Desert safari in the UAE
Probably, for locals, the idea of paying money for a tour to the desert, into the desperate sandy wasteland and emptiness, is as absurd as for a Russian to pay for a tour to an endless snow-covered field.
We are leaving Dubai.
On the way, an unimaginable multitude of high-voltage power lines can be seen.
Roadside store.
The Arab driver deflates the tires to drive on the sands and turns off the highway onto a roadside track, neatly fenced off. After a few minutes, the fence ends, and the desert begins.
The essence of a desert safari is in the insane dune drifting. Arabs drive like maniacs even in the city, but in the desert, they have full freedom. The car spins like a devil’s carriage. It slides forward sideways on the dune at such an angle that it presses against the door glass. It’s impossible to capture a good shot.
If it only slows down for a minute.
It’s better to record a video.
It’s empty in the desert.
There is nothing at all.
Sparse vegetation.
The camels are all skinny — there’s nothing to eat here.
Rest stop.
Arab.
Little bird.
But overall, it’s beautiful here. The sand glistens golden in the wind.
The sun is setting.
Arabs in the night are like ghosts.
It’s good in the desert.
Musandam
Musandam is a piece of the Arabian Peninsula, an exclave of the Sultanate of Oman. Despite being a different country, tourists from the UAE are allowed to enter here as part of organized bus groups. To speed up the border crossing, it is necessary to collectively raise passports and say “Marhaba!” when entering in front of the border guard. Arabs are keen on verbal bribery.
Musandam is located in the mountainous region of the peninsula.
All the mountains are somehow rugged and frightening.
On the way, there is a market squeezed between the mountains.
Mostly Afghans trade here, and they surprisingly speak Russian quite well. They mainly sell berries and carpets. The berries are quite expensive. Bargaining is possible, and the price can easily be reduced by at least half.
The carpets seem to be Pakistani.
Here, the author saw real carpets for the first time and was amazed by them. They are completely different from the ragged pieces that were hung on walls in Soviet apartments — these are intricate works of art. Incredibly soft.
The pile shimmers with different colors depending on the angle from which you look at it.
Some of them can be thick. Heavy, weighing several kilograms.
On a genuine handmade carpet, the master always embroiders their seal.
There are some small Emirati towns along the way to Musandam.
Everything is covered with shops and cafes throughout.
Suddenly, there were camels. The guys were lucky that there was no police nearby.
The city of Dibba Al-Fujairah is located near the border.
Port.
Untangling the nets.
Port stone.
Ships.
Ships have numbers.
We are getting on ours.
We are meeting the captain.
We are setting off on a sea cruise.
Children, presumably the captain’s assistants, have attached themselves at the back of the boat and are sailing along. Are they keeping an eye out to make sure no one falls overboard? They are making faces at the passengers :-)
