| The Emirate is, however, much more than
just the city itself. Some 160 kilometers to the east lies the inland
city of Al Ain while to the west lie the great open spaces of the desert,
reaching away south-west into high rolling dunes of the Rub Al Khali, one
of the most inhospitable places on earth.
This large area, the Emirate's Western Region, centered on the new desert township of Medinat Zayed, contains the onshore oil fields and the industrial complex of Ruwais - Jabel Dhanna on the coast, site of an oil export terminal, refinery and other installations. It also contains the great arc the Liwa Oasis in reality a group of a couple of dozen little oases, the ancestral home of Abu Dhabi's ruling Al Nahyan family. Weekend trips to the Liwa and camping in
the desert have become popular pastimes for expatriate residents and tourists,
following the footsteps not only of the Bedouin of long ago, but also of
today's Abu Dhabi, many of whom miss no opportunity to escape the hurly-burly
and pressure of city life.
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