Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula 6
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©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula Kuwait p94 Bahrain Oman p56 p130 United Arab Qatar Emirates Saudi p237 p323 Arabia p272 Oman p130 Yemen p419 Jenny Walker, Jessica Lee, Jade Bremner, Tharik Hussain, Josephine Quintero PLAN YOUR TRIP ON THE ROAD Welcome to the Arabian BAHRAIN . 56 Al Areen . 84 Peninsula . 6 Manama . 59 Tree of Life . 85 Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula Map . 8 Muharraq Island . 76 Oil Museum . 86 Arabian Peninsula’s Around Bahrain Sitra & Al Dar Islands . 86 Top 15 . 10 Island . 81 Need to Know . 18 Understand What’s New . 20 Bahrain Fort Bahrain . 86 & Museum . 81 If You Like . 21 Bahrain Today . 86 A’Ali . 81 Month by Month . 24 History . 87 Itineraries . 27 Saar . 82 People & Society . 89 The Hajj . 31 Al Jasra . 82 Expats . 35 Environment . 89 Riffa & Around . 82 Activities . 45 Survival Guide . 90 Family Travel . 49 Bahrain International Circuit . 83 Countries at a Glance . .. 53 RAMON RUTI/GETTY IMAGES © IMAGES RUTI/GETTY RAMON © ALEKSANDR/SHUTTERSTOCK MATVEEV GRAND MOSQUE, MUSCAT P140 CRISTIANO BARNI/SHUTTERSTOCK © BARNI/SHUTTERSTOCK CRISTIANO GRAND PRIX, BAHRAIN P85 Contents KUWAIT . 94 History . 120 Birkat Al Mawz . 179 Kuwait City . 98 People . 123 Jebel Akhdar . 179 Around Kuwait . 117 Religion . 123 Tanuf . 182 Failaka Island . 117 Environment . 124 Sharfat Al Alamayn . 182 Al Ahmadi . 118 Survival Guide . .125 Al Hamra . 184 Mina Alzour Misfat Al Abriyyin . 185 OMAN . 130 & Al Khiran . 118 Jebel Shams . 187 Al Jahra . 119 Muscat . 134 Bahla & Jabreen . 188 Mutla Ridge . 119 Around Muscat . 151 Al Ayn . 190 Seeb . 151 Understand Ibri . .191 Kuwait . 120 Bandar Jissah . 152 Buraimi . .191 Kuwait Today . 120 Jebel Seifa . 156 Batinah Plain . 192 Qurayat . 156 Sohar . 192 Mazara . 156 Nakhal . 194 Eastern Coast . 157 Wakan . 195 Tiwi . 157 Al Awabi . 195 Sur . 159 Rustaq . 196 Ayjah . 162 Mussanah . 198 Ras Al Jinz Barka . 199 Turtle Reserve . 163 Al Sawadi . 200 Ras Al Hadd . 164 Musandam . 201 Al Ashkharah . 165 Khasab . 201 Shana’a . 166 The Khors . 204 Masirah Island . 166 Jebel Harim . 205 Jalan Bani Bu Ali . 168 Western Coast . 206 Selma Plateau . 169 Dhofar . 206 Al Kamil . 170 Salalah . 206 Al Mintirib . 171 Eastern Salalah Al Wasil . 172 Plain . 213 Ibra . 172 Jebel Samhan . 216 Hajar Mountains . 175 Mirbat . 216 KHOR IN OMAN P130 Nizwa . 175 Hasik . .217 ON THE ROAD Western Salalah Plain . 218 © IMAGES SELLIES/GETTY FRANS Shisr . 220 Al Hashman . 220 Al Wusta . .. 221 Haima . 221 Duqm . 222 Understand Oman . 223 Oman Today . 223 AL NOOR MOSQUE, History . 224 SHARJAH P355 People & Society . 226 Religion . 228 Environment . 267 Dammam . 307 Arts . 228 Survival Guide . 268 Southern Saudi Arabia . 309 Environment . 229 SAUDI ARABIA . 272 Abha . 310 Food & Drink . 232 Riyadh . 276 Jazan . 311 Survival Guide . 232 Hejaz . 281 Farasan Islands . 312 QATAR . 237 Jeddah . 281 Understand Saudi Arabia . 312 Taif . 287 Doha . 239 Saudi Arabia Today . 312 Mecca . 288 Around Qatar . 261 History . 313 Al Wakrah Medina . 293 People . 315 & Al Wukair . 261 Yanbu . 295 Religion . 316 Mesaieed . 262 Northern Environment . 316 Khor Al Adaid . 262 Saudi Arabia . 299 Survival Guide . 317 Al Khor . 263 Al Ula . 299 Madain Saleh . 300 Al Zubarah . 263 UNITED ARAB Bir Zekreet . 263 Tabuk . 302 EMIRATES . 323 Al Wajh . 305 Understand Qatar . 264 Dubai . 327 Qatar Today . 264 Central Najd . 305 Around Dubai . 352 History . 265 Buraydah . 306 Dubai Desert Conservation People . 266 Eastern Province . 306 Reserve . 352 Al Hofuf . 306 Arts . 267 Hatta . 352 Contents UNDERSTAND Arabian Peninsula ANDREW MONGOMERY/LONELY PLANET © PLANET MONGOMERY/LONELY ANDREW © SHARIF/SHUTTERSTOCK ABRAR Today . 424 History . 426 People & Society . 434 Arts, Sports & Leisure . 440 Islam in Arabia . 445 Flavours of Arabia . 450 BUR DUBAI SOUQ, DUBAI WADI DARBAT, OMAN P213 The Natural P328 Environment . 463 Northern Emirates . 354 Understand the Sharjah . 354 United Arab SURVIVAL Emirates . 405 Ajman . 361 GUIDE UAE Today . 405 Umm Al Quwain . 364 History . 406 Ras Al Khaimah . 365 Safe Travel . 470 Government Directory A–Z . 474 Abu Dhabi . 370 & Politics . 408 Eastern Abu Dhabi People & Society . 408 Transport . 482 Emirate . 389 Arts . 410 Health . 490 Al Ain . 389 Environment . 410 Language . 494 Al Dhafra . 394 Survival Guide . 411 Index . 502 Madinat Zayed . 394 Liwa Oasis . 394 YEMEN . 419 Jebel Dhanna . 397 At a Glance . 419 SPECIAL FEATURES Sir Bani Yas Best in Music . 419 Island . 397 The Hajj . 31 Country in Crisis . 419 Fujairah & the Expats . 35 Eastern Coast . 399 Further Reading . 419 Grand Mosque Understand Yemen . 420 Fujairah City . 399 (Al Masjid Khor Fakkan . 402 Yemen Today . 420 Al Haram) . 290 Al Aqah . 402 History . 420 Flavours of Arabia . 450 Dibba . 403 Safe Travel . .. 470 Kalba . 405 ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 27 Itineraries IRAN BAHRAIN OMAN MANAMA QATAR Dubai ABU DHABI Jebel MUSCAT Shams UNITED ARAB Nizwa EMIRATES Bahla Sharqiya Ras Al Sands Jinz SAUDI OMAN ARABIA 2 WEEKS Arabian Peninsula Highlights in a Hurry Weaving between the sites of modern and ancient Arabia, this itinerary highlights the best Peninsula experiences feasible in the least amount of time. If focuses on three Gulf cities, then offers a relaxing contrast to the urban pace in the wilds of Oman. Begin with two days in friendly Manama, with its pearl-trading souq and interesting museums. Visit Bahrain Fort to better understand how the whole Gulf region was intent on repelling attack from the sea. Fly to Dubai, a city obsessed with the newest, biggest and best, for a two-day stop, including that totem of superlatives, Burj Khalifa. Spend a day in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s cultured capital, visiting Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – proof there’s more to the Emir- ates than shopping. For a complete contrast, fly from Abu Dhabi to Muscat. See how 40 years of ‘renais- sance’ has created a modern nation underpinned by respect for heritage – evident during a four-day tour of Nizwa and Bahla. Allow three further days to forget history by hik- ing at Jebel Shams, camel riding across Sharqiya Sands and watching turtles return to the beach of their birth at Ras Al Jinz before returning to Muscat. 28 IRAQ KUWAIT KUWAIT CITY IRAN PLAN YOUR TRIP BAHRAIN MANAMA OMAN IT Hawar Islands I Dubai NERAR QATAR ABU DHABI I ES UNITED ARAB SAUDI ARABIA EMIRATES Liwa Oasis OMAN 3 WEEKS The Gulf’s Capital Cities Many people visit one of the Gulf capitals as a stopover en route to somewhere else. There are more than enough diversions and experiences on offer, however, to make it worthwhile to combine these city-states as destinations in their own right. Spend four days in each of four main Gulf cities, flying between each. Begin in dry, traditional Kuwait City. Learn here the sensory vocabulary of Arabia – the haggling in Souq Marbarakia, wafts of shisha from outdoor coffeehouses and strolls along the Cor- niche. Add to the Arabian lexicon by tracing similarities between Peninsula cultures at Tareq Rajab Museum and leave time to explore the urban landscape of high-rise towers – the quintessential symbols of Gulf modernity. Oil is responsible for Arabia’s rapid propulsion into the 21st century: see how in near- by Bahrain, home to the Oil Museum. Enjoy the glamour associated with black gold at the Formula One racing circuit. Pearls gave the Gulf its former livelihood: dive for a pearl off the Hawar Islands or buy a string at Gold City in Manama and see how the sea has retreated as land has been reclaimed. Abu Dhabi, the cultural and political capital of United Arab Emirates, is another city reliant on reclaimed land – as becomes obvious on a walk along the beautiful Corniche. Punctuate your high-voltage city tour with an escape to Liwa Oasis, where life moves at the pace of a camel’s stride. If you miss the dynamism of the urban experience, then the best has been kept until last. Spend four days in and around Dubai, discovering what makes it the region’s most internationally famous city. Cook with chefs, shop with sharks, view the city from the world’s tallest tower and dine underwater in the Gulf’s most can-do city. 29 IRAN BAHRAIN OMAN QATAR Dubai DOHA Sohar Khor Al Adaid Nakhal MUSCAT PLAN YOUR TRIP UNITED ARAB Rustaq EMIRATES SAUDI ARABIA IT I OMAN NERAR I ES Khor Rori YEMEN Mughsail Salalah 4 WEEKS Top to Toe: Pan Peninsula in Four Weeks They may share the same Peninsula (and a similar name), but arid urban Doha in the north and subtropical, rural Dhofar in the south are so different in character that they may as well belong to different continents. In week one, fly into Doha, renowned for its commitment to hosting international sports, for a three-day visit to this energetic city with its spectacular modern skyline. Visit Souq Waqif and the magnificent Museum of Islamic Art for full cultural immersion and then leave human civilisation behind in a camping trip to timeless Khor Al Adaid in southern Qatar. Camp along the edge of the country’s famous inland sea before re- turning to the city for a very different type of sundowner at a luxurious city bar. Since a blockade was imposed on Qatar by some other Gulf states, a new route has opened up between Doha and Sohar in Oman. In week two, be one of the first to try the route out and begin a tour of the land of 1000 towers and fortifications at newly renovated Sohar Fort. Continue the fort theme by travelling to Muscat via Rustaq and Nakhal, boasting their own enormous forts, and end week two by spending a few days in Oman’s hospitable capital. Begin week three travelling to Dhofar, crossing the edge of the Empty Quarter on the flat and utterly featureless highway to Thumrait.