| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 23/04/01 |
| Author: | Page Number: 55 |
| Copyright: Other |
Highlights andexcursions
Shopping:the 500-shop Old Central Souk is where Arab traders hawk everything from plastic buckets to Afghan carpets. There’s also the Iranian souk near the free port, and the Madinat Zayed Gold Centre for tax-free jewellery. The corniche, popular with runners, cyclists and rollerbladers, is the UAE’s answer to Nice’s promenade, and it recently benefited from a £38 million facelift. Families picnic by fountains on the manicured lawns and the corniche comes into its own early evening when locals relax with hookah pipes and coffee.
Island-hopping trips: the city of Abu Dhabi is positioned on an island with 200 others scattered around it. Local operators run half, full-day and overnight island-hopping trips, and there’s the option of taking a barbecue to your own private island. Most hotels organise sunset dhow and yacht cruises.
CULTURE: dhows are now used for fishing, tourism and dhow racing rather than their original use of pearling, but for a glimpse into the pre-oil rich emirates head for Bateen Shipyard and watch how the traditional Arabic fishing dhow is made.
Dune driving:this is a must. Driving up a near-vertical wall of sand and plummeting down the other side is like being on a roller coaster. Abu Dhabi boasts some of the UAE’s biggest dunes within an hour of the city. Full-day, half-day and overnight desert adventures each include a barbecue under the stars (see story page 56).
Al ain: a two-hour drive from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain straddles the Omani border and is a great day trip. The journey through the desert landscape includes a visit to the palm plantations and working vegetable farms of the Al Ain Oasis. The city boasts a fascinating fresh produce souk; one of the emirates’ few remaining camel markets; and the Jahili fort.
liwa: visit one of the largest sand deserts in the world at Liwa, near the Empty Quarter, two hours from Abu Dhabi. The scenery ranges from sandy plains to dried-up riverbeds and lush green oases.
WAdi bashing: staring down into a long and winding earthquake-like chasm, forged by the flow of mountain spring water, is all part of the wadi experience. Learn how water is channelled and irrigated to feed oases of date palms and banana, mango and papaya trees. Shallower wadis make perfect swimming holes. Others are wide enough to wadi-bash in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Day trips cost from around £68.
Haggle, haggle, haggle: a visit to the souk is one of the highlights of a visit to Al Ain