Editor’s Note: This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos within the sponsorship, in compliance with our policy.

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At barely 10 square miles, it’s less than half the size of Manhattan – but with world-class culture, pristine nature and plenty of vacation-friendly activities, Saadiyat Island delivers big.

Floating in the Persian Gulf just north of central Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat combines nature, culture, cuisine and calm – though if you’re up for adrenaline and partying, it has you covered, too. No wonder its Arabic name translates as “Island of Happiness.”

While Abu Dhabi itself is home to bombastic contemporary architecture, Saadiyat – an easy 20-minute drive from downtown and Abu Dhabi International Airport – is a natural wonderland, edged by small sand dunes.

Bottlenose and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins are regular visitors to the island’s clear waters. They’re often joined by endangered hawksbill turtles, which nest on the dunes along Saadiyat’s 5.5 mile beach from March through June. Each nest can hold around 100 eggs – though only one in 1,000 hawksbills make it to adulthood. Elevated boardwalks protect them from beachgoers – part of a conservation project led by Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort and its inhouse marine biologist.

The wildlife’s not only in the water. Red Arabian foxes and peacocks are among the island wilder residents, while players at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club often have to time their shots in between the movements of Arabian gazelles.

More than 300 species of birds are counted across Abu Dhabi every year. Saadiyat Beach Golf Club has even been designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary – meaning that it enhances natural areas and wildlife habitats, while minimizing the potentially harmful impact of a golf course. Thanks in part to the club’s environmental management practices, more than 150 different bird species can be seen on and around the course.

Looking ahead, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi is set to open by 2025 in Saadiyat’s Cultural District – the designated area dedicated to the arts, heritage and culture, with seven world-class museums and performing arts centers.

A vast, nearly 400-square-foot facility with teaching and research institutions attached, the new addition will exhibit some of the rarest and most precious specimens found on earth, from meteorites to a T-Rex skeleton.

Another participant in the turtle conservation project is Saadiyat Beach Club, an oceanfront retreat with a Blue Flag-certified beach – claimed to be one of the best in the Middle East – and entertainment for the party crowd.

Instagram-friendly outdoor pools are surrounded by cabanas and daybeds, while DJs play alongside live jazz and R&B musicians throughout the day. A gym, spa and sauna helps members keep in shape.

There’s a Mediterranean restaurant, Safina, while Cabana 9 serves Arabic dishes, and has a shisha lounge, too.

Open year-round, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is home to a Gary Player signature 18-hole golf course. Player himself – the legendary South African golfer – has also hosted charity invitational tournaments there in past years.

When playing off optional black tees, the course becomes the longest in the UAE at 7,784 yards – while it’s even more daunting thanks to multiple sand traps.

Vastly experienced coaches and generous pin placements ensure that everyone enjoys themselves, regardless of their standard, however. Stay and play packages are also available at hotels including the adjacent St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.

Overlooking a long white sand beach and the clear waters of the Gulf, coastal neighborhood Mamsha Al Saadiyat has a spectacular waterfront promenade. Dining out is of course one of the UAE’s favorite pastimes, and there are plenty of options here. Coffee and healthy dishes like smoked salmon in tataki sauce and figs and burrata on zaatar flatbread are the order of the day at spots including Ten 11 Beach and Cafe Artea. Beirut Sur Mer serves classic Lebanese dishes to a soundtrack of popular music from the country.

Roman-style pizza made from a 50-year-old sourdough starter is the draw at Italian trattoria Antonia, while Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes promise real-deal eats from New York. And then there’s contemporary Japanese restaurant NIRI, which has sushi, plus wagyu beef and lobster coming off the robata grill.

Inaugurated in 2017, The Louvre Abu Dhabi is France’s largest cultural project abroad. Its remarkable exhibits are housed in an architectural show-stopper by Jean Nouvel, the Pritzker Architecture Prize winner.

The museum takes visitors on a chronological journey through global civilization, from prehistory to the present day. The permanent collection of 700 treasures includes ancient Greek amphorae, Roman gold jewelry, Chinese porcelain and paintings by the likes of Bellini and Manet. It’s supplemented by another 300 pieces loaned annually by other museums around the world, including 100 from the Louvre in Paris.

There are also regular temporary exhibitions, and you can even take a moonlit kayak tour around the museum to take in the architecture from a whole new angle. Tickets can be purchased from the Louvre Abu Dhabi’s website.

Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t the only highbrow place on Saadiyat – behind the dunes there are two world-class educational institutions, too.

Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music has its first Middle East outpost in the Cultural District – a 42,000-square-foot arts education center celebrating contemporary music and the performing arts, with studios, performance spaces, multimedia tech labs and more.

NYU Abu Dhabi is a degree-granting campus from another storied institution. It has welcomed students from 120 countries working across 25 majors since opening in 2010. Its public-facing programs include performances, art exhibitions and talks, all open to visitors.

Editor’s Note: This CNN Travel series is, or was, sponsored by the country it highlights. CNN retains full editorial control over subject matter, reporting and frequency of the articles and videos within the sponsorship, in compliance with our policy.

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 — 

When the second annual Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants was hosted in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, it helped shine a light on the emirate’s own fine dining scene as well as honoring the region’s best culinary creativity.

Restaurants across 14 Middle Eastern and North African cities were garlanded, with the overall winner named as Orfali Bros Bistro, a Dubai spot founded in 2021 by three brothers originally from the Syrian city of Aleppo.

While its glitzy neighbor Dubai has had a head start, Abu Dhabi is now stepping in to the fray and its three entries on the list are testament to the strength of the food scene now emerging in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

In UAE and Arabian culture generally, hospitality is everything and aromatic local cuisine is always shared. Saffron, turmeric, cinnamon and countless other fragrant spices, along with nuts and dried fruit, often feature in traditional stews and sauces.

With almost 90% of Abu Dhabi’s population made up of expatriates, the Emirate also offers scores of cuisines from around the world, from Peruvian to Thai, French to Japanese and Indian to Ethiopian.

On the 50 Best list was Coya Abu Dhabi, located high on top of the Four Seasons Hotel at Al Maryah Island, which serves contemporary Latin American cuisine with east Asian influences. Also recognized were spots including Zuma Abu Dhabi, a Japanese restaurant, and the Abu Dhabi outpost of the legendary Hakkasan Cantonese restaurant.

Here are seven more of the finest places to eat in Abu Dhabi – and what to order when you get there:

Photos proudly framed outside Martabaan show some of the famous names who have dined on celebrity chef Hemant Oberoi’s cuisine over the years, including no fewer than four US Presidents: Clinton, two Bushes and Obama.

Martabaan is named for a pottery jar in which one of its signature dishes of lamb curry is served, alongside the rice dish biryani, fragrant with cardamom. A slow-cooked creamy black lentil dish called dal makhani and raita, a cooling cucumber and minty yoghurt sauce, are perfect accompaniments.

Other surprises on the Indian dining menu that Oberoi calls “contemporary classic” include the classic French dessert crème brûlée, but made instead with the beloved Indian spiced tea, masala chai.

The restaurant is one of several prime dining spots in the lavishly expansive Emirates Palace Hotel, which was recently taken over by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

Martabaan by Hermant Oberai, Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Hotel, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

Meaning “Beirut-on-sea,” this airy establishment sits on an elegant boardwalk overlooking the turquoise water and pristine sands of Saadiyat Island. With vibrant interiors and a funky soundtrack, the seaside restaurant specializes in the fabulous diversity of Lebanese cuisine.

Amongst the dazzling spread of plant-based dishes, typical of Lebanon, roasted eggplant salad is lifted with pomegranate molasses while grilled halloumi cheese is topped with sweet and sour figs and lime and thyme honey.

Carnivores are also in for a treat with seafood and meat from the grill, like chargrilled lamb tenderloin with walnut and tomato spread or succulent grilled baby chicken marinated with lemon and garlic. There are decadent desserts like kunafa, a baked cheese and pastry pudding soaked in sugar syrup.

Beirut Sur Mer, Jacques Chirac St, Cultural District, Abu Dhabi

Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort is home to Tean, named after the Arabic word for “fig.” It’s a laid-back spot celebrating flavors of the Levant, the swathe of the eastern Mediterranean including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Cyprus. Sitting just steps from the water, it’s no surprise that seafood features prominently on the menu in the spacious and bright dining room.

If you’re a hummus fiend – who isn’t? – there are an impressive 10 versions to choose from, including beetroot, avocado, prawn and delicious spit-roasted chicken shawarma. Other specialties include the Turkish dish Imam Bayildi – whose name translates brilliantly as “the imam fainted,” so good was the dish when they tried it – where beef cheek meets smoked eggplant and tomatoes.

Most of all, don’t miss local Emirati specialties including prawn mashbous, a hugely popular rice dish with shrimp from the Arabian Gulf, nuts and local spices.

Tean, Jumeira at Saadiyat Island Resort, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

A stone turtle at the door on the lawn shows you’re in the right spot for Turtle Bay Bar & Grill, named for the species of turtles found in Abu Dhabi including Hawksbill and Loggerhead. Overlooking the vast pool at Saadiyat Rotana Resort and surrounded by palm trees, the best tables are on the roof terrace with beach and sea views.

Japanese cuisine is the big draw. There are dishes like a punchy tuna crudo with the citrus notes of yuzu, soy sauce and jalapeno, or platters of nigiri and maki sushi.

Fresh oysters, Alaskan king crab and caviar are options for those celebrating in style, while the grill is also home to quality cuts including grain-fed Australian lamb rack and USDA prime Angus.

Turtle Bay Bar & Grill, Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Set within the jaw-dropping scale and elegant surroundings of the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Mezlai’s design recalls a billowing Bedouin tent and offers a real window into Arabic culinary culture. Plates from across the Middle East feature ingredients from sea and desert, mountain and even oasis.

Tables heave with generous small dishes of mezze including the freshness of the bulgur wheat, parsley and tomato salad tabouleh, the crunch and texture of fattoush salad with shards of fried pita bread and perfectly smooth hummus.

Entrees cross the region, from the Syrian karaz kebob with cherry sauce, an Arabic mixed grill or a stunning seafood platter. Their signature dessert of pistachio baklawa, the popular filo pastry with walnuts and syrup, is seriously taken up a notch with local honey from the hotel’s own beehives, camel milk ice cream – and gold leaf.

Mezlai, Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental Hotel, West Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

Saadiyat Beach Club is the ultimate hideaway for those seeking to kick back along the Blue Flag-certified shores of the Arabian Gulf, with live DJs playing throughout the day, cabanas to chill – and plenty of swimming pools in which to cool off.

While there are a number of restaurants and lounges to choose from, Safina celebrates flavors of the Mediterranean in relaxed but chic surroundings. Seafood linguine features generous shrimp, mussels, baby squid and clams in a rich tomato sauce, while paella is a great rendition of the Spanish classic.

Tiramisu, sticky toffee pudding and the local favorite umm Ali, a sort of bread pudding with pistachios, make for fine ways to sign off.

Saadiyat Beach Club, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Since LPM Restaurant & Bar Abu Dhabi first fired up the ovens on opening in 2017, it has remained a consistently firm favorite among locals and visitors alike, thanks to its classy but relaxed interiors and cuisine inspired by the French Riviera.

Mediterranean ingredients are championed in signature dishes including warm prawns with olive and lemon juice, an onion and anchovy tart called pissaladière and lamb cutlets with a caviar of olive and eggplant.

LPM is located on vibrant Al Maryah Island and has successful sister restaurants in destinations including London, Dubai, Miami and Hong Kong.

LPM Abu Dhabi, The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi

Liwa Desert, Abu Dhabi (CNN) — When Salam Almazrouei was a boy, he and his friends would play a game out in the desert that most people would find terrifying.

In the dead of night, despite being too young to drive in most countries, they would take cars out into the huge sea of sand dunes stretching from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia, then turn the headlights off.

With only the moon to light the way, they would then race to see who could make it home in the fastest time.

It was clearly a game fraught with peril. Take a wrong turn, break down or get stuck in soft sand and you’d be on your own, miles from civilization, left to the mercy of a rising desert sun that could bring oven-like temperatures during the day.

“But we never got lost,” he says.

For Almazrouei, these seemingly identical dunes, stretching as far as the eye can see, are as familiar as streets are to a city dweller. Although occasional high winds can blow the sands around, the terrain, he says, never loses its familiarity.

This corner of Liwa Desert, also known as Rub’ al Khali or the Empty Quarter, has been home to Almazrouei’s Bedouin family for generations. Although they’ve now set up homes and businesses in Abu Dhabi’s towns and cities, the desert remains in their hearts and they return regularly.

And now the 46-year-old wants to share it. Inspired by his own extensive travels as a student and engineer, he’s tried to brainstorm ways to help people from beyond the UAE engage with and enjoy the magic of Liwa.

“At first, I came up with the idea of setting up a camp in the US, in California, complete with 70 Arabian camels,” he says. “But they didn’t allow it because of concerns over foot and mouth disease. And so we then said, ‘let’s set it up here.'”

Swallowed by sand

Liwa Nights features just a handful of tents pitched on a gentle slope.

Barry Neild/CNN

“Here” is a spot of almost otherworldly beauty. A smooth blanket of sand that gently ruffles out as far as the eye can see. At night, it basks under inky skies alive with stars. During the day, bright sunlight and blue skies.

It’s truly the middle of nowhere. It’s a two-hour drive south and west from downtown Abu Dhabi, through the small city of Zayed and then another hour south until the road reaches almost its last mile before it’s swallowed by sand.

On the outside, the tents’ white, sandstorm-battered exteriors look functional. Inside, they offer pure glamping luxury.

Ripping back the Velcro-sealed doorway reveals an aircon-cooled interior, lined with plush drapes, carpeted by a traditional rug and lit from above by an elegant lamp dangling from the tent’s lofty ceiling.

There’s a large, comfortable double bed made up with fine cotton sheets, a dresser, a wardrobe, a full-length mirror and a coffee table and chairs. A side curtain parts to reveal a proper bathroom, complete with flushing toilet and a shower kitted out with posh soaps.

If you can pull yourself away from contemplating the vast emptiness and adjust to the muffled silence of being so far from civilization, a good night’s sleep is a strong possibility.

“I don’t consider it as a hotel, but an experience,” says Almazrouei. “When you get to your room, you will be amazed that everything has been designed by us. When you are in your tent you are in luxury, but step outside and you’re in the desert.”

The tents are furnished with luxurious comforts.

Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi

For food and entertainment,Almazrouei has built a more permanent structure nearby. Designed to look like a traditional Middle Eastern house from the 1800s, using imported African wood, it has a dining room, bar, indoor and outdoor seating and a souvenir shop.

On warm nights, illuminated by fairy lights or a flickering campfire fanned by refreshing breezes, it’s the perfect place to gather for a cool drink to hear tales of the desert. In the daytime, it’s the meeting place for activities including camel treks, falconry or dune bashing 4×4 drives.

The best time to visit is during cooler months from October to March. The place stays shut during summer when it’s too hot. The temperatures only relent, it’s said, in late August when a bright star called Sulhail appears over the southern horizon.

Roller coaster ride

If Almazrouei is behind the wheel for a Liwa dune bashing excursion, be prepared for a roller coaster ride. Using skills honed during his moonlit desert races, he’s a laid-back daredevil, plunging his dune buggy down near-vertical descents, or tilting it sideways along ridges, nearly to tipping point.

He navigates by the color of the sand, the vegetation and the shape of the terrain, making a beeline for Moreeb Dune, a colossal slope of sand that towers above a flat plain. Crowds gather here once a year for the days-long Liwa Festival, which includes 4×4 races up the dune. This year’s event is scheduled from November 22 to December 4.

On the way back, Almazrouei parks the buggy on a dune above the Liwa Nights camp. Here, poking out of the sand, is one of several giant bladders which are regularly filled with water to supply the tents. It’s trucked in as locally sourced H2O is way too salty.

This is one of the few signs of human impact on the surrounding scenery, which Almazrouei is eager to preserve. Before building the camp, he says he hired 60 people to work for two weeks to remove piles of trash left on the site by people camping for previous Liwa festivals.

He’s currently installing ranks of solar panels with the aim of making it 100% reliant on sustainable energy. And, he says, he’s installed more than 700 palm trees in the past year as part of an ongoing planting program to add shade and encourage wildlife in the area.

And while government officials who collaborated with him setting up the camp were, he says, encouraging him to add 10 or 20 tents to the 10 he currently rents out for about US$750 a night, he prefers to keep it small — evidently not in it to make serious money.

“We want to make it authentic and romantic and keep it as a place to come and switch off for a few days,” he says.

Amy Zhao, a US-based engineer recently on assignment in Abu Dhabi, is among those who have sampled Almazrouei’s hospitality at Liwa Nights — and enjoyed a slightly less relaxing ride in his dune buggy.

“I really like it,” she says. “It’s an exciting and unique experience. The tents were amazing.”

(CNN) — The UAE may have only just celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence but Abu Dhabi has a centuries-old past.

The largest of the emirates boasts an array of UNESCO World Heritage sites as well as some of the country’s most well-preserved forts which showcase its key geographical location over the centuries, telling the story of the Emirati people’s connection to both land and sea.

A short drive to the oasis town of Al Ain is where some of the most magical gems of the bygone generations come to life, a living museum paying homage to the country’s Bedouin roots. It’s a must for visitors to the UAE for a true taste of its authentic culture and heritage.

Known as the Garden City, Al Ain was once a vital green oasis on the caravan route from the UAE to Oman and is now home to several UNESCO protected sites.

Here are some of Abu Dhabi’s key archaeological and historical treasures.

Qasr Al Hosn

The 18th-century Hosn Palace, or Qasr al Hosn, began as a single watchtower in the 18th century and, as the complex grew, eventually became the seat of power until the late 1960s.

“There are beautiful stories about the palace told by people that used to live around this place,” says Nataly Leslie, a tour guide in the emirate. “The palace door was very much open for people to talk to the sheiks and tell them their concerns.”

Today, the palace remains a key attraction not only for tourists but Emiratis alike, who come and sit in the palace coffee shop to savor the place they have heard their ancestors speak of so fondly.

The palace also showcases local culture with regular exhibitions and events.

Al Ain Oasis

Al Ain is home to 100 varieties of date palm.

Barry Neild/CNN

The first of the UAE’s UNESCO sites was the dramatic Al Ain Oasis.

Set in the heart of the place known as The Garden City, the site dates back more than 4,000 years and is evidence of one of the first irrigation systems of modern times.

The system, known as “falaj,” took water from the nearby Hajar Mountains via a series of narrow waterways still visible today.

Visitors can take curated walking trails through the site which covers over 1,200 hectares and contains more than 147,000 date palm trees and 100 varieties of date.

The centuries-old falaj system was only updated in the 20th century with the introduction of pumps. An eco-center is also available for visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the ancient Bedouin irrigation systems.

Bidaa Bint Saud

A treasure trove for archaeology enthusiasts, Bidaa Bint Saud, an ancient caravan site, is located 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Al Ain.

The fascinating area which once had a huge community of farmers extending all the way to the northern emirates, all utilizing the area’s network of falaj irrigation systems, features a rare Iron Age building and 5,000-year-old Bronze Age tombs as well as the towering Gharn Bint Saud.

This 40-meter-tall rock rises above the landscape with several ancient stone tombs at the top. Several of the discoveries from the area such as pottery, dagger blades, jewelry and bronze arrowheads, are now on display at the Al Ain National Museum.

Hili Archaeological Park

Dating back to the Bronze Age (3200 BCE to 1300 BCE) and Iron Age (1300 BCE to 300 BCE), this area shows evidence of the ancient life once dwelling in the area’s deserts.

Archaeologists have discovered villages, burial grounds and agricultural infrastructure from what is now referred to as the Umm an-Nar period, named after the island off the coast of Abu Dhabi where the remains of the culture were first discovered.

It is also home to the UAE’s largest collection of tombs and buildings from this period.

Jebel Hafit Tombs

In addition to being Abu Dhabi’s highest peak, Jebel Hafit (Hafit mountain) is also home to around 500 5,000-year-old tombs which mark the start of the Bronze Age in the UAE.

First discovered through excavations back in 1959, archaeologists found ceramic vessels and copper artifacts in the igloo-like tombs which showed the importance of maritime trade across the Arabian Gulf.

The single chamber tombs are a dramatic site offering a window into a time gone by.

Tour guide Leslie calls this one of Abu Dhabi’s “hidden gems.”

“Most people don’t know about all these discoveries in this area,” she says. “Even though the UAE is a relatively young country, it has ancient findings that prove that this area was once a busy place where history was made.”

Maqta Fort

This small but critical fort at the gateway to Abu Dhabi’s main island was erected in the late 18th century using basic materials such as coral stones, beach rock and sand and its tower would guard and protect Abu Dhabi for many years to come.

“While Qasr al Hosn developed into a place of great importance for the local people, Maqta Fort became a rest stop for people coming into Abu Dhabi,” says Leslie.

Al Ain Palace Museum

Al Ain Palace was once the home of the UAE’s ruling family.

dudlajzov/Adobe Stock

Once the home of the late Sheikh Zayed, the first president of the UAE, Al Ain Palace was lived in by the ruling family until the 1960s before they made the emirate’s city their permanent home as Abu Dhabi’s main island transitioned into a political and economic capital.

Visitors can get a glimpse of life inside the residence which stands as a memory of the time before oil was discovered in the mid-20th century.

Though not “old” compared to other sites in the emirate — the oldest building at the complex is from 1937 — it is made of the traditional materials of the era, dotted with the traditional courtyards which characterized such properties in the region during that period.

Now a museum, visitors can see the critical links between past and present and appreciate Abu Dhabi’s rapid transformation from Bedouin life to modern affluence.

“If you are a fan of history and want to learn about the royal family and traditional architecture of this time, this is the perfect place to go, says Shamsa Al Naqbi, an Emirati tour guide.

“It’s an insight into the life of the royal family, their rooms, the style of architecture, items they would use, so it’s a really nice place to visit to see the true history of the UAE. It also really shows the transition our ancestors made to the modern UAE we have today.”

Sir Baniyas Island Church and Monastery

A little off the beaten track is Sir Baniyas Island in the Western Region which can be reached by boat or flight from Abu Dhabi through the Anantara resort, which manages the remote island’s tourism.

Discovered in the early 1990s, the church and monastery is the only pre-Islamic Christian site found in UAE, explained Leslie. It’s the source of hundreds of artifacts offering a fascinating insight into life during this period.

“Like life in the UAE before the discovery of oil, the inhabitants of this settlement used the sea as their source of food,” she said. “They also kept animals like sheep and cattle and traded across the Arabian gulf and into the Indian ocean.”

Sir Baniyas Island is now a wildlife reserve, home to a wide range of protected animals from Arabian oryx to gazelle which visitors can witness first-hand on safaris.

Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi (CNN) — Drive an hour or so southeast out of the city of Abu Dhabi toward the emirate’s empty deserts and you’ll hit a landscape full of unexpected man-made creations.

The region of Al Wathba is home to a beautiful oasis-like wetland reserve created, so the story goes, by an overspill from a water treatment facility. Now it’s a lush terrain that attracts flocks of migratory flamingos.

Farther along roads lined with carefully planted trees, there’s the surreal site of an artificial mountain rising up on the horizon, its flanks buttressed by gigantic concrete walls.

And stray off the main roads onto the back lanes, you’ll encounter wide and dusty camel highways, where cooler evening temperatures see vast fleets of the humped beasts being exercised in readiness for the winter racing season.

But one of Al Wathba’s more unusual and elegant attractions is not the work of humans. Instead it’s been crafted over tens of thousands of years by elemental forces that, though they were at play millennia ago, offer insight into how the current climate crisis might reshape our world.

Abu Dhabi’s fossil dunes rise up out of the surrounding desert like frozen waves in a violent ocean made of solid sand, their sides rippling with shapes defined by raging winds.

‘Complex story’

The fossil dunes were formed over thousands of years.

Barry Neild/CNN

Though these proud geological relics have survived for centuries out in the middle of nowhere, they were opened as a free tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi in 2022 as part of efforts by the emirate’s Environment Agency to preserve them within a protected area.

Whereas Instagrammers and other visitors once needed all-terrain vehicles to ride up to the fossil dunes in search of a dramatic selfie backdrop, they now get a choice of two large parking lots that bookend a trail which meanders past some of the more spectacular landmarks.

Along the way are informative signposts that give some bare-bones information on the science behind the dunes’ creation — essentially, moisture in the ground caused calcium carbonate in the sand to harden, then powerful winds scraped them into unusual shapes over time.

But there’s far more to it than that, says Thomas Steuber, a professor in the Earth Science Department of Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa University of Science and Technology, who spent much of the Covid lockdown studying the dunes while unable to travel to other areas of geological interest.

“It’s a pretty complex story,” Steuber tells CNN.

Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency dates the fossil dunes at between 120,000 and 150,000 years old. Steuber says that generations of dunes were created by cycles of ice ages and thaws that occurred between 200,000 and 7,000 years ago. Ocean levels dropped when frozen water increased at the polar caps and during these drier periods, dunes would’ve built up as sand blew in from the drained Arabian Gulf.

When the ice melted, leading to a more humid environment, the water table rose in what is now Abu Dhabi and the moisture reacted with the calcium carbonate in the sand to stabilize it and then form a kind of cement, which was later whipped into ethereal shapes by prevailing winds.

Destructive forces

Power lines stride behind the dunes, adding another dimension to the scene.

Barry Neild/CNN

“The Arabian Gulf is a small basin that’s very shallow,” says Steuber. “It’s only about 120 meters deep, so at the peak of the ice age, about 20,000 years ago, there was so much piled up on the polar ice caps that water was missing from the ocean. That meant the Gulf was dry and was the source of material for the fossil dunes.”

Steuber says that the fossil dunes, which occur throughout the UAE and can also be found in India, Saudi Arabia and the Bahamas, likely took thousands of years to form. But, despite the official protection now offered in Abu Dhabi, the erosion that gave each its unique shape will also eventually lead to their demise.

“Some of them are quite massive, but in the end the wind will destroy them. They are essentially rocks, but you can sometimes break them with your hands. It’s quite a weak material.”

Which is why, at Al Wathba, visitors are now being kept some distance from the dunes, although still close enough to appreciate their impassive beauty.

Touring the site is best in early evening when harsh daytime light is replaced by a golden glow from the setting sun and the sky takes on the lilac hues of magic hour. It takes about an hour to stroll along the sandy path from the visitor center and souvenir stall to the parking lot at the other end — and about 10 minutes to shortcut back.

The untouched serenity of the dunes is contrasted at some points along the trail by a chain of gigantic red and white electricity pylons that stride over the horizon in the distance. Rather than spoil the scene, this engineering spectacle adds a dramatic modern dimension to a landscape otherwise frozen in time.

As dusk settles, some of the dunes are illuminated, offering a new way to view these geological marvels.

Religious clues

At night, the dunes are illuminated.

Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi

“The dunes look really amazing,” said Dean Davis, visiting the site during a day off from work in Abu Dhabi city. “It’s nice they’re being conserved and the government has done a great job.”

Ashar Hafeed, another visitor touring with his family, said he was also impressed. “I saw it on Google and just needed to come and take a look,” he said, adding that “once was enough” to appreciate the dunes.

Stauber and his team from Khalifa University are likely to be repeat visitors though.

“We’re continuing to study them,” he says. “There are quite a few interesting questions about sea-level changes during the recent ice ages still to answer and it’s very important for understanding the current geomorphology of the coastline of the Emirates. It’s also obviously an analog for future sea-level change.”

And, says Steuber, the dunes could be evidence of the inspiration behind the tale of Noah’s flood, which features in the Koran, the Bible and the Torah, the texts of the three major religions to emerge from the Middle East.

“Possibly, this was the flooding of the Arabian Gulf at the end of the ice ages, because the sea level rise was very rapid.

“With a dry Arabian Gulf, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers would’ve discharged into the Indian Ocean and what is now the Gulf would have been quite a fertile low lying area which 8,000 years ago would’ve been inhabited, and people may have experienced this rapid sea level rise.

“Perhaps it led to some historic memory that made the holy books of these three local religions.”