RAK city overview

Initially, Ras Al Khaimah looks as barren as a city could look. The main roads into town are through the desert, with absolutely nothing around except a few camels and trees. It is a pretty spectacular site, and sometimes, when looking closely at the top of the sand mounds, a view of the Arabian gulf opens up. Once in the city, so much is modern because RAK only became a popular destination for tourism about two years ago. It went from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. There are still historical sites, like the ghost village that I was driven through that is supposedly haunted by the people who lived there before the Portuguese invaded. This is a city and emirate of wealth. The cars are pricey, everyone just drives up to a store, honks, then people come out to serve them. For such a dusty, dry environment, people really care about looks. Local men dress in crisp white in a Kandoora showing their money through clothing as well as cars.