United Arab Emirates Overview

As a member country of GCC according to cheeroutdoor, the state of United Arab Emirates borders Qatar and the Persian Gulf to the north, Oman to the east, and Saudi Arabia to the south and west.

The territory of the Emirates includes the coastal section in the south of the Persian Gulf , formerly known as the pirate or treaty coast, which is bordered over long stretches of sandbanks, coral reefs and mud flats and whose amphibious coastline is constantly changing due to tides, currents and the sand and silt movements caused by them. The originally largely anti-traffic coast has some sea water inlets (English creek; Arabic khûr), which enabled settlement (Dubai, Sharja, Ajman, Ras al-Khaima). Inland there is an average 15 km wide salt flat with mostly brackish groundwater. Behind it, flat, undulating steppe and desert areas begin, which at the few water points (Liwa oases) are used for agriculture and merge into the Rub al-Khali desert, which takes up about two thirds of the state’s territory. In the northeast, the United Arab Emirates reach the northern foothills of the Oman Mountains (in Jabal Yibir 1 527 m above sea level) with higher rainfall and foreland (oases of Al-Ain / Buraimi) or mountain oases (exclave Hatta of Dubai). The coastal plain on the Gulf of Oman is narrow and strongly indented (natural harbor Khor Fakkan).

Climate

The subtropical climate is dry and hot, very humid in summer (35 ° –49 ° C maxima) and by the sea. The extremely low rainfall (an average of 78 mm annually; in the mountains up to 300 mm) falls mainly in winter as heavy rain. There are mangroves on the coasts.

Service sector

Due to its natural harbor, Dubai has developed into an important trading center in the eastern Persian Gulf (import and re-export) and, like Sharja, has become a hub for global flows of goods and capital. The Dubai International Finance Center (DIFC), which opened in 2004 and is home to numerous international companies and financial service providers, is the seat of the Dubai Stock Exchange.

Tourism: The United Arab Emirates have developed into an upscale tourist destination with luxury hotels, man-made island settlements and top-class shopping centers. At the top is Dubai (2013: 11.0 million foreign visitors), which is attracting a growing number of inner-Arab tourists in addition to Europeans and Americans.

Transportation

The UAE has an efficient road network (4,080 km of interurban roads, mostly multi-lane expressways) that connects all urban centers and provides good connections to neighboring countries. The coastal road Ras al-Khaima – Abu Dhabi with its western extension (connection to the road network of Saudi Arabia) is important. A railway line parallel to the coast is planned. The oil loading ports in the sea and on the mainland are usually separate from the other ports. For general freight and containers, there are a.o. the ports of Dubai (Jebel Ali, the largest port in the Middle East, and Port Rashid), Abu Dhabi (Port Saijid), Sharja (Port Chalid and Khor Fakkan) and Fujaira. The United Arab Emirates are developing into a hub for international air traffic. Three domestic and a large number of other airlines use the seven international airports; the largest is Dubai International Airport (2015: 78.5 million passengers) followed by Abu Dhabi International Airport (2015: 25.0 million passengers).

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, capital of the state of the same name and the United Arab Emirates , on the Persian Gulf ; (2015) 1.2 million residents (2003: 552,000 residents). Rapid urban development has already filled the island of the same name (port), the urban area spans over three bridges to the mainland (international airport, industrial areas). With its impressive skyscraper front on the artificially raised Corniche, the city is not only one of the most modern cities on the Persian Gulf but worldwide. The Emirates Palace, completed in 2005, is one of the most luxurious hotels in the world; it doubles as a government guesthouse and a congress center (for 2,000 participants). The tallest building is the 381 m high Burj Mohammed Bin Rashid (Foster + Partners ; 2014). The Sheikh Zayed Mosque (2007) offers space for 40,000 worshipers and is one of the largest mosques in the world.

According to the urban development plan adopted in 2008, “Greater Abu Dhabi City” is to be expanded by 2030 for around 3 million residents and for growing tourism. A Guggenheim Museum and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum are being built on the artificially expanded “cultural island” Saadiyat, which has been connected to Abu Dhabi to the west and Yas Island to the south by the “Sheikh Khalifa Bridge” since 2009. With the Louvre Abu Dhabi , the first universal museum in the Arab world was opened in November 2017.

Formula 1 races have been held on the nearby Yas Marina Circuit since 2009. The Ferrari World theme park, which opened in 2010, is also located here.

Al Ain Cultural Sites (World Heritage)

The cultural sites of Al Ain and the surrounding area give an insight into the settlement history of the region since the Neolithic in the era of the transition to sedentariness around 5000 years ago. Evidence of this time include graves, wells, houses, towers and palaces.

Al Ain Cultural Sites: Facts