For riders in the Gulf, there is a road that people talk about with real affection. Jebel Hafit, a long, rocky ridge that rises out of the flat gravel plain on the border between the United Arab Emirates and Oman, is about 1,240 metres high, and a smooth tarmac road snakes up its eastern flank in a long series of hairpins and bends to the top, a distance of about eleven kilometres. At the summit, a hotel and a viewing terrace look out over the oasis city of Al Ain, with the desert stretching away to the horizon, and at dusk the lights come on below like a field of stars. Motorcyclists and cyclists come here in the cooler months, usually early in the morning or at sunset, and the road is one of the best in the country.
The mountain is also an archaeological site. On the ridges and slopes are the Hafit tombs, hundreds of beehive-shaped stone burials from about 5,000 years ago, some of the oldest monuments in the Arabian Peninsula, and they give their name to the Hafit period of the early Bronze Age. They form part of the Cultural Sites of Al Ain, inscribed as World Heritage in 2011, along with the Hili Archaeological Park, the oases and the Bidaa Bint Saud site. The mountain is a fold of limestone, rich in fossils, and the rock layers tilt steeply, so the geology is clear. At the foot of the mountain, the Green Mubazzarah park has hot springs and chalets.
The riding is short but excellent. The road is very well surfaced, with sharp hairpins, steady gradients and barriers along the edge, and in the cool season you can run up and down it more than once, though speed limits are enforced and cameras and police are common. Stay within the rules, since the penalties in the UAE can be severe. The best time is from November to March, when temperatures are mild, and in summer the heat, often above forty-five degrees, makes riding in the afternoon dangerous. Sand can blow across the road after wind, and in rare cases rain makes the surface very slippery.
Al Ain, about fifteen kilometres away, has plenty of fuel, restaurants and hotels, and the border town of Al Buraimi, in Oman, is a short ride beyond. Dress modestly in towns, carry your documents, and bring water.