Land of the Emirates [antikvár]

INTRODUCTONlo the uninitiated, the landscape of the Emirates might seem to offer little in the way of attraction. Nothing could be further from the truth. For a start, the desert itself can be extremely beautiful. The mountain wadis may hide unexpected pools and vegetation, there are surprisingly extensive farms, gardens full of brilliant flowers and with their wind-towers and modern office blocks, the cities are full of character.In 1987, Dubai Television decided to make a documentary series of 13 programmes, to show the many facets of the land and life of the UAE, and to illustrate some of its attractions.This book is based on that series. It gives details of the places we filmed, and tells where to find them. But the TV series looked at subjects - sand deserts, fisheries, industry and so on (and often explored just one example of each, a farm, a factory etc, a formula I have sometimes followed here). For convenience, however, I have arranged the book rather differently from the films. It is presented geographically, with one chapter for each Emirate, so that the visitor can find the places of interest to him. I assume he will have a road map, and recommend he takes a map of the wadis if intending to leave the beaten track.I should like to express my appreciation to HE Sheikh Hasher Maktoum, Director of Information in Dubai; Riyadh Shuaibi, Information Adviser; and NasibBitar, Controller of Programmes, who all took a personal interest in theTVseriesand made it possible. Permission to film was generously granted by the Emiri Diwans and Municipalities in the other Emirates, and I wish to thank them too.Finally, thanks to Emirates, the international airline of the UAE, whose support made possible the publication of this book.