Sharjah Old Town

(17/4/22)
I didn't get to bed until very late, so it was good not to have to be up too early today. I had a few things I wanted to do in preparation for a very busy week, but none of it happened. Oh well.

Today we joined a walking group in Sharjah who do tours of historic areas and buildings. We found out about it when chatting with one of the members of the SA group on Wednesday. The tours started at the beginning of the year and are held once a month. The one in March got cancelled, so we're doing that today, and then the scheduled one for April next Saturday.

I thought a collage was the best way to record some of the places visited, all done on foot at the "cooler" part of the day (the temperature was in the mid-30s for the most part). We finished with an Iftar in the newly acquired premises of the group, which is an old school that was deemed unfit for any further use and scheduled for demolition.

Today we saw what's left of the old airport/control tower. It was a British airbase. We walked to the first radio station and then to the cemetery, which has recently seen the churches moved close to it. Sharjah has never had the disposable income that Abu Dhabi and Dubai have enjoyed, so still has unpaved roads/paths in the old town. It felt like being back in the 70s.

We were thrilled to have gotten on to the list to join the group (it was oversubscribed) and will go next week, but will probably opt out of the summer walks they are planning. It was way too warm, and I have a poorly knee. G got so dehydrated that she nearly passed out!

We got home by 8 PM and enjoyed a shandy whilst watching the first half of Ben Hur on DVD.