The Anthem Philatelist

I first read of Sharjah in my early stamp collecting days when it featured the hard-to-obtain  Beethoven stamp which I collect until this day (There are more than 200 stamps of Beethoven and I have at least 150 of them). In the 70's when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was not yet rich as it is today, novelty stamps would be featured by that country to raise some extra revenues.   I got their novelty Beethoven stamp on gold and silver foil which was issued in 1970. This stamp cost around P500 today.  During those days, I memorized all the 7 emirates by heart never had I imagined that I would be visiting 4 of them someday.   Sharjah is a beautiful city less than an hour drive from Dubai .  I stayed at Hilton hotel at very cheap rates at Booking.com which I booked a month in advance. I have booked through this site in my previous travels to Paris, Yogyakarta and Siem Reap and they give "secret deals" to frequent "bookers".  I was lucky to have ...

After an hour and a half drive from Dubai , one arrives in Al Ain , a small but vibrant city which is a part of Abu Dhabi , one of the the seven emirates.    It borders Oman so a few more steps and you are in another country.  Tourist beware though of taking pictures near the border because the Omanis are strict and you can be reprimanded. I never told my wife I was detained for almost l an hour (that's another story) for questioning in UAE-Oman border for taking pictures near a military installation. A  word of advise - always bring your passport wherever you lug around UAE because you might be crossing borders without being aware of it.     The serial property of The Cultural Sites of Al Ain , with its various component parts and the regional context in which it is situated, provides testimony to ancient sedentary human occupation in a desert region. Occupied continuously since the Neolithic , the region presents vestiges of numerous prehisto...