Arabian Castles, Old Forts and Sandstorms

 

The city of Al Ain borders the country of Oman and at its peak it held an important position in the ancient trading route from Oman to the Arabian gulf. It is an old city with 18 old forts, countless burial tombs and an over abundance of cool watch towers. One day does not give you enough time to see but only a few of them, if you are lucky.

The scenery is quite different from Dubai, more green, hidden wadi's and ancient villages. The ancient villages date back to 1,000 BC. Isn't that so fascinating!  I was walking among structures that are ancient. Visitors are allowed to get up close and personal with many of them, as long as we are respectful and abide by the rules.

Because the temperature is lower in the summer in Al Ain than along the coast, it used to be a summer retreat. It would take four to five days by camel to reach the city, but now it is a pleasant hour drive on a fairly new highway. Just make sure you have your passport with you at all times. If you happen to cross over into Oman, you will need it to get back into the UAE.

We ventured off on a recent Saturday to explore more of Al Ain, the "old stuff "... to see forts and other historic sites. Little did we know that a terrible sand storm was blowing in. Even with hard blowing winds we ventured on.

 

 

First stop, the camel market on the road to Al Ain. I love the camel market. You can get up close with the camels, taking their pictures (sometimes the handlers ask for a few AED). The camels and their handlers are "hanging out" waiting for perspective buyers to show up.

We couldn't resist stopping at the camel market souk and purchasing a "camel blanket" . The camel blanket can be used for many different purposes - a table cloth, blanket, bed cover,etc. Just make sure you ask for a "complete" blanket not one with a hole in the middle . The blankets with the hole in the middle, would be used specifically for camels, so their humps show in the middle. Of course you have to haggle with the shop owners to get a good price. We got two camel blankets for 60 AED. Pretty reasonable !

 

The camels in the picture above are for sale, camel blanket and all - for a mere 5,000AED each. It's a steal, too bad I do not have any place to keep them. These camels certainly won't fit on my balcony and who knows, maybe one of them is afraid of heights. I could spent the entire day with the camels, but it's time to move on.

 

After the camel market, we spent the day exploring castles, old forts and even drove to the top of Jebel Ha feet. The highest peak in the UAE. The drive is normally spectacular . Edmund's Magazine listed the drive to Jebel Ha feet as one of the best driving roads in the world, but today, because of the sand storm blowing, visibility was low and the view, not as spectacular.

 

 

 

There is so much to see and experience - every weekend we could venture off and experience things that we had never seen before. Another day will need to be spent in Al Ain. And as hard we tried, we never found the burial tombs. We will be back in the future.

 

One the way home, the intensity of the sandstorm had increased and was blowing sideways. Sand was covering the four lane highway and piling up like snow. Visibility was low and made the driving scary. Thank goodness we drive an SUV and can put it in four wheel drive if  and when we get stuck (like we did earlier in the day). I loved our day in Al Ain but was never happier to be safely home.

 

Even with the sand flying , we had to stop and take a picture of the road sign below. How often would I see this sign in Utah? Hmm....never !