Are United Arab Emirates (UAE) one country? Can women travel safely in UAE? Is Dubai the same as UAE? These questions are the most common asked on Google on this middle eastern country.
The short answers are YES, YES and NO!
My question before visiting was different: Does UAE have any attractions for a cultural traveller? Here, the answer is not quite so simple.
No matter if you’re here as a Emirates Airlines layover or deliberately travelled here like me, lets get the most out of it.
The history of Abu Dhabi & United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates or UAE consists of 7 emirates. Only around 12% of the population is Emirati, the rest are immigrants from India, Pakistan, Philippines and more.
UAE is not known for its cultural attractions and is even described as history-less. Shopping, beaches, fancy hotels, extreme wealth and 4-wheel driving are all activities pushed in the effort to lure travellers here. That doesn’t work on me! There’s no place without history and that also goes for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Settlements in the area goes back 7000 years. The first trade adventure was dates. Then in 1580, the area became a hot spot for pearl fishing. In 1793, Abu Dhabi became the capital of the most important Gulf Bedouin tribes dynasty.
After having struck oil in the 1960s, the money (and people) started pouring in. In 1971, UAE became a nation and in only a few years time cities full of skyscrapers grew out of the desert. Maybe that’s why Abu Dhabi means “Land of the Gazelle”.
TRAVEL AS A WOMAN IN UAE
The question I’m asked most frequently after returning home, so let’s begin here.
I didn’t experience anything but kindness – even when taking taxis alone or walking around a camel market as the only woman in sight. Since most people are immigrants, only a few women were covered and I only wore a scarf at the mosque and the camel market. And bathrooms everywhere! I only travelled solo for a very short part of the trip, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.
DISOVER THE BEST CULTURAL SIGHTS IN ABU DHABI
I visited 3 of the Emirate states – Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Forget all about Dubai. Abu Dhabi has the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Emirates (so far) and the emirate is also home to the most underrated city in the UAE!
WHAT TO SEE IN ABU DHABI
Abu Dhabi is the largest and most wealthy of all the emirate states. Abu Dhabi is both an emirate and a city. As a city, Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE and the head of Abu Dhabi is president of the UAE. The emirate consists of 200 island with beaches as well as desert.
It’s also home to the most photographed mosque and the only places on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. I visited the 2 cities here: Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.
Abu Dhabi is in many ways nice and in some ways reminds me of Tel Aviv. They both have new tall buildings, nice beaches with beach bars and great food. And not in so many other ways like all the old stuff. But Abu Dhabi is unarguably cheaper than Tel Aviv and without the religious tensions.
CULTURAL SIGHTS IN ABU DHABI
The city of Abu Dhabi is home to two of the most visited attractions in UAE: The Abu Dhabi Louvre and the Abu Dhabi Mosque.
Abu Dhabi Louvre
Louvre? Well, the French mega-museum has so many objects they can easily fill another museum. And a country with much material heritage will gladly pay to build a new home to the objects.
I love museums, since history makes us less prone today to repeat the mistakes. The Abu Dhabi Louvre has some of the most outstanding objects in the world in a remarkable architecturally building. So why did I still leave a bit disappointed? Because the museum doesn’t get me any closer to the history and values of the people of UAE.
Don’t miss:
- the oldest monumental statue in the world: the 9000 year old Ain Ghazal Statue 9000 from today’s Jordan
- an African hermaphrodite ancestor figure from 1200
- Pages from The Blue Quran
- Da Vinci’s John the Baptist
- Blue and white porcelain from 15th century China
- a globe from 1688
What the Abu Dhabi Louvre do very well though, is displaying objects from different ages and cultures side by side thereby highlighting what we share instead of what divides us. More museums could learn from this!
Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque
If someone said: Lets build the palace from Aladdin – it would look like this: 1001 nights Arabia.
Not to be confused with Sheik Zayed Mosque (like we definitely did not do) or the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Al Fujirah. Like most sights in UAE, it’s all about size – not age. Do I prefer the ancient Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem? Sure! But I’m not allowed inside that one and luckily I am here.
Construction began in 1996 and was finished in 2007, the Grand Mosque is one of the 20th biggest mosques in the world at the time of writing. It has the largest hand-knitted carpet in the world (UAE is all about size). It took 1200 artisans 2 years and weighs 35 ton. I had just seen the 2. largest in Oman, so…
Like at the Louvre, they emphasize their attempts to “unite the world through art”. You can discuss if they manage but at least they try. The mosque’s design Its design and construction ‘unites the world’, using artisans, craftsmen and materials from many countries including Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, Turkey, China, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Greece and of course the United Arab Emirates.
Very surprisingly and confusing, you enter through a shopping mall. We seriously did not believe it, and hence it took us 45 minutes to find the entrance. If you don’t have tickets in advance, you book a free entrance in machines in one end of the mall. Then you enter the mosque through a loooooong underground passageway beginning at the other end of the mall. That’s UAE for you…
Heritage Village
Normally, I would stay clear of a “fake” heritage village. BUT there is no old stuff in UAE, so you have to appreciate the attempt to create a tangible history. History is so important that a lot of money and energy are put into creating monuments for it in UAE. Because you need history to create an identity. I can appreciate that.
In here, you find workshops showing traditional crafts, reconstructed traditional houses, a tiny museum mostly with images of the sheik, a Bedouin camp and souvenir shops. A very nice man was making pottery, and I bought a green glazed plate from him. My favourite thing about the village is the view of the city.
Non-sights
If you think the Heritage Village seemed like a non attraction – just wait. I got two more much more disappointing: the monument of the founding fathers and the emirates palace.
The Emirates Palace is actually not a palace, but a hotel built in 2005. A very expensive one of the kind, but you can visit for a drink. We didn’t. Too disappointed.
Another place that’s not really the attraction you might think it is, is the visitor centre of the founding fathers. I thought it would be a tale of the country’s history. No, it’s a glass pavilion with a bench surrounded by big screens telling the incredible endeavours of the sheiks – including the current one. The monument thought I kind of liked. It’s very monumental…
Now, let’s move on to some practicalities of visiting the city of Abu Dhabi before moving on to my favourite part.
Practicalities in Abu Dhabi
- Getting here is easy. Take a taxi from the aiport- there’s a meter and they wont try to scam you. If the meter is broken the tour is free! We payed 20 euro.
- We stayed at the 5-star Royal Rose Hotel. It was good enough with a small pool at the rooftop terrace, a decent breakfast and good location – and not too expensive.
- The best food in the UAE I had in Abu Dhabi in Beit El Khetyan. Expect a lot of business, waiting time for a table and delicious food for small prices. Dinner for 2: 23 euro. Try the goat testicles, the halloumi and the lemonade.
- A good beach bar is the West Bay Lounge. Enjoy a cold margarita with your feet in the sand looking out into the turquoise waters. For swimming check into a beach club.
Abu Dhabi is a large Emirate and not the only city. My absolute favourite place in the entire UAE (that I visited) was Al Ain. Also the least crowded.
CULTURAL SIGHTS IN AL AIN
Just a few hours by car or bus south of Abu Dhabi and right by the border to Oman lies Al Ain. Just the fact that it’s close to Oman heightens the chance of something interesting. Like it sometimes is, this is also the least touristy part of the UAE I went to. What an underrated travel destination!
If you follow me on Instagram or know my posts, you know I trail the World Heritage Sites. UAE only has one site, and it’s in Al Ain. This I the reason why I came to UAE.
Al Ain Oasis
Close your eyes and imagine an oasis. That’s what an oasis is. Al Ain oasis is just no longer in the middle of the desert.
Beside UNESCO sites, I loooooove palm trees. Maybe because I’m from such a cold country. So what’s not to like about a real oasis. Imagine how it must have been before the UAE became green due to sprinklers. The natural green oasis must have seem like paradise arriving from the desert. Not to mention the dates…
Al Ain oasis is where the UAE adventure started. The production and export of dates goes back to long before the oil adventure began. Some 150.000 trees with many different kind of dates can be found in Oasis. Luckily, you can buy some samples at the main entrance. I never used to like dates until I tried them in a date-country (Morocco). Food always taste differently in their homelands.
At the oasis there are great example of the falaj system. The ancient irrigation system is a world heritages site in Oman.
There’s a small cafe in the middle of the labyrinth. We only saw young Emirati here and no tourists at all.
If you arrive in the evening, some exits might be closed and you might have to climb a fence to get out (yes, it happened). It’s also by the Oasis the National Museum is placed. That’s the national museum for the entire UAE. Unfortunately, like many other sights in the UAE at my time of visit, the museum was closed for renovation. Arrrrgh!!!
Hili Archeological park
You know I will find something for the dark tourist!
The ancient settlement of Hili Park is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and placed in the outskirts of town. Inhabited from 3000 – 1300 BCE and then again from 1300 – 300 BCE = early bronze age. The houses were made of dried mud bricks.
Most of the ruins are nearly gone and you need to bring a lot of imagination. But in 1965, a tomb was reconstructed with a dome-shaped roof, and a fine decoration at the entrance. Several human remains were buried within. This is the only monument worth taking the trip to Hili for.
The circular tomb is typical of the Umm Al Nar culture: important regional traders between the ancient civilisations in Mesopotamia and the Indian Harappan culture. I’ve seen similar beehive tombs in Oman, but without decoration.
The site was excavated by Danish (Yes!) archaeologist 60 years ago, and today all the objects are at the National Museum (Nooo!!!!). The place is like a large park with gym machines and a ball court(?)
Take a taxi here and expect to be the only visitor. The café was closed at the time of visiting. The security guard helped us catch a taxi back.
Palace Museum
Remember Sheik Zayed from the mosque? Unlike the palace in Abu Dhabi which is just a hotel, this is one he actually lived in from 1937-1966. Afterwards, he moved to Abu Dhabi. The palace is located right next to the oasis.
The oldest building is from 1937. It’s this fun mix of modern design and traditional Emirati elements in a both private and public space. Like palaces are. As a reminder of his ancestry and the country’s cultural heritage: the meeting room is a tent in the courtyard!
What I really like, is the palace was restored using locally sourced and environmentally-friendly building materials like clay, adobe, palm trees and plaster stones.
It’s not the most interesting palace ever, but there’s a really nice atmosphere and I just like the tent. Where’s my cardamum coffee and dates?
Camel Market
Looking for a camel? Look no further. People come from neighbouring Oman til buy dromedaries for racing, beauty contests, breeding and milk. By the way, camel milk chocolate is delicious!
I’ve been at a goat market in Oman and a cattle market in Morocco, but this was the first camel market. The trading takes place in the morning, which I missed. Since they can’t just take the camels home, they stay there. Waiting. I was the only tourist and the only woman.
In UAE, its illegal to take someone’s picture without permission; But these 3 guys asked me to photograph them.
Al Jahili Fort
I just love old stones. Finally, a place I feel at home in. Even more when welcomed with free coffee and dates. Thanks to the immaterial cultural heritage of the Bedouins. Al Jahili Fort was (along the Oasis) my favourite place in AL Ain, which was my favourite place on my UAE trip.
The Al Jahili Fort is the biggest in the whole UAE. It was built by Sheik Zayed (like most things) in 1855-1909. It’s actually a summer house. During summer, the rulers of Abu Dhabi left the humidity of the coast and went to Al Ain.
The round watchtower is the oldest part of the fort from the early 1800s and the rest is from 1897. Some 15 years ago, it was restored and is in great condition.
Practicalities in Al Ain
- Getting here is easy and cheap. Take the bus from Abu Dhabi Central station. Time tables differ, but we caught one at 10.45 showing up half an hour before. Non-stop 2 hours and 9 euro.You can’t book in advance.
- We stayed at the Ayla Grand Hotel (notice the grand since we almost got dropped off at the wrong hotel). It has a really nice roof top view and pool and is close to the oasis and the mall.
- There are no too many restaurants. The hotel Aloft has a good roof top bar, but the food was not impressive. Better at the up-scale hotel Al Rotana. LP highlights the French Polynesian restaurant Trader Vics, but you should go for the Min Zaman Terrace. They have sparrows on the menu…
- Happy hour is a thing here. And it only goes for alcohol, so drinking non-alcoholic drinks is more expensive. Surprising!
The links to the hotels are affiliated meaning you pay the same, bit I get some of the profit to travel for)
I’ve focused on the cultural sights, but if I could come back or had more time, I would have travelled to the Empty Quarter – for the name alone. Staying in the desert is a highlight in the emirate, that I missed. I’ve stayed in the desert in Morocco, Jordan and Oman before and knew that I wanted at least 2 nights next time I went to the desert and there was just not time for it on this trip. But Al Ain is the perfect gateway to the desert.
If you like me like the old feeling of Al Ain, I recommend neighbouring country Oman, especially the Old Capital Nizwa
Is UAE on your travel list?
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