Insight Guides: Pocket Abu Dhabi by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, United Arab Emirates
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2016-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

In the mid-1950s, the world-famous underwater explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau was employed to use his newly invented scuba gear to search for oil. His seabed survey off Das Island helped to identify an anticline – a geological feature that often holds oil reserves – and in this case, rather a lot of it.

Further west is the headland of Jebel Dhanna ° [map], site of another couple of beach resorts, both run by Danat Hotels and popular weekend destinations for the workers in the area. The larger Danat Resort Jebel Dhanna has a wonderful private stretch of white sand and offers snorkelling and deep-sea fishing excursions. The Dhafra Beach hotel is close by, next to the Al-Dhafra Golf Links, which advertises itself as ‘probably the cheapest golf club in the world’. There are no shops or restaurants here, but plenty back on the main coast road at Ruwais, which services the oil industry.

A great number of islands lie off the western coast, many with evidence of human occupation from a range of periods, but most are privately owned, protected or have restricted access. For the time being only two islands are easily accessible, Sir Bani Yas and Dalma, both reached from Jebel Dhanna. Sir Bani Yas is the first of a cluster of eight islands that are intended to eventually open to tourism under the collective ‘Desert Islands’ moniker, with the emphasis on very upmarket eco-tourism – see www.desertislands.com for more information.

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