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Article posted: 2/10/2013 6:00 AM

Abu Dhabi much more than just desert

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Visitors pass under the atrium of Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi city. The landmark was the most expensive hotel ever built when it opened in 2005.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

Dunes rise over valleys in the Liwa Desert, part of the world's largest uninterrupted sand desert.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

The marble courtyard of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is inlaid with colorful mosaics.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

The beach on Saadiyat Island stretches for six miles along the Persian Gulf. Just a half-hour from Abu Dhabi city, it has the ambience of a retreat to a tropical resort.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

Women in Abu Dhabi city wear either fashionable Western clothing or their national dress, a silky black robe, aba, and scarf, sheyla.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

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Camels and their handlers await trekkers for a sunset ride at Qsar Al Sarab resort in the Liwa Desert.

Photos by Katherine Rodeghier

About this Article

The desert is just one of three destinations of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. With a much larger land mass than its better-known neighbor, Dubai, this emirate has not only an expanse of towering dunes, but white beaches fringing luxury resorts and a city of shining skyscrapers and glitzy malls packed with designer fashions.