Dubai: Scuba diving with sharks at the Atlantis aquarium

Gulf News went down to the Ambassador Lagoon to try out the Atlantis Dive Explorer, which is a 30 minute dive session, where you come face to face with sharks, rays and fish.

It was a little bit nerve wracking at first, getting inside an enclosed shark infested aquarium, but my dive buddy talked me through all the safety procedures and I was totally ready to see the fascinating creatures swimming all around me.

The Ambassador Lagoon and The Lost Chambers Aquarium combined are home to over 250 species and 65,000 marine animals including Baby Stingrays, Moon Jellies, Moray Eels, Lobsters, Eagle Rays, White Tip Reef sharks, and Arapaima.

The sharks are well fed and taken care of. Sharks are generally very curious animals and will sometimes get closer to humans just to say hi. They were swimming around me. This grey reef shark wasn't too shy and approached us often throughout the dive.

The Ambassador Lagoon is an 11-million-litre marine habitat and one of the top ten largest aquariums in the world. It is also the largest open-air aquarium in Africa and The Middle East at just over three million gallons.

This habitat focuses on marine life found in the local waters of the Arabian Gulf, including Golden Trevallys, Cobias, Crescent Angelfish and a variety of sharks and rays.

If you are a certified diver, you can take part in this super cool experience of diving alongside incredible sea creatures.

The sting rays in the aquarium were plenty. They were a little less shy than the sharks. They come up close, touch your head, swim over you and gently flap their "wings". It helps that they have a permanent smile.

Sharks have several rows of teeth and can lose and replace thousands of teeth in their lifetimes. As predators, sharks play a vital role in the ecosystem.

Sharks have been around for over 400 million years - long before dinosaurs. Because their skeletons are made of cartilage, they don’t leave fossils.

While inside the tank, I could see hotel guests and aquarium visitors excitedly waving at me. It was fun having my picture taken by strangers, while inside the tank.

As the region’s first AZA-accredited resort, the Atlantis have joined forces with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the International Fund for Animal Welfare and Dubai Municipality for a week of fun and informative activities to increase awareness of sharks and their conservation.