Al-Ain
e plorex
With markets, forts, museums and a famous
date-palm oasis, Al-Ain is a breath of fresh
air after the frantic pace of Dubai. On the
border with Oman, about a 90-minute drive
out of town, the birthplace of Sheikh Za-
yed has greatly benefited from his patron-
age and passion for greening the desert;
it’s even nicknamed ‘Garden City’. But the
desert is never far away: simply driving the
serpentine road up Jebel Hafeet will treat
you to sweeping views of the arid splendour
that is the Empty Quarter. Al-Ain itself is an
increasingly dynamic place with a couple of
excellent museums, an archaeological park,
a superb zoo and an overall abundance of
greenery, at least compared to its southerly
neighbour.
Al-Ain is quite tough to navigate thanks
to a bewildering abundance of round-
abouts. Brown signs directing visitors to
the major tourist attractions are helpful,
but a few more wouldn’t hurt.Top Tip
The Al-Ain Wildlife Park is undergoing an
impressive expansion to include a desert
garden, an African village and the Sheikh
Zayed Desert Learning Centre. They are
also working in cooperation with severalworldwide zoos, including the San Diego
Zoo in the USA. The completion date is pro-
jected to be 2013; check the http://www.awpr.ae
website for an update.The best...
̈ ghtsi Sheikh Zayed Palace Museum
(p129)
̈ e to plac eat Makani (p130)
̈ e to plac drink Trader Vic’s (p130)Getting there & away
c ra From the World Trade Centre round-
about, head south on E11 (Sheikh Zayed
Rd), then take exit 56 to Oud Metha Rd
(E66) and follow it all the way to Al-Ain.
The trip will take around 90 minutes.
p blic transportu Al-Ghazal runs mini-
buses between Al-Ain (Dh20, 1½ hours)
and the Al-Ghubaiba bus station (Map
p210) in Dubai every hour from 6.30am
to 11.30pm. Al-Ain’s bus station is off
the Al-Murabba roundabout opposite the
Lulu Centre. A taxi to or from Dubai will
cost around Dh150.n ed to Knowe
̈ ea ar code % 03
̈ cationlo 160km southeast of Dubai
̈ ourist T office (%03-784 3996; Al-Jahili
Fort, Hazah St; h9am-5pm Sat, Sun &
Tue-Thu, 3-5pm Fri)d bai u deserT conserVaTion reserVeThe largest environmental project in Dubai to date, at least in terms of square kilo-
metres, is one we hear practically nothing about� At 225 sq km, the d bai u desert
conservation reserve (www.ddcr.org) accounts for 5% of the emirate’s total land�
It’s a national park, where the primary goal is to protect the desert’s biodiversity, and
it’s located on the outskirts of Sharjah�
Dubai’s approach to environmentalism is characteristically commercial� The
DDCR is managed and funded by an airline and its super-luxurious resort inside the
reserve� But Emirates Airlines, who initiated the project, has done a good job on the
DDCR and now other countries are studying a aha l M desert resort & spa (p144)
as a model for luxury-sector ecotourism� Since its establishment in 1999, the reserve
has reintroduced mountain gazelles and sand gazelles to Dubai’s desert, as well as
the Arabian oryx, which had almost completely disappeared a few decades ago�
The DDCR is divided into four zones� In the first zone, all human activity is prohib-
ited, and in the second only very limited operations are allowed to take place� The
third zone is only open to resort guests and the fourth is open to a small number of
desert tour operators, including a abian r adventures (www.arabian-adventures.com)�
If you can’t afford a villa at Al Maha, going on a tour with this company is the only way
you’ll get in�d
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