Thomas - Insight Guides: Oman and the UAE

How To Use This E-Book

Getting around the e-book

This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Oman and the UAE, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activies and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Oman and the UAE. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, hotels, activities from to culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Oman and the UAE are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Oman and the UAE. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors who use their on-the-ground experience to provide the very latest information; their local expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide to you the best places to stay and eat, so you can be confident that when we say a restaurant or hotel is special, we really mean it.

Like all Insight Guides , this e-book contains hundreds of beautiful photographs to inspire and inform your travel. We commission most of our own photography, and we strive to capture the essence of a destination using original images that you wont find anywhere else.

2012 Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

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Introduction: Arabia Then and Now

Contrasting but complementary, Oman and the UAE offer fascinating insights into Arabias past, present and possible future

Two of the Middle Easts most absorbing destinations, Oman and the UAE offer a fascinating window into Arabias traditional past and an exhilarating glimpse of its dynamic urban future. Images of the region are a kaleidoscopic jumble of contrasting sights, ranging from futuristic skyscrapers and super-sized shopping malls through to rustic mudbrick forts and old-fashioned wooden dhows, often within a few miles of one another.

The histories of the two countries are closely interwoven. Until recently, life in both revolved around a string of vibrant and cosmopolitan coastal ports Muscat, Dubai, Sharjah, Sur, to name just a few while inland, tribes of hardy Bedu eked a meagre living out of the deserts and mountains of the interior.

The discovery of oil in the 1960s changed all that, bringing modest prosperity to Oman, unimaginable wealth to Abu Dhabi, and providing the funds to help kickstart Dubais dramatic growth. The contrasts between the two countries are now perhaps more obvious than their shared historical roots. Parts of the UAE (Dubai especially) have thrown themselves headlong into the modern world, embracing business and tourism with kamikaze gusto. Oman, by contrast, has taken a much more circumspect approach to Western values, modernising by slow and careful degrees.

For the visitor, the two countries offer contrasting but interestingly complementary experiences. The modern UAE is largely contemporary in appearance (although fascinating pockets of history remain), and many of the countrys headline attractions the ultra-modern cityscapes of Dubai in particular are very much of our time.

By contrast, much of Omans appeal is entirely natural: from the unforgettably dramatic Hajar mountains through to vast swathes of uninhabited desert and unspoilt beaches frequented by nesting turtles, with dolphins splashing in the waters offshore. Oman is also particularly rich in reminders of Arabias past, with hundreds of venerable old forts, watchtowers and traditional mudbrick villages scattered across the country, nestled amidst date plantations and watered by traditional falaj irrigation channels.

Oman and the UAEs Top 10 Attractions

From the ancient desert to the modern city, here is a rundown of the best things to see and do on in Oman and the UAE

Top Attraction 1

Old Dubai. Wander through the endless souks, traditional houses and wind towers of old Dubai, lined up along either side of the bustling Creek, still busy with old-fashioned wooden dhows. For more information, .

Top Attraction 2

Burj al Arab. The modern Gulfs most iconic landmark, the sail-shaped Burj al Arab rises majestically above the coast of southern Dubai stunning by day, and even more spectacular after dark. For more information, .

Checco/Dreamstime.com

Top Attraction 3

Salalah. A world away from the rest of Oman, Salalah is at its most memorable during the annual khareef (monsoon), when the surrounding mountains turn a verdant green. For more information, .

Sa83lim | Dreamstime.com

Top Attraction 4

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Abu Dhabis most dramatic sight: a huge snow-white mosque, topped by dozens of domes and soaring minarets, and opulently decorated inside with vast carpets and chandeliers. For more information, .

2009 (c) Chris Bradley

Top Attraction 5

Sharjah Museums and Galleries. Self-styled cultural capital of the UAE, Sharjah boasts an excellent array of museums and galleries, covering everything from Arabic calligraphy to antique aeroplanes. For more information, .