However, let us not forget the dominant landscape of this and many other Middle Eastern countries: desert.
The UAE desert, although quite hostile to most living things (and non-living things for that matter), is a beautiful and magnificent place. It is home to flat areas of gravel and sand, mountains, oases, wildlife (which has been heavily impacted by human activities), and the titanic rolling sand dunes of the eastern fringes of the Empty Quarter - the world's largest sand desert.
Just a 45-minute drive from the developed coastal areas and you're in the middle of it.
Here's what I saw:
