SHARJAH (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
Here are the pics from Sharjah. For pics of neighboring Dubai, go here.

Despite their urban areas being just a few miles apart, Sharjah is much different from Dubai, which is often dubbed the "Las Vegas of the Middle East". Sharjah is much more conservative and traditional. While alcohol is legal for Non-Muslims in Dubai, Sharjah prohibits consumption and even possession of alcohol. Two non-married, unrelated people of the opposite gender cannot legally cohabit or even be in a place alone in Sharjah (unlike Dubai, where there are no such restrictions). Of course, women are much more likely to be covered up in Sharjah than Dubai. However, one thing that Dubai and Sharjah have in common--there are many immigrants from other countries (especially the Indian subcontinent) living there to work.

Street in Downtown Sharjah...



A somewhat less busy street in Downtown Sharjah...



The Sharjah Heritage Area...





Al Hisn Fort...



Handsome date palm in the Heritage Area (and moon)...



License plates in Sharjah (unlike Dubai, they have both the Arabic and Western numerals, though some emirates actually have only Arabic numerals on their plates!)...



Skyscraper in Sharjah (like Dubai, the architecture of the skyscrapers are often quite unique)...



A mosque (note the angle parking in front, like some churches in the US!)...



Another view of that mosque...



Pizza Hut in Sharjah...



Old (or at least old-looking) boats in the harbor (UAE may be a country with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, but that's not reflected in these boats)...



And, to close, a not so nice pic showing some factories producing pollution near the harbor...



All of the above pictures on this page were taken in February 2008 by Brandt Maxwell.

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