Introducing Sharjah

Sharjah, "The Emirate with a Smile,' is truly a tourists paradise with picturesque green oasis, rugged mountains, sunny beaches, and a beautiful corniche around the lagoon, with its row of gardens.

There is a wealth of watersports to enjoy, over the lagoon, and on the beaches. Popular excursions include desert safaris, visit to ancient forts, museums, natural park, wild life, date palm groves, fishing villages, camel markets and camel races. For shopping, there are picturesque souks - 3 enormous ones - many new shopping malls and thousands of shops all around town.

The only emirate with 2 two distinct coastlines, Sharjah enjoys a natural geographic and economic advantage. With an 'open door' policy on free trade, a boom in investments from other Gulf states and from all over the world, a proliferation of manufacturing and service industries, and a spurt in tourism, Sharjah is off to a new era of prosperity.

 Language

The official language of the UAE is Arabic but English is widely understood and used. Sharjah is very cosmopolitan and you will be exposed to over 80 different nationalities

Newspaper and Magazines

The main English-language newspapers in the UAE are Gulf News, Khaleej Times and Gulf Today, printed and edited in Dubai and Sharjah. The main Arabic Newspapers in UAE are Al Khaleej, Al Bayan and Al Ittihad.

What's On is a monthly magazine aimed at the expat community and a good source of information for the visitors.

Climate
From May to September, daytime temperatures average 40 C in Sharjah. Winter brings more comfortable temperatures (15 C to 30 C) throughout the UAE with occasional rainfalls..

Business Hours

Friday is the weekly holiday for everyone. An increasing number of companies now have a two-day weekend with Thursday or Saturday taken as the second day off.

Government Departments

Official hours are Saturday to Wednesday 07:30 - 14:30. Some departments open at 08:00 for public business. All departments are closed on Thursday and Friday.

Shops

Shops tend to open later in the morning and stay open till late at night. Most shops close in the afternoon, opening again around 16:30/17:00.

Pubic holidays

  • Religious festivals and holidays are linked to the Islamic Hijra calendar. These include ; Eid Al Fitr (the end of Ramadan), Eid Al Adha (at the end of the Pilgrimage),
  • Islamic New Year.


National Holidays

  • 1st January - New Year's Day
  • 6th August - Accession of Sheikh Zayed
  • 2nd December - National Day

 
 
 
 
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