← The Wander Atlas

United Arab Emirates

3 places
In a single generation the UAE turned pearl-diving villages on the desert Gulf into a federation of futuristic city-states, raising the world's tallest tower and man-made islands out of sand and oil money.

Abu Dhabi & the West2 places

The Liwa OasisNature · ●●●●○Where the UAE's malls and skylines give way to the real Arabia: a crescent of oasis villages at the foot of towering…
Abu DhabiTown · ●●●○○The UAE's calmer, wealthier capital, home to one of the most beautiful modern mosques in the world and an outpost of…

Dubai & the North1 place

DubaiTown · ●●●○○A city that rose from a small pearling and trading port to a skyline of record-breaking towers in a single generation…