Empty Quarter Desert in Abu Dhabi

The Empty Quarter, or Rub al Khali, is the world's largest sand desert.

“It was very still,” wrote Wilfred Thesiger, “with the silence which we have driven from our world.”

The British explorer was sitting alone on a ridge overlooking the desert in 1947, on one of two epic journeys with the Bedouin of Arabia that took him through the massive dunes of the Empty Quarter and the oasis settlements of Liwa that dot its southern flank. His book of the experience, Arabian Sands, stands as one of the classics of travel literature.

While others saw the desert as an empty void and the Bedouin as unsophisticated tribesmen, Thesiger saw them as they saw themselves—noble men for whom the desert was a sea upon which they roamed freely and found refuge. To them, and to him, the desert was life itself. Beautiful. Harsh. Epic. The "desert Arabs," as he called them, full of an "austere dignity."

Those dunes still exist, as do the oases of Liwa, just an hour and a half south of the city of Abu Dhabi by smooth highway, and to camp in them or drive over them in a four-by-four is to experience one of the sublime beauties of the Earth.

The sand is soft, fine, multicolored hues of khaki and orange, and it rolls in windswept hills hundreds of feet high as far as the eye can see, unbroken by tree or shrub or the rarest of clouds. Driving off-road into its vastness is to experience that penetrating silence, whether it’s for an hour or a night. The night sky erupts with stars, sparkling and falling, the Milky Way like a thick swirl of tapioca, and time evaporates.

Photo Gallery: Abu Dhabi City

Of the seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is the largest geographically. Its capital city of the same name is also the federal capital and seat of government. Distinguished by a skyline of ultramodern high-rises, the city of Abu Dhabi sits on a T-shaped island, one of nearly 200 that dot the emirate’s Persian Gulf coastline.

Photo Gallery: Camel Racing in Abu Dhabi

At camel races in Abu Dhabi, it’s a dusty chaos of men, camels, and SUVs. The grunting spectacle takes part on weekends throughout the emirate. In this gallery, take a peek into a race held near the Liwa oasis, southwest of the city of Abu Dhabi.

10 Abu Dhabi Must-Dos

Abu Dhabi's Formula 1 track passes through the futuristic Yas Hotel, giving guests a bird's-eye view.

1. Have your hands patterned with henna at the Abu Dhabi Library and Cultural Centre. This stately complex, across from the Grand Mosque, houses nearly two million volumes.
2. Rise early and get to the vegetable market at Port Zayed by 6 a.m. for your pick of fresh fish, fruit, and other produce. (There are plans to move the market farther inland soon.)
3. Take a ride on a traditional abra boat along the man-made waterway that winds through the Shangri-La Hotel, Qaryat Al Beri. Make stops at the on-site suq (market) and spa.
4. Sate your sweet tooth in style at the Emirates Palace hotel, where chefs go through 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of edible gold topping every year.
5. Check the schedule for the next WOMAD (World of Music, Arts, and Dance) festival. The multiday event, part of a series of worldwide festivals, features dozens of world-class performances.
6. Grab pizza-by-the-meter at Spaccanapoli restaurant, a branch of the London favorite run by former Dorchester Hotel chef Domenico Savarese. Eat a whole one and you get free dessert.
7. At dawn, take a desert walk into the Empty Quarter, organized by the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara.
8. Reserve a table on the terrace of the Yacht Club (TYC), looking across Khor Al Bateen waterway to Coconut Island. You can have a bottle of one of 57 vodka labels waiting—along with unlimited ice and mixers. A resident "mood guru" spins the perfect beats.
9. It's definitely worth flying the national airline, Etihad Airways, which has a dedicated terminal at the airport. There's also a premium lounge where first class and business travelers can get complimentary 15-minute massages or visit the Six Senses Spa.
10. Take in the Yas Hotel, which straddles Abu Dhabi's Formula 1 track so that you can look down at the race going on beneath you. The two halves of the hotel are covered, as if by a gigantic fishnet, with a multipanel glass shell.

Abu Dhabi Facts

Of the seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is the largest geographically, occupying more than 80 percent of the UAE’s total area. At 26,000 square miles (67,340 square kilometers), it is slightly smaller than Ireland. The emirate’s capital city of the same name is also the federal capital and seat of government. Distinguished by a skyline of ultramodern high-rises, the city of Abu Dhabi sits on a T-shaped island, one of nearly 200 that dot the emirate’s Persian Gulf coastline.
The story of Abu Dhabi’s growth during the latter half of the 20th century begins with the discovery of massive offshore oil reserves in 1958, much of it within the Abu Dhabi emirate. At the time, Abu Dhabi and its neighboring tribal sheikhdoms were under British protection and were known collectively as the Trucial States. With the discovery of oil, petroleum exports soon dominated an economy previously dependent on pearl diving, herding, and agriculture, and imports subsequently increased.
When the United Kingdom ended its treaty arrangement, the seven emirates united, becoming fully independent in 1971. A rise in oil prices in 1973 enriched the sheikhdoms under the forward-looking leadership of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, descended from a family that had ruled the Abu Dhabi emirate since the 18th century.
Today Abu Dhabi’s prosperity is most notable along its coast, where the skyscrapers, luxury hotels, and landscaped parks of the capital city welcome a mix of tourists, business travelers, foreign workers, and expatriates—all while preserving the Islamic heritage and Arab cultural roots of the Emiratis.
The Abu Dhabi emirate is also rich in natural beauty. Its island-dotted coastline gives way to a desert interior of fertile oases, scenic wadis, and thousand-foot-high dunes on the edge of the Rub al Khali, or Empty Quarter, a barren tract of sandy wilderness stretching into Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In the oases, date palms thrive and forts still stand where caravans once paused along their ancient trading routes and where travelers today will find gardens, spas, museums, and outdoor activities, along with the opportunity to experience Bedouin hospitality.

10 Cool Things About Abu Dhabi

White marble from Greece adds to the gleam of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque courtyard in Abu Dhabi.

1. The vast Rub al Khali, or Empty Quarter desert, made famous by explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Head for Liwa and explore wadis (dry riverbeds) and dunes that are hundreds of feet high.
2. Al Ain oasis, birthplace of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE. The "Garden City" is also home to Abu Dhabi's highest peak, Jebel Hafeet, and the Al Ain Zoo.
3. Cheetahs, hyenas, Arabian oryx, and thousands of other animals running wild on Sir Bani Yas Island, once a royal hunting preserve.
4. Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, with its four 350-foot (107-meter) minarets, 82 white marble domes, and what's possibly the world’s largest hand-knotted carpet. The mosque and its courtyard are large enough to accommodate more than 40,000 worshippers.
5. The plan to build a performing arts complex and three stunning museums—including an outpost of the Guggenheim and the Louvre Abu Dhabi—over the next three to eight years. Star architects Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Tadao Ando, and Zaha Hadid are involved.
6. The $3-billion Emirates Palace hotel, a kilometer (0.6 miles) from end to end, sprawls on a white beach 4,265 feet (1.3 kilometers) long and features 114 domes—the tallest climbs 238 feet (72.5 meters)—and over a thousand Swarovski crystal chandeliers.
7. The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is one of the most exciting on the annual Formula 1 circuit (the 2010 race is November 14). The track is part of the $40-billion, 6,000-acre (2,430-hectare) Yas Island development.
8. Opening in 2010, the huge indoor theme park Ferrari World Abu Dhabi sits under a roof designed in the style of a classic Ferrari GT double-curve body shell. More than 20 rides and attractions include what's expected to be the world’s fastest roller coaster.
9. Luxury cars such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible are often seen on the streets here long before they are released elsewhere. Other popular makes include Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Maserati.
10. Long-term planning: By 2030 Abu Dhabi will have heavy and light railroads and unbeatable public transport.