Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Or something like that.

Back to our sojourn to Ras Al-Khaimah for the new year…

After exploring the museum for as long as possible, Molly and I were ready to check out the hikes in the area. However, true to UAE form, it couldn’t be that easy. We wanted to explore in Wadi Bih, which is noted as “the Grand Canyon of the UAE”. We were mentally preparing for grueling hikes crossing us over into Oman and back again. That’s when I noticed one key piece of information. Officials closed this particular UAE/Oman border to non-Nationals 2 years ago! Oops. Guess not!

See… the information printed online by the tourism authority didn’t mention the lack of passage for foreigners. Luckily, the off-road guide (Thanks Frances!) had several highlighted warnings sprinkled through the pages. I just didn’t see them…

Alors, we needed to find something else to do. After a bit of deliberation we decided to check out Jazirat Al Hamra. This is how the tourism authority described it:

Jazirat al-Hamra (Red Island) is the last authentic and traditional town still standing in the UAE. Once a small island, its inhabitants subsisted on maritime and pearling trading before they abandoned their houses in the middle of the 20th Century, when the rush to modernize started. An undisturbed picture of life before the discovery of oil is left behind and preserved until today. This whole area is unique for Ras Al Khaimah and for UAE, its shows all the elements of a traditional town, including fortress for the defense purposes, several mosques and a variety of house types. It is one of the best places to study traditional coral stone architecture used along the coast of the Arabian Gulf.

It’s funny that Molly and I both read the same description and developed vastly different preconceived ideas of what the village would be like. I latched onto the word “preserved” and expected to find something a bit touristy and museum like… Molly latched onto the word “abandoned” and therefore had much more accurate expectations.

Either way, it was fun to go traisping about through ruins under very dark and angry clouds that would soon chase us back to Abu Dhabi in favor of a roof over our heads instead of a tent (sans rainflap).

xo, jill