Fujairah: the emirate facing the Indian Ocean

The Al-Bidya Mosque, built entirely in mud and stone without the use of cement, remains according to historians the oldest still standing in the United Arab Emirates.

A few minutes away, the Fort of Fujairah, a sixteenth-century fortress restored, dominates the old city from a rocky hill.

Continuing along the coast, you reach the waters of Dibba, popular among divers for artificial wrecks and coral formations rich in marine life.

As evening falls, the Hajar Mountains, which separate Fujairah from the rest of the Emirates, offer hiking trails among wadis and traditional villages.

Al-Bidya Mosque, with its four domes supported by internal stone pillars and lacking any minaret, represents a rare example of pre-oil Islamic religious architecture surviving in the Emirates.

Fujairah, thanks to its location on the Indian Ocean rather than the Persian Gulf, enjoys generally cleaner waters and less concentrated maritime traffic compared to other emirates, an advantage that has fostered growing underwater tourism.