Everything you need to know about the United Arab Emirates
Explore the United Arab Emirates from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Al Ainโs oases, Sharjahโs archaeology, northern pearling settlements and the Gulf of Oman coast. Learn seven emirates, place twenty cities and towns and twenty sights, then explore ten illustrated topics, thirty answered questions and linked Arabic lessons.
Read it, then make it stick
Geography of the UAE
Two gulf coasts, Hajar mountain valleys and the Empty Quarter frame a country of separate territories.
Know the shape of the country
Start with all seven emirates, including their detached territories, then place twenty cities and towns. A short coastal-waters round distinguishes the Persian Gulf, called the Arabian Gulf locally, from the Gulf of Oman. Emirates: geoBoundaries gbOpen / OpenStreetMap, ODbL 1.0, representing 2017. Coastal waters: Natural Earth, public domain. City coordinates are curated. Zoom in for Nahwa and the compact east-coast territories. These generalised maps do not show legal boundaries or maritime claims.
Places worth visiting
Essential ยท Mosque & architecture
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
White marble arcades and large domes frame this major mosque in the federal capital. Its architecture combines craft traditions from several regions. Visitor arrangements follow the mosqueโs current rules.
Explore twenty sights across all seven emirates, from early archaeology and oasis irrigation to forts, mangroves and modern architecture. Pins represent selected places, not the full extent of landscapes or serial World Heritage properties. Essential is our shortlist for a first trip, and worth a detour goes further. Select a pin to read about a place, then play the map and find them all.
Take Arabic with you
Greetings and politeness
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on.
Keep going one country deeper
When you have had your fill of the United Arab Emirates, the countries marked guide have a page like this one, and every other has maps of its own.
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