"Faiza-Ifrah's UAE off the beaten path " a United Arab Emirates Travel Page by Faiza-Ifrah

The city of Abu Dhabi is capital and the geographical center of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and where we lived from November 1999 to July 2004. However, Dubai is the largest, busiest, financial, commercial and population center of the country.

If you want to see modern day touristic spots you need to visit the Emirates of Dubai. But if you want to discover the traditional UAE, its heritage, and the life of the Bedouin, then you need to head towards Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

UAE is tiny (a little smaller than Austria or South Carolina, USA to let you know from your point of reference), rich and beautiful. Under the dynamic and visionary leadership of His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Alnahayan, it became a meeting place of the advancement of the West with the cultures of the East.

Since we lived here and know all about it (well almost), the task of doing a page is challenging. Therefore, for now let us just put some pixes and travelogues and add from time to time.

This is a picture of Abu Dhabi's beautiful Corniche.

This destination is dedicated to the founder of the UAE, His Highness Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan AlNahyaan, who died on November 2, 2004. We pray to Almighty God for the salvation of his departed soul and for granting the fortitude to the members of his bereaved family and countrymen to bear this loss.

His love for his people (who used to lovingly call him Baba, meaning father) and to poor people across the world is well documented.

The UAE was created on December 2, 1971, when six states -- Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain -- came together following the departure of British troops from the region. The seventh emirate, Ras al-Khaimah, joined in 1972