Why is the desert important?

Roudha Al Marri writes in her book UAE 101: Stories and Cultural Learnings, “The UAE is one of the world’s largest sand deserts, with its 84,000 square kilometers [52,195 square miles], its skyscraping dunes and otherworldly salt flats stretching from the Arabian Gulf coast to the Empty Quarter, the largest contiguous sand erg in the world, to the east of the Hajar Mountains.”

In the winter months, the desert is a very popular place. There are sand dunes, waves of sand, as far as the eye can see. Many go out into the desert dune bashing (driving their 4x4s up and over the dunes). People also go for camping, stargazing, etc.

Most Emiratis were Bedouins before oil money changed the region. Bedouins traveled the dunes with their herds of camels and somehow managed to survive the brutal summers without ACs and electricity. Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger is a great introduction to Bedouin life in the Empty Quarter. It was a harsh life. It formed Emirati culture over centuries.

Read as Al Marri shares her experience growing up visiting the desert:

You have to be intrigued by the desert when you live in this country. Wondering what happens at night and how it looks in the early hours of the morning. From a distance, the desert dunes look like massive waves moving constantly with hidden whirlpools that can pull you underneath an ocean of sand. As young children, we always searched for quicksand whenever we went camping and sometimes pretended that we were caught in one of them and thus had to remain still or we would be all swallowed by this sandy jaw. Those of course were kids’ games and pranks meant either to scare the little ones or to have a story to tell later to our parents! Camping was such an adventure we looked forward to practicing in the winter months. We would pack tents, water, food, cutlery, blankets, mats and flashlights. Family cars would go in baches, the first car would scout the best place to camp, set the tents and start the fire … Then family cars would start arriving like dhows sailing into a deserted island carrying life necessities and supplies. The calmness of the surrounding environment gives you a feeling of dropping an anchor and slowing your pace (pp 27-28).

Pray that as families and friends gather together in the desert to relax and play that the gospel will be shared and many will turn to Jesus.

*UAE 101: Stories and Cultural Learnings by Roudha Al Marri and Ilaria Caielli is a great introduction to Emirati Culture.