Recap on UAE

Many people still can’t get it – where on earth am I now? So to recap, I have here the map of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). To the south of UAE is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to the east is Oman and to the west Qatar. I have marked the place where I’m working now (Jebel Dhanna – جابل الظنة ) as well as the nearest town (Al Ruwais - الرويش). The locations of these places are approximately 250km south west of the capital Abu Dhabi (أبو ظبي ). But both Jebel Dhanna and Ruwais are located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. You can consider an emirate as a state with its own ruler like the 9 states of Malaysia with Sultans.

The United Arab Emirates is known as Al-Amarat Al-Arabiyah Al-Mutahidah (الامارات العربية المتحدة ). Translated it means ‘the Emirate the Arabic the United). Don’t ask me why there is a ‘the’ or ‘al’ before each word! The UAE comprises 7 emirates (which I’ve underlined in white in the map) of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Um Al Quwain, Ajman and Fujairah. Each emirate has its own Ruler (pretty much like each state in Malaysia has its own Sultan). By tradition, the President of UAE is the Ruler of Abu Dhabi which is now Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. The Vice-President and Prime Minister is the Ruler of Dubai, which is now Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

Of course most people have heard of Dubai which is somewhat the ‘New York’ of the Middle East with its mega projects like the 7-star Burj al-Arab hotel as well as the tallest building in the world Burj Dubai. Abu Dhabi is lesser-known but is the capital city of UAE. Abu Dhabi is also the main source of UAE’s wealth with about 90% of the oil wealth coming from it. The place where I’m staying (Ruwais) is actually the biggest oil refinery town in Abu Dhabi – something like Kerteh in Terengganu. The other emirates are probably unheard of outside of the UAE. Sharjah is known for its cultural legacy. Sharjah is to Dubai as JB is to Singapore! Fujairah is the only emirate facing the Indian Ocean and is known to have beautiful beaches. I don’t know much of anything of significance in the other northern emirates. If you remember I’ve just visited the oasis town of Al Ain which is a part of the Abu Dhabi emirate. Al Ain borders Oman and is the birth place of the ruling Al Nahyan family.
If you wish to visit the UAE, the best times to come are between the months of November till March. After that it gets a bit too hot. From April, the weather would be more or less above 40degC. Avoid July and August at all cost (even though this is the cheapest time to come) as the weather will be more than 45degC with humidity touching 100%. Basically you’ll perspire amazingly and the air is so stuffy it’s hard to breathe. Don’t be conned by the ‘Dubai Summer Surprises’ campaign… you’ll not be surprised, you’ll be shocked! For Malaysians, no visa required to enter UAE – at the airport you’ll be given a 30-day visit pass. Etihad flies daily from KL (except Monday) to Abu Dhabi while the Emirates and MAS flies to Dubai.

If you need some guides for things to do in UAE, my virtual tourist pages of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain may be of some assistance.