Desert Landscape to Al Aqah Beach

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With a 2 hour drive we can leave the glitz of Dubai and be transported through a changing desert landscape to arrive at the spectacular area of Al Aqah Beach on the East Coast of the UAE.

We drove through the shifting and changing sand dunes, from low dunes, pale yellow, to more dramatic deep orange & higher dunes, then just as suddenly we were surrounded by flat scrubby rocky desert . Suddenly again it changes as we drive through the rocky mountainous moon scape, soaring up out of the flat desert scrubby landscape . Quarries, cement factories, convoys of heavy laden trucks, potted roads and road works abound in this mountainous part of the desert.

We pass through the small towns of Al Dhaid, Masafi then through to Dibba and down the coast road to Miramar Al Aqah Beach resort... a drive of contrasts...worlds apart. From the Downtown of Dubai with the Burj Khalifa & Dubai Mall in the back ground, we are soon passing small farming shacks, wandering goats, camels on the dunes, isolated farms, rundown and derelict small communities...a world away from Dubai. The sand & dust is constant, transport is often hitching or on an old bike or groups of men loaded in the back of a Toyota ute.

Small mosques break up the sparse surroundings, often isolated. We pass many roadside fruit & vegetable stands and market stalls including the Friday Markets... a long stretch of roadside sheds filled with ceramics, carpets, plants, toys...

Once we reach the east coast, again it is full of contrast, with dramatic rocky mountains steeply falling down to the waters edge. There are pockets of scrubby public beaches where groups have set up camp for the weekend, & others have had to make more permanent camping accommodation as their only means of accommodation... Following this there are a stretch of hotel resorts... the contrast is marked, sometimes with campers below or next to the resorts. Security guards watch over the resort borders at the beach ...

We treated ourselves to a long overdue weekend away at Miramar Al Aqah resort. Greeted with exceptional service we were transported in to an Arabic oasis of palms, garden, pools, beach, restaurants, lanterns, sheesha, belly dancing... before the drive back across the desert to the dazzling lights of Dubai!

As usual I have a lot of photos, firstly of the desert, the Miramar..enjoy :-)

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