Despite being back in a nice air-conditioned room, I
didn’t sleep all that well, and neither did the others it turned out (should
have stayed in the desert!) Had an early’ish breakfast to be ready for an 8:30am
pick up to go to Al Ain a city near the border of Oman. Al Ain is a UNESCO listed
(2011) oasis village.
Places visited in Al Ain were:
- Al Jahili Fort (constructed 1891-1898) where we
saw the works of Wilfred Thesiger aka Mubarak bin London. This permanent
exhibition highlights the story of the Britain, who enjoyed an international
reputation as an explorer, photographer and writer of travel literature.
- Al Ain Palace Museum which dates back to 1937
and was built in the traditional architectural style of Al Ain. It was one of
the Al Ain residences of the late Sheikh Zayed bun Sultan al Nahyan, the
founding father and first President of the UAE. The Palace museum provides a
glimpse into the life of the ruling family prior to the Union in 1971.
- Al Ain Oasis. We were told this was largely
private property and were therefore unable to wander extensively. Rather, we
were shepherded through a non-descript gate and along a narrow path for about
100m. We stopped beside some massive palms and were treated to a demo of how
the locals use a back sash and front rope to climb a palm tree to harvest the
dates. We were then encouraged to sample the dates in the hope that we would
all buy some; only three of the eight did.
- Lunch, which was taken at a restaurant just
outside of Al Ain proper at what looked to be a fairly upmarket hotel. The
restaurant was called Sedra Bawadi Restaurant. We had a huge selection to
choose from the cold, hot and dessert buffets. We were all ready for a nana nap
after that. However, we had to continue with the tour.
- Camel market. After lunch we visited the camel
market. This is where the camel traders bring their camels to be sold. We were
told that the camel does not leave this place unless sold. Most of them looked
in pretty good nick. There were young ones, old ones and even some racing
camels that could fetch as much as USD0.5M. Not sure how true this is though,
although they did look better than the average camel.
- Green Mubazzarah Park. This was basically a parkland
at the base of the Jebel Hafeet Mountian range and seemed to be a park where
families could picnic, etc. They had a number of swimming pools, with males and
females separated, of course!
- Jebel Hafeet Mountain range. This range is the
border between UAE and Oman and translates to “empty mountan”. The range is about
26 km long, 4–5 km wide, 1.1 – 1.4km high, and offers a view over Al Ain.
Within the eroded core of the structure, at the Green Mubazzarah Park,
are hot springs with
temperatures of around 40°C. There is no volcanic activity in the area,
therefore the water is being heated geothermally. An extensive natural
cave system winds through Jebel Hafeet. Access to the caves is partly natural,
while in other parts of the city of Al Ain, the entrance is blocked.
On the way from the camel market to the park and
mountain, we were travelling along the Abu Dhabi – Al Ain truck route doing
about 100km/h when a Nissan Patrol (there are a lot of them over here) screamed
passed us doing at least 160km/h (the legal speed limit). The driver was in a
hurry to get somewhere and almost caused an accident as they wanted the car in
front to get over. We all commented on the recklessness of the manoeuvre and
not long after that, the driver braked and our guide informed us that we may
have to stop for a while as there seemed to be an accident up ahead. Well, when
we got to where the accident was, a number of us recognised the vehicle as
being the one in a hurry just two minutes prior. Who know how it happened
however, the car had spun around, taken out the guard rail and collided with
the lamp post in the middle of the road. As we passed the crumpled vehicle, we saw
a body on the other side of the road with some very fresh blood in the head
region. He was obviously dead and it had only just happened. Poor bugger. Wearing
of seat belts may be optional and perhaps he was not wearing his? (Turns out he
was a 22-year-old military cadet on his way to the nearby military college).
Not a very pleasant thing to witness.
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| Al Jahili Fort |
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| Wilfred Thesiger |
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| Abu Dhabi in 1948 |
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| Al Ain Oasis |
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| Close-up of the roots of a date palm |
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| Camel market |
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| Vehicle accident |
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| Jebel Hafeet Mountain |
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| View from half-way up Jebel Hafeet |
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| Us on Jebel Hafeet, minus Richard who was back in the bus waiting to leave |
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