Sharjah is the  third largest Emirate, having some 2,600 sq km and coasts on both Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.  It surpassed Dubai as a maritime trading center until a dreadful night half a century ago when a terrible storm silted up its creek.

 Sharjah took an early lead in developing tourism.  Some tourists use it as a base of exploring the other Emirates and the Sultanate of Oman.  It is less crowded and the hotels are significantly less expensive than the competition in Dubai.  Sharjah is also a popular arrival point for shoppers,  with thousands ( mostly from the former Eastern  bloc) entering the  UAE via its airport on one-week visas.

 Sharjah suq is the most amazing building in the entire country.  It looks like the Taj Mahal  but is in fact a long shopping mall.  Some praise the grandeur of the  architecture, others are not convinced.  It is a very convenient shopping center for short-term visitors as everything is available under one roof.  Most visitors are interested in the traditional ware, including  jewellery, carpets, hubble- pipes and so on.  The more humble shops near the main suq are good places to find more obscure things such as spices from the smaller Indian states and cassettes with the latest songs from Africa.

 Sharjah is proud of its reputation as a guardian of the country’s cultural and intellectual tradition.  The  Sharjah Expo Centre is a sight almost as stunning as the suq.  It is a vast striped tent, which can get very hot in summer.  Many exhibitions, including major book fairs, attract visitors throughout the year.  On the northern side of the city, an imposing Cultural Centre has been built; its main brief is to promote Arab culture but it also hosts Western  events, including performances of Shakespeare and exhibitions of photographs by both nationals and expatriates.

 The wharf on Sharjah  creek has not been spoilt by development.  It gives a truly exotic feel for the way of life of the traditional seafarers.  Hundreds of dhows still import and export an array of goods that one can see piled up on the quayside.  Here, probably more than anywhere else on the  UAE  coast, one has the feeling of stepping back in time.  Despite being able to cross the Indian Ocean, the dhows are so small and open that one can be fascinated by watching all the activity on board.  It is interesting to speculate on the business of the various wild characters on sees negotiating passionately with the captains, but probably unwise to enquire.  The sailors (mostly from the Indian subcontinent0 live a life that would have been familiar to Lord Jim and probably to Sindbad the Sailor,

 Cricket is the activity that puts Sharjah on the map in the  sporting world.  The only cricket stadium in the Arab world hosts on-day matches in the winter for the top cricketing terms.  It is said that one has not experienced full human passion until one has been in the crowd at an India  v. Pakistan cricket match.

 Part of the Emirate of Sharjah lies across the Hajar Mountains on the east coast, fronting the Gulf of Oman.  The most northerly town is Dibba, now a small fishing village but its site was first occupied at least 3,000 years ago and has a long trading history, as do the delightful villages of Kalba and Khor Fakkan.  Both of them have the remains of fortifications built by the Portuguese, who controlled this coast for a short time in the seventeenth century.  Khor Fakkan has a majestic bay, overlooked by the Oceanic Hotel, where one can witness multi-coloured sunrises and sunsets.

 One of the delights of this area is that the mountains come down almost to the sea(and sometimes right into it), creating an endlessly varied and picturesque coastline.  The villages are populated almost entirely by nationals, which is rare in the  UAE.  The is the ideal place to come in winter to write the novel one never got round to.

 Sharjah is showing signs of revitalization- it has attracted  hundreds of companies which appreciate its location and its supportive government.  Fishing is no longer such an

Important industry as there is more money to be made servicing the oil tankers and other ships which anchor offshore while preparing to make their entry into the relatively shallow waters of the  Gulf.   Sharjah  is growing in size and plans are being implemented to modernize its infrastructure, including the road system.  Tragic at Sharjah Airport is increasing all the time,  partly because it has added a very tempting duty-free facility. The future is being.