What better way to see the vast Hajar Mountain range than via a good old-fashioned road trip – accompanied by good friends, a camera, a packed cooler of soft drinks, Arabic bread and hummus and Bob Dylan.
Escape from bustling Dubai towards the East Coast of the UAE and occasionally let your attention be diverted en route by the many markets along the roadside towards Hatta.
Where better to stock up on your water supply than the oasis town of Masafi, where you will also be bombarded by more colourful hagglers beckoning you to their stalls.
The competition is fierce; their merchandise of rugs, vegetables and blow-up toys much the same as the next.
Make a point of buying hot corn on the cob, fresh coconut and sugarcane. Journey on to Fujairah, where a teapot roundabout and the Indian Ocean will greet you.
Wind on through the rugged Hajar Mountains – which is Arabic for 'stone mountains' – abundant in rocky crests
and plunging canyons.
At their highest point in the north, in the Musandam Peninsula, the Hajar Mountains reach a height of 2,000 metres.
This area is known locally as the Ru'us Al Jibal, literally meaning the 'heads of the mountains'. The Hajar Mountains draw tremendous interest from geologists.
Stop just outside Khor Fakkan where the mountain slopes drop directly into the sea.
On our trip we spotted a lone man sitting next to a lopsided boat, dwarfed by the titanic proportions of the enormous rocky masses that stretched before him.
Heading back to the city, you will find yourself feeling more relaxed as the mountains stay with you.
