The United Arab Emirates : a thirty year challenge / Michèle Barrault; translated by Nadia Fairbrother

History: The United Arab Emirates have every reason to be proud of their past and of their ancestors .-- Economy: An ambition to match the hopes of a new millennium.-- Abu Dhabi, - one name shared by the largest emirate and Sheikh Zayed 's capital - Liwa - Al Ain .-- Dubai - Every day a new Dubai -A startling combination of modernity and tradition - Dubai, the sporting capital of the Middle-East - Hatta .--Sharjah - The cultural capital of the Arab World - Tourism in Sharjah .-- Ajman, a new wind is blowing in the smallest emirate .-- Umm Al Quwain, a timeless lagoon .-- Fujairah - All the assets to become a great touristic destination .-- Ras Al Khaimah, magnificent and striking landscapes.

The United Arab Emirates is a country of challenges, of harshness and immensity. On arriving, businessmen and tourists are surprised by a country where the impossible has been achieved and where ageless traditions rub shoulders with modernity, Cities and gardens have sprung out in the desert. The most luxurious hotels have emerged from the dunes and the lagoon-coloured sea and their daring architecture rivals in originality, from sail or tent like buildings to traditional forts, like the ones that once guarded the shores and wadis. But in the creeks, along the 800 km coastline, the dhows, these old weather and time beaten wooden boats, always shelter. Their white and black prow have sailed the Arabian Gulf waters for five thousand years, in the true seafaring tradition of Arabia first charted by Ptolemy.