Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai, Fujairah and ‘Getaway Tourism’

In a recent interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said that he likes to sleep in the desert alone every ten days to live like a Bedouin.

Much of his poetry comes from these evenings in the desert but probably most of his visionary ideas arise from these hours of solitude.

Solitude and Quiet

One of the most helpful lectures on leadership was given on this topic of Solitude and Leadership, a speech that stressed the value of being alone with your thoughts to renew your vision and passion.

One of the most read articles in the New York Times in recent days has been on a similar theme. Entitled, ‘The Joy of Quiet’, Pico Iyer writes about the contemporary yearning to disconnect (even from the Internet!), ‘the urgency of slowing down’ and the essential need to find time and space for oneself.

Fujairah—The Getaway Emirate

You may not have a desert resort in which to pitch your tent every ten days but Fujairah for many in the big UAE cities of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, represents a getaway place.

The road trip (even shortened by the new express road) provides the transition stage that helps people to disconnect from their harried lives and heightens their yearning for quiet and rest.

Fujairah is an attractive place with the distinctive landscape of mountains and coastline, all of which is conducive for individuals and teams of people who seek quiet, refreshment and a new vision. No wonder His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, called Fujairah ‘the lungs of the UAE’.

The eastern emirate might have an increasingly bright future in ‘getaway tourism’ for people who are seeking to follow in the footsteps of leaders like His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Related

HH Sheikh Mohammed and the Arab Spring, CNN, 27 December 2011.

Geoff Pound

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Image: His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, watching birds in the desert (Credit: The Media Office of His Highness).