he took us through several large halls and introduced us to his collection of more than 500 cars. We were lucky to inspect with him the fresh...
The paved road brought us through the desert scenery to the Moreeb Dune (Tal Moreeb). This is the edge of the beautiful but fearsome Rub Al Khali, and undulating, orange sand-dune fields rim both sides of the road along the route. The bitumen runs out at the foot of Tal Moreeb (the name...
We drove around a 150 km arc of villages and farms for two days. The Liwa Oasis hugs the edge of the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert – an endless landscape of undulating dunes shimmering in shades of gold, apricot, and pink. We stopped next to a few fortresses scattered throughout the...
We stopped for two hours to visit a pyramid-shaped structure that rises from the desert sands some 45km south of Abu Dhabi on the lonely highway that leads to the Liwa Oasis. It holds the private car collection (🎟️ 56,85 AED) of HH Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, known as...
We spent half a day in Louvre Abu Dhabi (🎟️ 55 AED), designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Jean Nouvel. Gallery buildings are all grouped around a central plaza that juts straight out into the sea and is shaded by the museum’s elaborate 7500-ton filigree dome, which seems to...
We had a few rainy days in proudly modern and cosmopolitan Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s forward-thinking cultural heart, where nothing stands still. The city occupies most of a small triangular island of the same name, just off the Persian Gulf coast and connected to the mainland by a short...
We had a lovely day in the more conservative emirate of Sharjah (no alcohol available). Sharjah takes a more subtle approach, forgoing glitz to concentrate on culture and history. It is home to some of the country’s best museums and art galleries: the restored Sharjah Heritage Area...
We made it to the smallest of the seven emirates. Most people come here for a beach break. But we parked next to the excellent museum in the fort from the late 18th century. The fort served as the ruler’s residence until 1970 and also saw a stint as the police station. Now, its...