Al Ain | aaarticle.com

Al Ain is the inland garden city of the Abu Dhabi emirate, an oasis town of palm groves, forts and a lone mountain. Greener and more traditional than the coast, it holds the country's first World Heritage sites.

Overview

Set on the border with Oman where the desert meets the mountains, Al Ain grew around ancient oases watered by underground channels, and it remains the cultural cradle of the Emirates. Cooler and greener than the Gulf cities, it is a low-rise town of palm gardens, old mud-brick forts and the tombs and falaj channels that earned it World Heritage status. It is a place for heritage and nature rather than skyscrapers, an easy drive inland from Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

Highlights

The Al Ain Oasis, a shaded expanse of date palms fed by the ancient falaj irrigation channels, sits at the heart of the city. Forts and the national museum tell the story of the pre-oil Emirates, and the camel market keeps an older trade alive. Jebel Hafeet, the mountain on the edge of town, offers a winding drive to a summit view over the desert.