Fujairah - May 2

Today we woke up in the United Arab Emirates – specifically Fujairah, one of the 7 emirates that make up the UAE. What a huge contrast from India. Here people drive on the same side of the road as we do on roads that rival the best ones at home, there are very few people not in cars, there is next to no trash, no one is begging or trying to sell me something – in fact is was so ‘non-touristy’ that it was virtually impossible to buy anything. Something that is the same is the heat – it is still very hot.

mosque

Masafi Pass

We started the tour at a mosque, but only for a photo stop. Then we drove quite a while along the east coast of the UAE. This area is known for the beaches on one side of the road and the Hajjar Mountain range on the other. We finally make it to what is called the Friday Market. This is the opposite of touristy. It is very local with the merchants selling mostly vegetables (imported), clay pots, rugs and bedding – interesting combination.

oasis in the desert

goats in the oasis

The Fujairah Fort is next on the itinerary. This fort is a 300 years old, but we only make a photo stop here as it is under renovation. I don’t exactly know what it means to reno a fort…however…we were not getting in. This tour is full of photo stops and the next one is at the Oasis in Bithna. This is an area in the middle of the desert made lush because of a natural spring.

Fujairah Fort

Our last photo stop is at Masafi Pass which is high in the mountains. The lack of humidity is very noticeable when we get off the bus here. It is still very hot, but not humid.


Our last stop was at a museum depicting the way people in the area lived in the past. It was interesting to visit Fujairah, but there was really very little to it - 40 years ago there was little here.