Text: Anastasia Zorina
The most emotionally colored encounter with wildlife in my life took place on the side of the road, while I set up a camera to photograph periodically scurrying under my feet either otters or teenage hamsters. I didn’t even hear him; rather, I felt some instinct of self-preservation of a small animal. At first she instinctively ducked, then looked around, and then there were only emotions: when a real, full-sized giraffe quietly creeps up from the rear, it’s hard to restrain. Especially if you understand that he is not a zoo and, in general, is walking past his own business, and you are not in Africa on a safari, but only 250 km from Abu Dhabi! Frightened by my delight, the giraffe escaped with the overgrown hamsters. I will remember him forever.
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The island of Sir Bani Yas lies in the completely unexplored region of the emirate of Abu Dhabi al-Gharbiya neither by expatriates nor tourists. It is the main and largest of the group of islands that the state Abu Dhabi Tourism Development & Investment Company has integrated into the Desert Islands (Desert Islands) project. In a few years, this grandiose project promises to become the largest ecotourism destination in the region. Ecology is put at the forefront in literally everything.
According to the story, the largest natural island of the UAE, Sir Bani Yas, was born 5-10 million years ago. This is proved by the giant salt dome, which rises almost in the very center of the island. Given that such domes grow several centimeters a year, you can figure out how long it took him to reach 6000 meters in depth and 3000 meters in height. Today it is recognized as the largest salt dome in the world. The area of the entire island is 87 square meters. km
The first settlements on Sir Bani Yas appeared in the Bronze Age, approximately in the fourth millennium BC. To date, 36 archaeological zones have already been discovered, some of which will be open for tourists in the future. It was on Sir Bani Yas that nomads from the Bani Yas tribe, who later settled in Abu Dhabi, once came. From the name of the tribe, they formed the name of the island. At the end of the 19th century there was a small permanent settlement, after which people left it, leaving for the "mainland".
The second island of the Desert Islands group, Dalma, is a bird's eye view of a stingray that has “spread out” near Sir Bani Yas. The small island is actually already a deep "old man" - the first settlements on it arose 7000 years ago. Today, about 5,000 people live here permanently, for the most part - indigenous emirates, so indigenous that they seem to be living exhibits in the ancient landscape of the island, like a museum. In the coming years, Dalm will be opened for tourists as a large village of ethnographic heritage.
On the "tail" of Dalma runs the runway. This is one of the few destinations in the UAE where regular local flights of civil aviation fly. There is also an educational center where local residents are trained to work in the Desert Islands project.
The third component is a group of six small cozy islands under the general name "Discovery Islands". Seen from above, they form a surprisingly beautiful arabesque on the surface of the sea, outlined by the soft blue waters. The islands are uninhabited and so far completely virgin. There is nothing to visitors here: migratory birds and sea turtles.
Soon, boutique class resorts will appear on the two islands of the group, camping will be allowed on the other two so that the introduction of a person into untouched nature goes with a bang. The two remaining islands will be given to marine life and birds.
And finally, the gateway to the Desert Islands is the fourth component of the project - Marsa Jabel Dhanna (Mars Jebel Danna), a mooring on large land, covered by a two-kilometer dam. From here, comfortable boats with guests and simpler boats with locals depart for Sir Bani Yas.
Sir and World
So far, only the island of Sir Bani Yas is open to visitors. But that’s enough. Even at that initial stage of development and reorganization that he is undergoing, there is more than enough interesting here. In 1971, the desert island was chosen by the first president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, who opened a private reserve for endangered species of animals and birds in the region, which today has grown to the status of the Arabian wildlife park, which occupies almost half of the island. He is the "navel" of the island in every sense. Now here, in conditions as close to natural as possible, more than 30 species of various animals live. Many of them have almost disappeared from the face of the earth: populations of Arabian oryxes, sand and mountain gazelles are the most numerous in the world. Oriks, for example, today on the island there are more than 400 goals.
Park specialists are breeding endangered species of animals and birds, letting their pets go free. Gazelles have been growing here for a long time, but the “extract” into the real life of the litter of local cheetahs and jackals has become a real event. Even the hotels here are being built to match the concept of the park close to nature. So far there is only one hotel on the island, but what a hotel! The hotel is managed by the famous Anantara Resorts and Spas chain, so the Anantara Desert Island Resort & Spa is by definition worse than luxury. And there is.
The rooms are spacious. The ceilings are high. Air - more than enough. The furniture is massive, the carpets are real. Almost all natural materials - even bath accessories are packed in ceramics. And already pillows! The service is excellent. For meals without extra praises we put "5+" already for the morning buffet. And the hotel has a small, but such a cozy library. Spa-salon is also on top, even much better than many "five-star" two Emiarti capitals. And this ode is not caused by the fact that our entire group fell in love with Sir Bani Yas immediately and finally. It’s just that Anantara runs the hotel, and Asians know a lot about giving people inner balance, peace and high-quality service.
By 2011, Anantara plans to expand its ownership on the island, opening first a large conference center, and then four clusters of summer cottages right in the park. The houses in The Yamm Lodge, which is built right next to the water, will imitate the traditional dwellings of fishermen. Around will be roaming pink flamingos, and in the waters swim "sea cows" - dugongs. Al Babari Lodge, on the contrary, will be located inside the park, and it will become not only the main point of residence on the island, but also the only place in the region where guests can watch animals from the windows or from the terrace of their house.
Two other clusters, with all the necessary attributes of luxurious life, will be located next to the salt dome of Sir Bani Yas.
In addition to a park safari, the island has enough entertaining things that can easily distract from lazy pastime. Fans of cycling in the mountains are offered several very interesting routes of varying difficulty. Those who wish to climb the salt dome will also not be refused, but they will assist in every way.
In order to better study the habitats of birds and consider near mangroves, kayaking trips are organized. Fans of hunting animals will not be offended, but please shoot from the bow.
The waters next to the island, which breaks into the deeps of the sea, can be explored only with a mask and snorkel, but at the beginning of next year there will be an upscale diving center that will organize diving even for pearls. Suddenly lucky?
At the end of the year, a horse riding center will be opened here, in the stables of which Arabian horses will be led. In general, even if it is far from civilization, you don’t have to get bored. On the whole, the concept of the island, like the whole eco-project, is a kind of microcosm capable of self-sufficient development. Dozens, if not hundreds of specialists have worked on it and are working on it: today the principles of renewability and environmental friendliness are respected in almost everything: in landscape design, irrigation systems, in the field of energy and even in working with cultural heritage.
How to get there
There are two ways to get to Sir BaniYas. Abu Dhabi International Airport is delivered by air from Terminal 2 on board a 5-seat Dash 8 aircraft, which is served by the Abu Dhabi Civil Aviation Department. The flight takes 25 minutes and is often a real revelation for passengers: the coastal waters of Al-Garbiya are really beautiful. Before boarding the aircraft, baggage inspection and passport control are carried out, all in an adult way. Flights by plane are carried out only on weekends and holidays.
The second option is a combined journey through land and water. First you need to get on the highway Jebel Danna, which is 250 km from the city of Abu Dhabi and almost 400 km from Dubai.
From Mars, Jebel Dunn, passenger boats go to the island. The average option will be a trip from the "mainland" and back to the 8-seater seaplane, which, having previously made a circle over the island to enhance the effect, delivers passengers to it in 50 minutes.
Anantara Spa provides a shuttle service as standard.
Total
In the five years I lived in the Emirates, I heard from people about the island of Sir Bani Yas, on which the legendary founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed, brought an unprecedented amount of exotic living creatures. According to the stories, he seemed to me like an exclusive open-air zoo, where elephants with giraffes, lions and gazelles graze day after day in a small area, and eagles and falcons fly above them. Everything around is green-green and there are no people. It turned out to be an almost idyllic picture, which, to the extent of its fabulousness, never seemed real.
Reality began to appear five years later, on approaching the island, when flocks of young gazelles tried to catch the shadow of the wing of our aircraft. And it was amazing: neither I, nor anyone else from our large group who went to Sir Bani Yas, the Emirates have never been associated with such a freedom. We collectively brought this out upon arrival. On the way back to the “liberty”, “peace” and “silence” were added, which are also amazing things for the Emirates.
