Oman was closed to the modern world until the accession of Sultan Qaboos to the throne in 1970 and is currently a very peaceful country that is slowly developing.
On February 17, 2012, we began our journey to Oman in Madrid, a country located in the Middle East on the shores of the Arabian Sea and which has Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen as neighboring countries. It is part of the Strait of Hormuz together with Iran (35 km separating the two countries), thanks to a small mountainous and inhospitable enclave, separated from the country’s challenge, located in the north of the United Arab Emirates and called the Musandam Peninsula.
The Sultanate of Oman has an area of 212,457 km2, home to some 2.8 million people, of whom 800,000 are immigrants mostly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Jordan and the Philippines.
Oman’s climate is hot and arid; Between May and August, despite the high humidity caused by the monsoon along the coast, it is one of the hottest countries, with temperatures ranging from 40 to 54 °C. Between September and April, the average temperature is 23° C during the day and 17° C at night.
The Khanjar and Omani dresses
For men, the national dress consists of a long tunic without a collar to the knees and with long sleeves called a dishdasha. Normally the color is white, although sometimes other colors such as brown, violet and black are used. Apart from the tunic, men wear other accessories such as the muzzar (a type of turban), the assa (a staff used mainly for formal occasions) and the khanjar, a ceremonial curved dagger that is often considered an important symbol of masculine elegance.
Omani women’s clothing consists of a long dress worn over trousers (sirwal) and a headscarf (lihaf). Normally the fabrics used are very colorful. Traditionally, women used wooden platform shoes, but nowadays most prefer to wear sandals. The design of the dress varies depending on the regions, as well as the color and materials. Women’s clothing is complemented by jewelry, cosmetics and handmade ornaments.
The Dhow
Being a seafaring nation, an important cultural symbol of Oman is the dhow, a sailing boat characterized by its triangular sails and low draft, being the most common to have a single mast, although they can carry two or three.
The most revolutionary aspect of the dhow in naval history was its triangular sails, which allowed it to sail without oars regardless of the direction of the wind, unlike boats with other types of sails existing until then, which needed to have a downwind to dispense with rowers.
These sailing ships have been used for centuries in the Arabian Peninsula, India and East Africa as cargo ships, ranging in a wide variety of types, from grain and fish to slaves and minerals. In fact, the first records of the use of the Omani dhow date back to the eighth century, reaching as far as China. The dhow is still used today for trade, fishing and tourism, and they are common vessels on the coast of Oman. The country’s main ports are Sohar, South, Salalah and Muscat, with large fleets. The port of Sur maintains the most important dhow shipyard industry in the country.
The Aflaj The Falaj or the Aflaj, is an ancestral irrigation system that uses gravity as a basic principle of transporting water, which is channeled from underground sources or springs for agriculture and domestic uses, often over several kilometers. Effective and fair water management in villages and villages is still guided by mutual dependence, communal values and astronomical observations . Numerous watchtowers were built to observe and defend the irrigation and water conveyance systems.
A Falaj is composed of a water source, known as a mother well, an underground or outdoor transport channel, an opening to the surface known as Sharia, a water distribution system and a financial management system that allows for the fair distribution of water.
GEOGRAPHY OF OMAN
Oman (عمان) is a country that presents very different landscapes and with many contrasts, its orography can be divided into four types of ecosystems.
First of all, the maritime coast, made up of about 1600 km of coastline divided between abrupt and steep areas and sandy beaches.
Then the semi-desert plain that ranges between 50 and 100 km that separates the coast from the mountainous interior and where the main populations are.
The third landscape of Oman is the mountain, formed by the Al Hajar mountain range (in Arabic Al Hajar means stone), which begins in the north, on the Musandam peninsula, in the Strait of Hormuz and from there, continues to the southeast, almost parallel to the coastline. The western and more central section of the Al Hajar mountain range is home to thriving communities and forgotten villages, its landscape is made up of deep gorges, arid mountains, impressive caves, steep cliffs and spectacular wadis (small valleys canyoned by the action of rivers). Here is the highest mountain in the country and in eastern Arabia, the Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun, in Arabic Jebel means mountain and Shams, sun) of 2980 m and the Jebel Akhdar (Green Mountain). The Samail Valley, from Nizwa to Muscat, fragments and separates the Al Hajar mountain range into two parts, the west with the high mountains and the east, which is lower and which, in addition to mountains, plateaus and caves, has the particularity that the small rivers (wadis) that come down from the mountain in the form of torrents are channelled by ancient conduits (falaj) that at their mouth form wonderful mountain oases in the interior of the mountains. the arid coastal plain, where the country’s scarce crops are grown.
The desert is the fourth distinctive element of Oman’s landscape, extending from the center to the southernmost region in the Dhofar, where the city of Salalah is located, very close to Yemen. The Rub al-Khali, known in English as the Empty Quarter, one of the most inhospitable regions on the planet, and the Wahibab sands, are desert areas in the truest sense of the word. Towards the south coast, there is an upward gradation of humidity, creating less harsh conditions for life, transforming the desert into a semi-desert.
Oman has important natural resources, including oil (about 800,000 barrels per day, ranking 26th in the world as a producer of oil) and natural gas, as the main products it exports, in addition to copper, asbestos, marble, limestone, chromium and gypsum. Until 1972, it had practically no industries and its scarce 500,000 inhabitants lived from the cultivation of dates, cotton, sugar cane and vegetables, from handicrafts, especially carpets, wrought iron, silver and leather, also fishing and nomadism with sheep, camels and goats were livelihoods for its inhabitants. Oil has been extracted since 1962 and from 1980, it transformed the destiny of Oman.
Oman’s best-known character is the legendary sailor and adventurer of the Arabian Nights, Sinbad the Sailor, who traveled aboard a dhow (typical Arabian boat) from the Omani port of Sohar to Canton, passing through Ceylon and present-day Indonesia.
For us, Oman and the six countries that make up the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) are rather little known. That is why before starting our chronicle of the trip it would be interesting to know a little about the History of Oman.
Day 18 February 2012 After getting up from the Hotel in Muscat, we meet with our travel companions, we are nine travelers, 4 from Valladolid, Roberto, Chiqui, Luis and Jesús, two from Burgos, Marcial and his son Pepe and three Catalans, Juan Antonio, Jaume and Jordi from Territori 4×4.
A bus shows us the city, but the guide does not make a great effort to get to know much about Muscat, the capital of Oman. For this reason, I allow myself to tell you the most interesting things about this small coastal city.
Muscat is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. About 800,000 people live in it and has more of the atmosphere of a village than a city, although it also has modern buildings, although its main attraction is its exotic atmosphere. The waterfront, or La Corniche, is spectacular with its red sand, picturesque buildings and the ancient alleys of the Mutrah Souk (Mutrah Souk).
Ptolemy cited Muscat on a map of Arabia as Moscha Portus, whose origin seems to derive from Maas-gat which in Old Persian means “fishing place”.
Al Alam Palace, which we visited, is the royal palace of Sultan Qaboos. It was built next to a natural harbour in the 1970s and overlooks Muscat Harbour. Al Alam is flanked by the most historic defences of the Al Mirani and Jalali forts, both built in the 16th century by the Portuguese. 
Another building is the one that houses the National Museum of Oman. Founded in 1978, the museum contains silver ornaments, copper craftsmanship and displays of Omani ships. It has a section dedicated to the belongings of the Al Busaidi dynasty and the rulers of Zanzibar. The Museum also has a very important letter from the eighth century written by the Prophet Muhammad to the rulers of Oman propagating the Islamic faith in the country.
Right on the Promenade that is called “La Corniche” here, we visit the Souq Mutrah, the most important covered souk in the city, where local spices, incense, gold and silver objects are sold.
Overlooking the Souk of Mutrah, on a steep hill is the Fort of Mutrah, built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and one of the symbols of the city. Formerly a prison, very difficult to access, it is now being renovated as a tourist attraction.
Very close to the hotel where we stayed was one of the most emblematic buildings in the city is the Great Mosque of Oman, which began its construction in 1995 at the express wish of Sultan Qaboos. It was inaugurated on May 5, 2001. Its most distinctive elements are a central dome that rises 50 meters from the ground, five minarets, four accompanying 45 m high and a main one 90 m high. Inside it can fit 6,500 faithful, with 20,000 being the total capacity when the inner courtyard and corridors are included. The hand-woven carpet made in Iran, covering the interior of the mosque, is the second largest in the world, took four years to make, has 1,700,000 knots and weighs 21 tons. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the fourth largest in the world, preceded only by those in Mecca, Medina and the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, which has the largest carpet in the world.
Day 19 February 2012
After a few hours of confusion with the 4x4s, we started the march with the vehicles that we had just picked up at different points and that will accompany us for the rest of our trip through Oman, we also meet the local guide, Abdullah.
The delay in the delivery of the cars forces us to gain time by traveling by road, the route that connects the coastal area where we were with the Al Hajar Mountains is very beautiful and fertile, the populations rise next to the riverbeds that carry very little water, but are richly populated by palm groves, like the beautiful Wadi Fanja that we see in the photograph.
As we advance the landscape modifies its expression becoming more mountainous and arid, the vegetation almost disappears and the Al Hajar mountain range rises with shapes that reveal to us the tormented of its past, when in the distant eras of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic (between 260 and 150 million years ago), as a result of a continuous collision of continental plates the bowels of the earth rose from the sea and created this mountain range, that nature wanted to mark in a dramatic way with deep canyons, torrents, plains and currently an extreme aridity, where only the few Bedouins that still exist are able to survive. The marine origin of these mountains is discovered by the large number of marine fossils that exist here.
The terrible geological experience that the earth’s surface lived here, seems to have marked the spirit of its inhabitants who for centuries have maintained a warlike attitude with their neighbors, as a result of this and during our tour we could see many watchtowers, some very close to each other, as well as numerous forts that have been recently rebuilt.
After several hours of driving through landscapes surrounded by the Al Hajar mountains, we see the red color of the Wahibah dunes, in a small village we stop to deflate the tires and be able to do the last 40 kilometers that separate us from our destination today, the Camp of the 1000 Nights.
The sun sets just as we are starting the first meters on the sand track, in the middle of two large ridges of high dunes that will accompany us throughout the route. The very well preserved track does not present any problem and after less than an hour, late at night we arrive at our refuge in the desert, a cozy place where some large and very well arranged tents will serve us to spend the next two nights.
We had dinner at the on-site restaurant, a very complete buffet and with a good barbecue of grilled meat.
With the satisfaction of having reached the planned goal, we went to bed thinking about the next two days, where the sea of dunes and sand that we had glimpsed at the entrance of the desert had to be crossed with our newly rented 4x4s.
Day 20 February 2012
The scenery that we can enjoy before breakfast is simply wonderful, two large ranges of dunes surround us and we in the camp and with the wheels deflated, the impatient desire to start our journey on the sands of Wahibah does not prevent us from enjoying a good breakfast, which once finished prepares us to set off with the aim of crossing the dune ridges that rise in front of us.
This desert in Oman has 180 km from north to south and 80 km from east to west, which means an area of 12,500 km2, it is a true desert and of great scientific interest since, in 1986, an expedition of the Royal Geographic Society documented and studied it, as they found more than 16,000 invertebrates and 150 species of native flora.
The dunes that we were going to cross that day were formed sometime after the last regional glaciation, with very high heights of up to
100 meters, which as we advanced ensured more fun, excitement and more spectacular scenery.
After several failed attempts, we found a pass that allows us to access the top of the great dune, the scenic spectacle it offered us was worth the time it had taken us to ascend it. After the promotion, the group, very satisfied, posed for posterity. In front of us we can see the sea of dunes that awaited us, but at the moment we did not think about this and the satisfaction we had was absolute.
This impressive desert was formed during the Quaternary period as a result of the monsoon winds that blow from the southwest and the northwest wind known in the region as shamal, this wind is the cause of numerous sandstorms and dust that prevent air, land and even maritime traffic on many occasions, as we could observe on different days of our trip.
Finally, after almost five unforgettable hours through the dunes of the “Wahibah Sands” and with several of its ridges crossed, we saw the end of the sand and an oasis that indicated that we had achieved the challenge of crossing without any additional information or help, this beautiful and difficult sea of dunes. We ate at a local restaurant and headed in the afternoon to one of the valleys with the most botanical life in the Sharqiyah region. We traveled about 40 km on asphalt surrounded by beautiful mountain landscapes, which led us to the end of the zigzagging road obstructed by a channeled falaj-type watercourse, which is known as Wadi Bani Khaled or Valley of the Son of Kaled, a small river deeply buried in the mountains and that the rocks channel into a bucolic landscape that invites you to bathe just as Jesus and Jaume did.
It is a paradisiacal place, even more so if you place it in the middle of the desert Oman and a nice culmination to a full day through large dunes and sand.
It was 4 in the afternoon and if everything went well, as it did, we could see the sunset from the Camp. We had a very good dinner, with a pleasant chat and we paraded towards our tents depending on the sleep and the desire to enjoy good company.
Day 21 February 2012
Today we are going to do the queen stage of the trip, 130 km of sand and dunes from the Camp to the coast.
The first thing we do is climb to the highest dune that is to the left of the camp, the objective is simply to go down it, from above the adrenaline and excitement is much higher than what you feel once you have descended it, a fun experience before starting the day.
We follow a track on the sand that allows us to go at a good pace, the dune ridges to the right and left maintain their close surveillance preventing us from leaving that path. After a few tens of kilometers we decide to leave the main track and start a journey of pure “off road” towards SE, directly towards the coastline, during our route we overcome all the obstacles that we find in our path in the form of dunes or vegetation arising from the effect of the recent rains that have fallen here.
Finally, after about six hours of entertaining driving, we reached the coastal road, hungry and very satisfied for having successfully completed the unprecedented crossing, the Wahibah Sands, were left behind and now the asphalt and the beach would be our next objectives, although the priority was to find a restaurant where we could eat something.
We arrived at Ashkharah (Name of a poisonous desert plant), a small town in the coastal region. Their main economic activity is fishing, from which we could see how their boats arrived at the beach with their engines running and it was the sand itself that slowed them down. The smell of salt water, seagulls, fishing boats, the beach encouraged us to adventure again, a hard sand with magnificent sunlight, were calling us to travel with our 4x4s, the seashore for the next few kilometers.
An inopportune hook at the last minute, prevented most of the group from crossing an inlet of seawater due to the increasing rise of the tide, forcing us to go back touching the wheels of the waves that bathed the increasingly scarce beach more closely. In the end with the help of a friendly local fisherman, we got out of the traffic jam and met Marcial and Jaume who had been able to cross the spit of sea at low tide, together and by road, with the darkness of the late night we headed to Ras el Jinz, a small fishing village where our Resort was located to spend the night.
The place where we stayed is located on the eastern side of Safran Mountain, facing the Indian Ocean. In the past it witnessed trade contacts between Oman and ancient India, a large number of cemeteries, remains of pottery from the Indus Valley, pieces of soapstone indicate the existence of settlements from the beginning of the second millennium B.C. and their connection with that continent.
After dinner, the fatigue among the participants takes effect and no one goes to see the turtles, especially since it is low season and we are told that all night only one or no turtles may agree to lay their eggs.
Thanks to the solitude of most of the coastline of the Sultanate of Oman, the biodiversity in marine life, thanks to the climate and an excellent geographical location, close to here is the Ras al-Hadd turtle reserve, well known for the spawning and subsequent birth of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). This protection center was created in 1996 and in 2008 it was established as an ecotourism center to help conserve the fascinating nesting processes of this species of sea turtles that in their adult form acquires a large size. It is estimated that every year 10,000 green turtles arrive on the beaches of Ras al-Hadd to lay their eggs (about 110 eggs per clutch), on the same sands where they were born. 55 days later the tiny turtles will emerge from the sand and head quickly towards the sea, where they will live for the next few years until they become adults, when they reach an average weight of more than 200 kg, and will travel distances that exceed 3,000 kilometers from their place of birth, to return to Ras al-Hadd to lay their eggs and continue this faithful life cycle.
Day 22 February 2012
The day wakes up windy, after having breakfast at the Resort on the beach side where we have stayed, we start a new stage towards the capital Muscat.
After barely an hour’s drive we arrive in Sur, an important fishing town on the coast of Oman.
In the past it was well known for its shipyards where dhows were manufactured, typical boats of the region, where we had the opportunity to visit one of the few that are still active.
But after the interesting visit and filling the tanks of our 4x4s with the cheap gasoline sold in Oman, the Hummer died, the electronics that can do anything, played a trick on us and we had to abandon the car in a workshop of this brand, which fortunately was a few kilometers from where we were. We relocated to the other vehicles and resumed our journey following the coastline, towards the capital.
We made several stops before arriving in Muscat, among which I highlight a very old cemetery and the end of some beautiful wadis that the newly built modern highway completely demerited, really concrete and nature are difficult to combine.
In the afternoon we arrived at our Hotel in Muscat, where we drank some birrillas accompanied by lots of popcorn, in a bar where there were some boring dancers who transmitted to the attendees everything but rhythm and march, a man from the country gave a role to the singer and a few minutes later a girl with more autochthonous characteristics, She started dancing and contorting under Arabic music, really her performance far surpassed that of the previous girls, we spent a while entertained, until we finished the drinks and went to sleep.
Day 23 February 2012
With the Hummer replaced by a brand new Nissan that is not yet in Spain, we set out to continue our journey through Oman, this time towards the highest mountains and the deepest wadis in the country.
During the initial road trip, we could see some forts, rebuilt and in very good condition. These buildings, smaller in size than European castles, have been, together with the numerous watchtowers and the walls of many of the towns in Oman, excellent defensive bastions, used both to protect the coastline and the inland populations. It is estimated that there are more than 500 fortresses, castles and towers in Oman.
The buildings in the area we visited are more than 350 years old. We had the opportunity to enter one of them, Fort Awabi, a two-story construction made of adobe, rectangular, with two circular towers on the east and west corners. Which protected the entrance to Wadi Bani Kharous, with more than 600 million years on its stones.
After a few kilometers we leave the asphalt to enter one of the most beautiful canyons in Oman, although soon the civilization in the form of asphalt and road that they are building, will dilute its splendor.
For quite a few minutes we followed the dry riverbed until we left the 4×4 in a place protected by large trees and we took a refreshing walk, between the very high walls that protected the scarce water that flowed under our feet, it was a very beautiful experience that lasted barely an hour but it was worth doing.
After the walk, we resumed the route that became more and more spectacular, with superb landscapes on a zigzagging track next to huge precipices that was unraveling us meter by meter. It was undoubtedly one of the most precious experiences of the trip.
We exceeded 2000 meters of altitude, and the sublime spectacle of 4×4 and natural beauty that we had just seen had made us a little hungry, near the summit there was a restaurant, where we ate excellently
or for less than 8 euros per person. We went down a fairly new road until we reached the valley, then up again to reach the top of Jabel Akhdhar, the green mountain where we stayed in a luxurious and modern hotel, with hot pools at the foot of the mountain cliffs. The dinner was splendid, although without being able to drink alcohol, since the place was so recent that they had not been able to get the license to sell it.
Day 24 February 2012
We have breakfast at the hotel’s excellent buffet, we take a walk through the beautiful and well-located enclosure, where we can see a grandiose spectacle of mountains, small villages hanging from fertile terraces between deep canyons. We left the hotel and discovered with amazement that the area was full of fossils, shells and mollusks of all shapes and sizes, we collected some specimens as a souvenir and we were ready to start another day that promised to be as interesting as the previous one.
By road we arrive at one of the most renowned tourist places in Oman, the Al Hoota cave,
another product of the gigantic geological transformation that this area of the planet underwent millions of years ago. The interior of the cave is accessed by a modern train that covers about 700 meters away. The cave is located at the foot of Jabel Akhdhar, the highest mountain in Oman, in the vicinity of the Tanuf Valley and the town of Al Hamra. A long underground river of more than five kilometers crosses it. It is one of the largest underground systems in the world and was opened to the public in 2006 and in October 2007 the exhibition and visitor center was inaugurated.
The Al Hoota cave system, like many other caves in Oman, was formed by the Cretaceous by the dissolution of limestone in acidic water.
The cave is one of the most attractive places created by nature in Oman. Through a journey of about 45 minutes along a path that is about 800 meters long, well marked and illuminated, you can see stalactites, stalagmites and columns, with suggestive and enigmatic shapes, through the large dimensions of the main vault runs an underground river that gives water to several species of invertebrates, blind fish and bats that live there in a fragile and hostile ecosystem.
We finish the interesting visit and take our 4x4s to go up to a place called “The view”, where you can see the Nizwa Valley and the Al Hamra Canyon in all their splendor. A few kilometers later we set out to take another spectacular walk through one of the deepest wadis in Oman, the Wadi of the snake, right at the foot of the Jebel Shams, the route was majestic, impressive, landscapes that showed an atrocious and dramatic past but were of sublime beauty, our companions from Valladolid, Jesus, Roberto, Luis and Chiqui were about to separate from the group for a few hours and the farewell could not have been more unforgettable. We said goodbye in a small and simple restaurant, car wash that in Oman is mandatory, refueled and we meet again in a couple of days.
For the rest of the group the day was not yet over, we still had to ascend to almost 3000 meters of altitude to spend the night next to the highest mountain in Oman, the Jabel Shams, the mountain of the Sun. On mountain tracks with views as spectacular as those of the previous days, we traveled more than 50 km until we reached our refuge in the form of small chalets where we would spend the night.
Day 25 February 2012
In the morning and after the simple breakfast, compared to the rest of the days, we descend from the highest mountain in Oman, towards the important and historic city of Nizwa, since it was the capital of Oman during the sixth and seventh centuries, it has several mosques some of remarkable antiquity such as the one of So’al built in the ninth century or the one of Shuraij whose construction dates back to 377 AH (around the year 1,000 AD).
Another unique building in Nizwa is its Fort, built in 1668 by Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya’rubi. It was the administrative headquarters for the Imams and Walis of the city. It took 12 years to build and was partially destroyed by a bomb dropped by the British in 1950. Today it is perfectly restored and is the most visited monument in Oman.
Next to the fort is the Souq of Nizwa, famous for its handicrafts and agricultural products. Nizwa is well known for its silver jewelry, which is considered to be the best in the country. The most beautiful khanjar (curved dagger) in the country are made here. As well as ceramic, copper, sword and leather products.
Another place of interest is the Falaj DarisFalaj Daris, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is the largest falaj in Oman and is responsible for providing water to the palm and sugar cane plantations, which are cultivated for about 8 kilometers next to Nizwa.
We did, like good tourists, some shopping and souvenirs, and the group decided to return by road to Muscat where we would spend the last night in Oman.
The journey was very comfortable thanks to a brand new highway that has been built between the two cities, and which runs through the Samail Valley, the true backbone of the country, as it separates the Al Hajar mountain range into two parts, which accompanied us on both sides of the route throughout the journey.
26 and 27 February 2012
دب ي DUBAI
Our days of adventure in Oman are over, today we fly to the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that have been part of the United Arab Emirates since December 2, 1971 and where its most glamorous city, Dubai, stands out with its own light, a paradise for lovers of luxury, excess, ostentation, the immense and the surreal. A dream come true in the middle of the desert, thanks to petrodollars.
After a short flight of less than an hour from Muscat, we land at the large international airport of Dubai, where we pick up our vehicles, which this time are Mazda with two-wheel drive.
Dubai, one of the most renowned cities in the world, has an impressive skyline with state-of-the-art skyscrapers that reveal the power of money over human ingenuity in one of the most difficult terrains to survive, the desert. In Dubai is at 828 meters, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, (Caliph’s Tower). A seven-star hotel, one of only two in the world, the Burj Al Arab (Arab’s Tower). The largest shopping mall in the world, the Dubai Mall. The largest fountain with light and sound in the world, the Dubai Fountain. The artificial islands in the shape of an urbanized palm tree within the sea of Palm Jumeirah and a world map made up of 300 islands, the World Islands. Five of the six tallest hotels in the world. The most modern metro in the world with a network of 75 km where there is no driver. It also has the largest port in the world and the world’s largest airport is scheduled to open in 2012.
Its architecture is simply stunning, nurtured by high technology and great ideas. It is the city where almost any project is feasible.
Dubai began to develop at the beginning of the 20th century, on both sides of the “Dubai Creek”, a natural feature in the form of a sea water estuary that juts into land for about 10 kilometers. Known in the time of the Greeks who called it the Zara River, it marked the starting point in the awakening of the new city, giving birth to two small nuclei, Bur Dubai and Deira, located one on each side of the Creek, at that time here was the most important port in the region, hundreds of ships arrived there that traded with India and Africa. The dhows (traditional Arab boats) have been closely linked to the history of the city. The first souks and mosques began to be built.
The 1940s were marked by World War II. In addition to the fact of the war itself, there was the appearance of cultured pearls on the market, which put an end to the traditional fishing for natural pearls that practically ceased to exist due to overexploitation. The shortage of food was the most remarkable thing that led to misery for the 20,000 inhabitants who lived in Dubai.
In the 50s Dubai began to trade in gold and Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum ordered the estuary to be drained and the docks reinforced so that its maritime trade could continue to grow.
In 1969 it began exporting oil and in that year it already had 59,000 inhabitants and marks the awakening of the Emirate.
In 1971, the United Arab Emirates was formed, of which Dubai would become a part, and in 1973 the UAE dirham, the single currency of the United Arab Emirates, was created.
In 1979, Jebel Ali Port and the Dubai World Trade Centre were inaugurated, the city’s first skyscraper that would pave the way for other ambitious architectural projects.
Sheikh Maktoum succeeded his father in 1990 as governor of Dubai, who died in the Persian Gulf War. The miracle of Dubai begins.
On December 1, 1999, the Burj Al Arab hotel was inaugurated, with a height of 321 m. It is the first 7-star hotel in the world.
In 2003, Dubai is recognized by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as a global financial hub. In addition, the real estate market is growing a lot thanks to the introduction of freehold property, 15% of the world’s cranes work in Dubai.
On January 4, 2010, the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure built by man at 828 meters high, was inaugurated. Construction began on September 21, 2004.
Before returning to the Radisson Hotel we decided to go to the old neighborhood of Deira, to see the real Dubai, it really has nothing to do with the big skyscrapers and avenues. The neighborhood of Deira is simple, with ordinary people, merchants, taxi drivers, fishermen, boatmen, ordinary working people, many immigrants who have come to make their fortunes in this country of dreams. We arrived at Dubai Creek and took a small dhow to take a walk before the sun goes down, it was a nice experience, because of the tranquility we had, being so close and at the same time so far from cosmopolitan and noisy Dubai. In the end we saw what Jaume had so often wanted to experience, a port full of dhows, moving goods from the boats to land and vice versa, by hand, slowly, as it has always been. Dubai also has something of a normal city. We go to the hotel calmer.
Day 28 February 2012
After our visit to Dubai, where an exclusively guided bus showed us the most emblematic buildings and places of the city, we ate in an entire 7* hotel, the Burj al Arab, we climbed the tallest building in the world, we had dinner next to the impressive Dubai Fountain, admiring its sound, its colors and its grandeur, We were about to ski on the snow in the middle of the desert, we bought in the largest stores in the world, the
Dubai Mall and we even got on the most modern metro in the world, where women can travel alone if they wish, we headed, with the hangover of still being inside an impossible dream, with the car we had rented, to the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. A highway with 6 lanes in each direction, with tolls that you can pass at 120 Km/hour and with a slightly stagnant neck from so much raising your head, because of so many skyscrapers, was the way to get out of Dubai.
أب وظ بي ABU DABHI
After an hour and a half of placid driving we arrive in Abu Dhabi, where we visit another extraordinary architectural work of this country, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, or the Great Mosque of Abu Dhabi, is the third largest in the world after Mecca and Medina.
The construction project of the mosque began in the 1980s with the study of planning, design and location.
On November 5, 1996, its construction began and after some administrative vicissitudes, it opened its doors at the end of 2007.
This majestic Islamic temple, begun by order of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, considered to be the father of the United Arab Emirates and buried in the temple on November 4, 2004, is probably the most imposing monument in Abu Dhabi to date and one of the most important and beautiful architectural treasures of the United Arab Emirates and the world.
With an area of 22,412 m2, it has a capacity for 41,000 people, to which must be added 23,000 more who can be in its gardens. The mosque has 82 domes of Moroccan design decorated with white marble, the main dome has a diameter of 32.8 m and 70 meters high from the ground and is the largest dome of its kind according to the research center of Islamic history and culture in Turkey.
The mosque has 1048 columns in its exterior areas and 96 in the main prayer hall, decorated with mother of pearl, in addition in this room there is a chandelier that with its dimensions of 10 m high and 9 tons of weight is the largest in the world. As well as the carpet that covers the floor of this room built entirely by hand in Iran, which with its almost 2,270,000 knots is also the largest in the world.
The mosque has four minarets of 107 meters high each. The main glass door is 12.2 m high, and weighs about 2.2 tons.
The total cost of the work was US$ 545 million in 2007.
The visit was worth it, it really is a masterpiece of architecture, for its beauty, for its grandeur and for its slender spectacularity, I don’t know what the mosques of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia will be like, but this one in Abu Dhabi is simply impressive.
Amazed by the spectacle of the Grand Mosque we head to Yas Island about 25 km to the north, strategically located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it contains high-end hotels, theme parks, golf courses, shopping malls, apartments and villas.
As it could not be otherwise, we went to live and feel the adrenaline and excitement at the World’s Ferrari, a theme park where this Italian brand is the protagonist. The history of its models, its pilots, its champions, along with very impressive attractions such as the fastest roller coaster in the world that takes you from 0 to 240 Km/hour in 4 seconds or other more children’s attractions so that all visitors, adults and children enjoy the sensation of speed. Next to the Ferrari World is the racing circuit where the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix is held.
After so many emotions we arrived at the hotel where we had dinner and went to sleep.
Day 29 February 2012
Today is February 29, a date that is only repeated every four years, we have dawned in the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the satisfaction of what we have seen here is very positive, its difference with the luxurious Dubai is abysmal, excluding yes, the Grand Mosque.
We allow ourselves the pleasure of visiting the second and last, so far, 7* hotel in the world, the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, which competes in luxury and spectacularity with the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. This impressive hotel is located at the end of “La Corniche” or promenade very close to the Palace of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi. Its architectural lines are sober and very elegant, it is an authentic royal palace. It opened in November 2005, but some restaurants and spas didn’t open until a year later.
We leave the city and by highway we arrive in Dubai and its airport to take a plane to the third country of this Arabian Raid, Qatar.
We leave Dubai at 3 pm and because of the time magic and after traveling 500 km we arrive in Doha, capital of Qatar at the same time. They come to pick us up and transfer us to a nice hotel in the old part of the city just five minutes from the Souq or Souk.
دوحة QATAR DOHA
Doha is the capital of Qatar, a country located on a small peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Its population is about 550,700 inhabitants and as in all countries in the region its main economic activities are the oil industry and fishing.
Doha, a word that comes from the Arabic term Dohat (bay or gulf, referring to the area of La Corniche that surrounds its coast), was founded in
1825. The city was the capital of the British protectorate of Qatar from 1916 to 1971, from that date it was the capital of the State of Qatar.
In 1917, the Al-Kout fort was built, which is located in the center of the city and is now a park for camels.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Doha was just a port for pearl fishermen, which had a fleet of 350 pearl fishermen and 12,000 inhabitants. The introduction of Japanese cultured pearls in the 1930s plunged the entire region into poverty. At the end of that same year, oil was discovered in Qatar, which began with the Second World War and with the discovery of important gas and oil reserves, began a slow economic transformation.
In 1971 Great Britain decided to abandon its protectorates in the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, which was granted the title of independent state, that same year it signed a treaty of friendship with Great Britain and joined the Arab League and the UN.
In 1973, Qatar University opened its doors, and in 1975 the Qatar National Museum was opened in what was originally the Governor’s Palace in 1912.
The Arabic television network Al-Jazeera began broadcasting from Doha in 1996.
Its extraordinary expansive and internationalization vocation has led Qatar and its capital Doha to be a candidate to organize the 2020 Olympic Games and Qatar to be the host country of the 2022 World Cup.
An extraordinary real estate investment is underway, with the emblem of this expansion being the impressive luxury complex known as La Perla, created near New Doha and which will be completed in the coming years.
In our first contact with the city, we approached a viewpoint located on La Corniche, in front of the modern skyline of skyscrapers of Doha, where Jaume Millan taught us the secret of good photos at sunset, the photo below is his. We spent almost an hour absorbed by the sight of lights that modify the color of the modern city, until we decided to take a walk through the Souq of its old town.
The souk of Doha, was a place full of charm, with movement, a lot of life, performances by artists in the street, musicians, clowns, singers, mimes, it was a very pleasant experience, a breath of fresh air unexpected and surprising, Doha was a city of Arabs but with a clear international vocation, we understood the president of Barça, Rosell when he accepted the Qatar Foundation as a sponsor of his club, There was no black uniform in women with their faces covered, here everyone dressed as they wanted and of course the Qataris did it following their ancestral customs, both their men and women, most of them precious. We fell in love with the Doha Souk and captivated us, as we had arranged with the rest of the group at the hotel, we had to leave but the next day it was clear that this place would have to be savored inch by inch for a long time.
Day 1 March
After breakfast, a bus picks us up to accompany us on a visit to the city. Following the coastline along the Corniche we approach the skyscrapers that we photographed yesterday at sunset, they are not as tall or spectacular as those in Dubai, but they represent the Qatari people’s desire for change and modernity.
They show us the future luxury urban complex of “La Perla”, today it is uninhabited and we only see two stores open, Ferrari and Rolls Royce, impressive. A large model in the offices of the complex shows us what this superport and tax-free refuge of fortunes will be like.
After the visit they take us to the souk, which we were already there yesterday, they surprise us with a visit to a bird shop, specifically falcons, since the Arabs are very fond of falconry and spend a lot of money on the purchase and care of these extraordinary birds.
We stroll through the outer alleys of the souk, where there are many restaurants and cafes, as well as souvenir shops, jewelry and handicrafts, especially khanjar and sabers. Inside the covered souk, the narrow streets are much narrower and there are shops of all kinds, especially clothing, household supplies, cleaning products and cosmetics or food. Discovering the souk at noon also has its charm, although the heat and a light sandstorm that hits the city do not make it as pleasant as at sunset, where the wind cools the atmosphere and it becomes much more pleasant to walk through it.
After discovering during the day what we visited at night, we get on the bus to go to the modern Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, where all Islamic countries or those that have had a relationship with that culture are represented, of course Spain is present with several objects.
The Museum, inaugurated in November 2008, was conceived by the same architect who built the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum, the Chinese Ieoh Ming Pei, manuscripts and ceramics, pieces carved in gold, precious stones, wood or ivory, are exhibited in the rooms of this magnificent building that stands on an artificial island.
There are also examples of artistic applications in calligraphy, portraits, engravings, textiles, sculpture and architecture from the Arab world with pieces brought from all the continents where Islam has proliferated.
After the visit, somewhat boring due to our great ignorance of Islamic art, we decided to go to eat at the Souk, after, of course, tasting the mint with lemon granita, a kind of alcohol-free mojito with an exquisite and very refreshing flavor.
We eat in a fish restaurant, and we go to the hotel to rest before taking in the afternoon what will be our last walk through the Souk of Doha and of our entire trip, since in the early hours of the morning of the 2nd we will take a plane to Madrid that will end this great trip. A mixture of adventure, 4×4 and tourism in countries so rich that they don’t know what to do with the money and have created an unreal world in the middle of a desert as real as it is hostile.
See you in the next adventure of Territori 4×4
Jordi Tobeña
Thanks to Jaume Millán and Juan Antonio Rodriguez for their photos and to all the companions of the trip for having shared with the same positive and team spirit, all the moments of the expedition.
