United Arab Emirates
Sharjah Emirate
Region
The Emirate of Sharjah is the third-largest of the United Arab Emirates and has coastlines on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
by Felix Gillen
The Emirate of Sharjah is the third-largest of the United Arab Emirates and has coastlines on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Beyond the capital Sharjah, the emirate includes the Mleiha desert with the UNESCO World Heritage site Faya, and the east coast enclaves of Khor Fakkan, Kalba, and Dibba al-Hisn.
CharacterThe emirate spans approximately 2,600 km² and is home to over 1.8 million inhabitants, with the vast majority residing in the capital. Sharjah upholds its reputation as a cultural emirate and is simultaneously the strictest: alcohol is forbidden, and public decency rules apply to clothing and behavior.What to SeeThe capital features museums, the restored Old Town, and the houses of the Sharjah Art Foundation. Inland, Mleiha offers archaeological sites, the core of the Faya Paleolandscape, added to UNESCO World Heritage in 2025. On the east coast, Khor Fakkan blends beach, mountains, and a reservoir.Getting AroundBuses travel to the capital from Dubai. For Mleiha and the east coast, you'll need a car or a tour; the Sharjah-Khor-Fakkan Road, opened in 2018, leads from Dafta inland to Khor Fakkan in approximately 45 minutes.
Food and Drink
Sharjah is the only emirate where no alcohol is served. Culinary highlights are especially the markets: Souq Al Jubail in the city and the dates from the Al Dhaid region.
Souq Al Jubail
The market on the Corniche next to Al Jubail bus station has separate sections for fish, meat, and fruit and vegetables, including around 20 date shops. At cleaning and cutting stations, fish you buy is prepared for a small fee, and you can also have it grilled in the market.
Dates from Al Dhaid
In the farming region around Al Dhaid, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce holds a date festival every autumn with a market, auctions and competitions at Expo Al Dhaid, most recently in October 2026.
Alcohol-free dining
There is no alcohol anywhere in the emirate, including Khor Fakkan on the east coast, not even in the restaurants and minibars of international hotels.
Culture and History
Cultural EmirateIn 2019, Sharjah was the UNESCO World Book Capital. The Sharjah Art Foundation, numerous museums, and the restoration of the Old City in the Heart of Sharjah project shape the capital's cultural life.Early HistoryIn the Faya Palaeolithic landscape near Mleiha, traces of human settlement date back more than 200,000 years. Since July 2025, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage site, the first desert Palaeolithic site on the list.The East CoastKhor Fakkan was conquered in the 16th century by the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque; in 1765, per Carsten Niebuhr, the place belonged to an Al Qasimi sheikh, Sharjah's ruling family to this day. Khor Fakkan possesses the region's only natural deep-water port.
Travel and Exploring
Getting ThereSharjah International Airport is located approximately 13 km from the capital's center. From Dubai, RTA buses E303 and E306 travel to Al Jubail Bus Station in central Sharjah.To the Interior and East CoastMleiha is located approximately 65 km southeast of the capital. The Sharjah-Khor Fakkan Road connects Dafta with Khor Fakkan: 89 km long, four lanes, with five tunnels, including the 2.7 km long Al-Sidra Tunnel. The journey now takes around 45 minutes instead of the previous one and a half hours.
