the viewing deck: Fujairah Morning visit; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Fort

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Fujairah Morning visit; Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Fort

Quest to Complete the 7 Emirates as a Returning Ex-UAE Resident, September 2022

The easternmost of the United Arab Emirates, Fujairah is the only Emirate not to have a coastline along the Persian Gulf. It is also the youngest of the Emirates, only becoming independent from Sharjah in 1952.

https://wikitravel.org/en/Fujairah

Visiting Fujairah served as my 7th Emirate on my quest to complete the Seven Emirates of UAE.

I rode the Intercity Bus #116 coming from Sharjah Al Jubail Bus station (fare is 30 AED), dropping to main road near Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for two hour joyride. From Grand Mosque I started my DIY walk tour going to Fujairah Fort then back home. By the way, taking of passengers going back to Sharjah / Dubai is from designated bus stations only (bus stops along the main road are only for drop-off). This means you need to take a taxi to Kalba (negotiated 9 AED on Corniche bus stop).

For Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, no entrance fee, just reservation online is required which I did as walk-in only as almost no visitors are coming. There's a free guided local tour that states the history of the Mosque. I've learned that the Fujairah Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the second largest mosque in UAE (Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the largest), the architecture is based on Ottoman (Turkish) style (that's why the domes / minaret are so familiar with the Istanbul's Blue Mosque) and worshippers capacity is around 28,000.