Arabian Trails

01 Nov 2011

Set off on a road trip, or two, from Abu Dhabi to discover the myriad cultural, historical and nature-inspired offerings of the United Arab Emirates. MICHAEL SCOTT offers a few choice itineraries.

*MAP NOT DRAWN TO SCALE

On a number of road trips across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Arabia of your imagination can run riot. As one of the world’s last great unexplored territories, its capital Abu Dhabi’s desert roads lead to caves, canyons, cliff roads and encounters with lost camels. This is the other side of the UAE which visitors rarely see, away from the glitz and glamour of the capital’s Emirates Palace and of Dubai.

From Fujairah to the Liwa Oasis, life ticks past at a slower pace in the country’s hinterland and – like peeling back the skin of an orange – each segment of the UAE should be savoured. There are historical forts, forgotten oases and deep, intriguing wadis (dry canyon beds) that are just begging to be explored. Travellers also couldn’t ask for more gracious hosts: Emiratis are humble, engaging and almost always welcoming of visitors. They’ll treat you to a cup of sweet, syrupy coffee at the roadside, share their apple-scented shisha pipe with you in a cafe, and fill you with dates and lamb kebabs at their home after a long drive.

It’s just as well then that Abu Dhabi has the infrastructure and road signs – unlike certain other places in the Gulf – to make all this exploration and interaction possible. Not only that, but Emiratis have an unrivalled passion for fast cars, motorbikes and 4x4s. In fact, off-road tours gracing the burnished desert sands are as common a sight as sunburnt tour guides. So if your imagination, as well as your engine, is all fired up, here’s a rundown of the country’s top five road trips.

Al Ain

The easiest road trip from Abu Dhabi is to Al Ain, a 160km jaunt along the northern fringes of the Rub’ al-Khali desert to the east on the E22. During the drive along the arid highway, sandbanks along the edges are decked out with royal date palms, a seemingly infinite procession that clefts through the rolling red sand dunes on either side. As an alternative, take the E33 and switch to the E66, where the area around the town of Al Haiyir is known for its peach-coloured dunes.

For Arabian Nights romantics, the world’s most perfect sand-coloured forts are in Al Ain and the pick of the bunch is Al Jahili Fort. It consists of two buildings, a square sand-blasted fort and an impressive main turret composed of four concentric tiers. The fort was completed in 1898 under Sheikh Zayed the First, to guard the surrounding oasis from invaders, and looks like a massive upside down ice-cream cone. A dusty climb to its ramparts reveals a solitary courtyard and a view that could be straight out of the smudged notebook of T.E. Lawrence, the British army officer immortalised as Lawrence of Arabia in the 1962 film of the same name.

Standing on the cusp of Al Ain oasis like a desert trophy, Al Jahili Fort may be the largest of the city’s sensational mud brick castles – but it’s not the only one. The city also has numerous forts and watchtowers, including the Al Ain Palace Museum (or Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum), home to Sheikh Zayed and his family from 1937 to 1966 and the House of Hamad bin Hadi Al Darmaki (a wealthy local businessman) which dates back to the 18th century.

The Al Ain Palace Museum, also known as the Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum, is one of many forts and watchtowers in the oasis city of Al Ain.

From there, take a turn to the nearby Al Ain oasis, crowded with mango trees, orange trees and date palms. While other cities in the UAE busy themselves with trade and tourism, Al Ain has focused on preserving its heritage and roots – driving through the oasis feels like a world away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Abu Dhabi.

A short drive south takes you to Jebel Hafeet – the area’s highest peak, which rises 1,249m above the surrounding desert. At the top of its 12km-long, winding German-engineered road, you’ll be rewarded with unparalleled views of the city and its surrounding desert below. If you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a desert fox or snake, which make their home on the peak.