A Glimpse of Al Ain

If you want to get an impressive view over Al Ain City from the mountain top, Jebel Hafeet is your best destination.

The Jebel Hafeet Mountain is the only mountainous area in Abu Dhabi, UAE. It rises 1300 meters above sea level (thanks, Corey for the comment) and is a part of Hajar mountains bordering Oman. The mountain range is approximately 17km long and 4 km wide and made of predominantly tertiary sedimentary rock – limestone.

The Jebel Hafeet Mountain Road extends for 11.7km up the mountain and is voted as one of the ten greatest mountain roads in the world. (I couldn’t help but ask my cousin to take a photo of me with this famous road as a background.)

On the north and east front of the mountain there are 317 tombs dating to 3200-2700 BC. Excavations of some these tombs have yielded pottery, stone beads and bits of copper. The pottery was not locally made but imported from Mesopotamia suggesting trade links of the region with Mesopotamia. Circular graves dating 3000 BC are dotted along the eastern slope of Jebel Hafeet.

For every travel thirsty folk in UAE, this place is a must-visit.

One response to “A Glimpse of Al Ain”

  1. Corey Avatar

    I was looking at travel to UAE earlier. If I show, I’ll check this out. I have to laugh at your classifying a 1300m elevation as a mountain. I also noticed a lack of trees. Certainly the desert has a beauty of it’s own, but the landscape is jarring to me. Here is a picture of where I am right now. Very different.

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2625/3982067327_9951e9fa99.jpg

    Well, that’s the link.

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