Abu Dhabi, UAE

 Abu Dhabi, UAE 

It was an earky start to get to the National Motor Museum, a collection of vehicles created by the sheikh. There was a giant Wiley Jeep, and behind it...

...a motor home trailer of gigantic proportions...

...and a monster Mercedes...

...and a globe trailer.

Inside hte building were over 200 vehicles...

...and some unusual items such as the Dodge pickup and a model next to it, but behind it...

...was a giant rproduction.

There were VW beetles...

...rainbow Fiat 500s...

...and East German Trabants.

We returned to the motorway and saw a convoy of tank transporters...

...and a train but I wasn't quick enough to get a good photo.

We had trouble finding a bushcmp as our preferred option was near a festival site and the 53rd independence celebrations were being prepared on site in just a few days time. We eventully found a flat spot, but it was dusk when I set up my tent for the first time, without help, no instructions and in failing light.

We stopped at a fort in the oasis of Liwa but it was undergoing extensive refurbishment. Instead we went to th Dhadeer Fort nearby...

...and an arty photo of one of the windows. And then we went to visit the Liwa Date factory.

We were taken through receiving, grading, killing bugs by eythelene gas, washing tehn the process split between de-stoning nd making paste or straight to packing by hand for premium products for a delighful array or just a lock of stoned dates or just randomly packed into a box. They also pachaged imported dates from Saudi and Jordan that are not grown locally. The central stone from destoned dates o to make date coffee. Some of the dates are stuffed and others are covered in chocolate. Some are pressed into energy bars that can provide energy for extreme sports enthusiasts or the military for eight hours.

We had a bush camp near a lake with a gorgeous sunset.

The first stop the next day was the animal market in Al Ain, half of which is devoted to camels.

Some nice specimens.

Other facilities were nearby such as hay and straw dealers.

The Jahibi Fort in Al Ain, former home of the founder of the UAE.

The permnent exhibition hall to the left and the old fort, entrance and tower to the right.

The new tower with its concentric defensive battlements.

The entrance to the National Palace Museum...

...and the Al Ain Oasis...

...before moving onto the mountain, the second highest in UAE at 1240 metres high, with a steep and unrelenting gradient to get to the top...

...a view of our truck and the summit behind it...

...and of the flat plain below. This was the same view as from our hotel as it too was located near the top of the mountain, the Mercure Jabel Hafeet.