Beyond Dubai: Seeking Lost Cities in the Emirates

Very enjoyable read for the ones that want to know more on UAE and their history. Quite hyronical and easy to read

As someone who knew the area well over forty years ago it was illuminating. How I envy the writer the ability to get to places I had no means of accessing all those years ago. All I missed was a feeling of contact with the indigenous people I knew and liked so much.

Most visitors to Dubai, and indeed residents, just content themselves with the usual tourist activities - getting blotto at a Friday brunch, watching the sun set from the world's tallest building, riding an unpleasant and evil smelling camel on a desert safari, and shopping till you drop in the world's largest mall, etc etc - but you really will be missing those gems of history and culture that are out there just waiting to be discovered. However, you will need a little more time and effort than just a week to truly enjoy the sights that are yours for the taking. I have lived in the ultra-modern city of Dubai for 13 years and, until I read the book, had never before realised just how much culture and history is associated with this land of Sunni, sand and Shiite. The book was a revelation in that it has introduced me to parts of the UAE that I had never visited, nor even knew existed, and I now look forward to future explorations of the many historical and other sites associated with this part of the Gulf. The book is an amusing and well-written account of David's attempts to encourage the mystical girlfriend Freya to come and live with him in sin in Dubai, and their travels through the country and neighbouring Oman. It contains many interesting facts and anecdotes about Arab culture and life in general in glitzy Dubai and I particularly enjoyed the story about the origins of the expression "going round the bend" and had not realised how it was associated with this part of the world. Another amusing story was that of the "pissed" gazelles. So, if you really want to learn about the little-known cultural and historical sides to the UAE, or just like an entertaining and amusing read, then this is the book for you.

Even after living 5 years in the UAE, I learned more from this well written and amusing book.

This is a real book for those who like to understand better the UAE and all the things that for most of us are unknown.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. My expectations for this were low I admit, I was expecting a stereotypical account of an expats life in Dubai and having lived here for 7 years I wasn't expecting to get much out of this. I was wrong. There so much historical knowledge in these pages and I definitely benefited from learning about the history of the UAE as a whole and the historical sites that are on my doorstep that I wasn't aware of. I also enjoyed reading about the places I have been too and some parts had me laughing out loud because the humour and experiences are very Dubai. Four stars. At time of posting this book is available on Kindle Unlimited.

Unique account of Dubai and surrounding area relating aspects not commonly known about its history and evolution

Great book about a lovely Country, brought back loads of memories. Couldn't put it down.