Beyond Dubai: Seeking Lost Cities in the Emirates

David Millar lived in the Emirates as a British expatriate and reluctant oil man. Fortunately for us he was inspired by his fish out of water girlfriend to find the real culture and history of the region and capture it in a fast paced and hilarious book. In Beyond Dubai, Millar chases through the desert in a Jeep, in search of the Garden of Eden, beautiful camels, afternoon tea, ancient civilizations, lost cities, pieces of bronze, salt rivers, and ice ages. Fortunately, he lived to tell the story due to the sensible nature of his girlfriend, his excellent driving on narrow mountain roads, his way with authority figures, and his strict adherence to all relevant laws. I have spent months at a time in the region but never got to meet the type of characters Millar shared pints with. These pub characters and the available guidebooks were charming but not reliable so Millar set out on his own to discover. Millar starts at the beginning by investigating whether the Garden of Eden described in the Book of Genesis is somewhere in the Arab World. After all anyone can observe ancient rivers in Dubai, now reduced to creeks with their origins in the mangroves. Eventually our protagonist makes his way to all the Emirates and even the neighboring nations. We learn a lot about how the region was formed by immense forces acting at the end of the last Ice Age, when the glaciers melted and ocean level rose 400 feet.

I've just briefly visited Qatar, Dubai and Saudi, but I greatly enjoyed this book! Light spirited, entertaining and informative - a very nice read for anyone with an interest for the region, traveling or ancient cultures. Nice work!

I really enjoyed reading this book over Xmas at the beach. I've been through Abu Dhabi and Dubai a number of times but only for a few days each time so all you see are high rise office blocks and huge shopping malls so (in my case) you don't get to see any of the history. I like the context of selling the history to persuade his partner/girlfriend to move there and David has a very easy and humourous writing style. I look forward to a sequel.

I purchased this book intending to learn more about the intriguing country of the UAE. I will be moving there later this year and was determined to learn more about country beyond the much talked about city of Dubai. The book did not disappoint, I had trouble putting it down and Millar's writing style provides useful historical and geographical information with a touch of humor. I'd recommend the read regardless of your affiliation with the UAE. You also can't beat the price on kindle.

David Millar works in the Emirates and hopes that his girlfriend, Freya, will join him there. She's hesitant because for her, to be livable, a place needs to have visible, tangible history, and she knows of the UAE only as a place filled with new, ultra modern construction. So, both to explore and to convince her, David takes her on a search for history. They find that while they are scattered and difficult to find, there are several sites of historical interest, and even places where time seemed to stop centuries ago. Millar does a magnificent job of depicting these (though photos or illustrations would have been a valuable addition ) and tells quite a bit about the region's history without ever dragging or becoming pedantic. At the same time, he has a wonderful gift for people watching and for depicting an atmosphere, whether it's on a deserted beach or during tea at a fancy Dubai hotel. While the emphasis is on the storytelling, it seems to have enough detail about how they got to the various sites to be useful to those who want to visit the same places. Recommended if you're interested in the Emirates as they are now, Middle Eastern history, or travel yarns.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a breath of fresh air after some of the drivel that has been written about Dubai. The author has a wonderful tongue-in-cheek sense of humour and a great eye for the ironies of Dubai. But it's not just a book about the tallest building in the world and skiing on snow when it's 45 degrees outside. David has made the effort to go behind the scenes and look into the history of the country; not just the Trucial States and British domination of last century, but the evidence of habitation thousands of years ago. He reveals a history that even many of the residents are not aware of. Under the guise of persuading his girlfriend that The UAE has a history worth noting, he travels around the country and parts of Oman, searching out evidence of life in the past. Burial sites, old cities, settlements and historical remains are visited and briefly explained - enough to whet our appetites for visits of our own. There is also some interesting discussion about the history of the Gulf itself, which, in its distant past, was once dry land, possibly even the site of The Garden of Eden. One criticism from our book group was that the humour was very British/Canadian; other nationalities found it somewhat patronising, but humour is always a very personal thing. Photos would also have been a great addition. This is a book that I would highly recommend to visitors and residents of Dubai alike. It is informative and readable and well worth reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Having lived in Dubai for 3.5 years I felt nostalgic of the great life an expat can have in UAE and especially in Dubai. The revelation for me was the various places the author details painstakingly in his book (to be honest, I never visited all of them), their connection with history, the valuable explanation of how the immense desert land came to be (this is where the author's scientific background kicked in). In its pages I found myself reminisce about the mentality of the Arab people, their mannerisms and their culture (contrary to those that believe they are lacking one). It's a great reading for anybody who wants to make a connection with this corner of the world. Last but not least, the book is an excellent guide on things to do (and avoid) when in an Arabic country.

Most visitors to Dubai, and indeed residents, just content themselves with the usual tourist activities - getting blotto at a Friday brunch, watching the sun set from the world's tallest building, riding an unpleasant and evil smelling camel on a desert safari, and shopping till you drop in the world's largest mall, etc etc - but you really will be missing those gems of history and culture that are out there just waiting to be discovered. However, you will need a little more time and effort than just a week to truly enjoy the sights that are yours for the taking. I have lived in the ultra-modern city of Dubai for 13 years and, until I read the book, had never before realised just how much culture and history is associated with this land of Sunni, sand and Shiite. The book was a revelation in that it has introduced me to parts of the UAE that I had never visited, nor even knew existed, and I now look forward to future explorations of the many historical and other sites associated with this part of the Gulf. The book is an amusing and well-written account of David's attempts to encourage the mystical girlfriend Freya to come and live with him in sin in Dubai, and their travels through the country and neighbouring Oman. It contains many interesting facts and anecdotes about Arab culture and life in general in glitzy Dubai and I particularly enjoyed the story about the origins of the expression "going round the bend" and had not realised how it was associated with this part of the world. Another amusing story was that of the "pissed" gazelles. So, if you really want to learn about the little-known cultural and historical sides to the UAE, or just like an entertaining and amusing read, then this is the book for you.

Loved reading this book. David is so well documented and it is an excellent narrator and story teller. The simple but charming personal story mixed with the effects of natural climate change on the people of the Arabic peninsula, the account of the lost cities dating back to the stone age after the big flood, and the striking contrast of modernity and almost tribal tradition in the UAE, it all comes together really well in this book.

As someone who knew the area well over forty years ago it was illuminating. How I envy the writer the ability to get to places I had no means of accessing all those years ago. All I missed was a feeling of contact with the indigenous people I knew and liked so much.

Very enjoyable read for the ones that want to know more on UAE and their history. Quite hyronical and easy to read

This is a real book for those who like to understand better the UAE and all the things that for most of us are unknown.