Dubai Emirate
The Dubai emirate has an area of 1500 square miles (5% of the total country’s area) and it has 1 200 000 inhabitans. It is a modern cosmopolitan emirate and a place of meeting of nations from all over the world – local Arabs, asian immigrants who came there for working and tourists from all over the world.
Most of the area is covered by desert, although Dubai is the most famous emirate. Dubai is a synonym of succes, wealth and luxury, it is often designated as a “city of gold”. The wealthiness of Dubai does not come from the oil richness, but from the commerce and tourism.
Dubai focused on tourism really in a large scale, local hotels earn great amounts of money, and that’s why another and another accomodation facilities are about to be built
Hotels need publicity, so Dubai is trying to draw attention at any price. It has the world’s highest hotel Burj Al Arab, artificial islands, underwater hotel, highest building on the planet or an indoor skiing slope.
Jebel Ali
This locality is located about 22 miles south-west from Dubai and it serves particulary as a great harbor and a free industrial and trade zone.
The Jebel Ali Port was made between 1976-79 and it was modernised after. It counts among the world’s biggest artificial ports.
Near to the harbor there is a giant duty-free areal Jebel Ali Free Zone. On the area of 40 square miles almost two and half thousand of companies have a seat. They are attracted by considerable fiscal and customs freedom.
Nazwa
About 25 miles south-east from Dubai there is an area of Nazwa which is famous for its sand dunes. Although these dunes are quite minor comparing to those in Abu Dhabi emirate, tourists prefer the dunes close to Dubai, mostly because of its short distance from the metropolis. Those high sand dunes are located right next to the main road from Dubai to Hatta and they are visited by many tourists who desire a desert ride in jeeps or a walking tour on sand dunes.
Al Maha
About 30 miles from Dubai direction to Al Ain there is a top-class touristic center. On 5 square miles right between sand dunes lies a new built luxurious oasis. Tourists usually come there to forget about the marks of modern civilisation, because this oasis offers appartements made in Bedouin tents style with typical local animals such as gazelles running around.
Hatta
The Hatta enclave is located about 70 miles south-east of the metropolis of Dubai. It lies in a rocky mountain range on the borders with Oman. The inhabitans of Dubai came there for recreation particularly because of more favorable climate and because of beautiful rock lakes. Recently there is a big touristic attraction: Hatta Heritage Village. Open-air museum of traditions.
That includes many spectacles linking to the rich past of this area. There are twenty reconstructed ancient habitations made from stone, mud, and reed. The dominant are two guarding towers coming from 1850. Most of the houses offer a view to concrete culture of the past, e.g. there is a house representing traditional local folklore, another represents specific buildins of this area, other is about traditionnal household crafts.
If you drive on a quality road, a journey from Dubai to Hatta takes about more than one hour.