2021-10-02 United Arab Emirates: Oct 11 - Jebel Jais and Bab Il Shams

We are headed out of Fujairah today via Jebel Jais, the highest peak in the Emirates. Actually, the highest point on the mountain (at 6,345 feet) is in Oman. The Oman/Emirates border cuts through this mountain near the peak. The highest point on the Emirates side is 6,207 feet.

Very close to the beginning of the assent we stopped at a rather green reservoir.

The road has only been open since 2019 and it is pretty spectacular. The mountains are rough, and jagged and desolate. Almost nothing can be seen growing on the sides of the mountain.

As we got nearer to the top there were more twists and turns. A pretty spectacular windy road.

*************************************
More Jabel Jais
*************************************

The construction of the road did not include much blasting. Mostly they used cutting nd drilling and you can see the marks of the drill bits on rocks along the roadway.

Near the top was the world’s longest zipline at 1.76 miles long – longer than 28 football fields. Speeds on the line can reach over 90 miles per hour. We tried taking photos but small lines against a vast blue sky just don’t photograph well.

There were a number of good pull offs for viewing the mountains and there were also a few roadside stands selling food. And they had good bathrooms – they thought of everything.

Along the way we were greeted by goats looking for handouts...

and a few birds.

After enjoying the views we are headed back down into the Emirate of Dubai to our next stop. The drive is through a lot of sand dunes.

Along the way we saw racing camels…

and a couple of Arabian gazelles.

Our home for tonight is a lovely desert resort, Bab Il Shams. The resort is really lovely…like an oasis. Lots of palm trees and other trees for shade. Desert architecture and lots of water features. And lots of swimming pools.

                                     *************************************
                                       More Bab Il Shams
                                       *************************************