From my original archive
Sharjah
Destination overview
About this destination
Sharjah is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Its main city lies on the Arabian Gulf beside Dubai. The emirate also includes territory on the country's eastern coast.
Museums and restored heritage areas play a visible role in the city's cultural life. Traditional markets recall older trading and craft traditions. Arabic is the official language, with English widely used in commerce.
Coastal settings contrast with inland desert landscapes. Sharjah's history links maritime exchange, regional scholarship and urban development, providing a different perspective on the Emirates from the better-known skylines of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
My connection
Tourist visit.
Original archive notes and photographs
My original travel notes
Sharjah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), located on the Arabian Gulf coast. It has a population of about 1.4 million people, mostly expatriates from South Asia, Egypt, the Philippines and other countries. The official language is Arabic, but English is also widely used as a lingua franca. Sharjah has a hot and arid climate with very high temperatures in summer and mild winters. It is known for its cultural heritage, as it hosts several museums, art galleries and festivals. It also has a diversified economy that includes sectors such as manufacturing, tourism, education and health care. Sharjah has a high quality of life index of 126.89, according to Numbeo. This means that it offers a comfortable standard of living for its residents, with high purchasing power, low costs of living, excellent health care and very high safety. However, it also faces some drawbacks, such as low climate comfort, moderate pollution and strict social norms.
Personal memories
During a cruise aboard Costa Victoria, we stopped in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain and Oman. It was a pleasant way to rest between my work rotations in the Republic of the Congo.
At the time, I did not find much to see in Sharjah beyond a small museum.