Marine Environment

Over the Hajar mountains, nestled between north and south Oman, you can dive below the waters of the East Coast and enter the silent world of an enchanting marine environment. This stunning variety of life that abounds the warm waters of Fujairah attracts divers from all over the world who yearn to snorkel or scuba dive their way into another dimension.

Maybe you are fortunate enough to watch the friendly Greenback turtles grazing on the mosses and algae, or the graceful flight of the Feathertailed stingray looking incredibly like an underwater space craft and whose body has been sculptured by natural selection to its demands. Other spectacular happenings, such as the mating ritual performed by the Pharoah cuttlefish, fascinate marine naturalists who simply marvel at the manner of marine creatures such as these, and spend many hours of their leisure time lovingly nurturing a tiny fraction of the seas bounty.

On the picturesque side, divers muse over the fantastic multicoloured landscapes of coral reaching as far north as Dibba and at numerous marine reserves along the coast. The variety of colour of soft corals, affectionately named Teddy Bear Coral, is truly amazing, and to see the stalked polyps of the Tubastrea faulkneri  rocking gently with the rhythm of the waves is quite magical. At the slightly deeper dive sites, bouquets of soft coral graze the walls of the reef. Here, there is a profusion of hiding places and a labyrinth of secret channels and hollows providing innumerable secluded niches in which sea anemones, shrimps, lobsters, turtles, crabs, coral fish and other life forms can flourish.

The colours and rich diversity of our coral reefs are vulnerable treasures, so a great deal of care and respect must be taken of this precious gift in order that our future generations can appreciate it too.

Text and pictures by
Alyson Gibbons-Menzies

Medical Facilities

Fujairah is well provided with medical facilities, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi also provide additional medical care centres. The New Fujairah Hospital is a government-operated hospital open to everyone; there is also the private Fujairah Medical Centre. All of these provide excellent health care.

The Government requires that you obtain either a government health card or some sort of private insurance to get your residence visa. National General Insurance (NGI) provides private health coverage and is free of charge to staff, their spouses and 3 dependent children. Information on the scheme will be sent to you with your job offer from Central Personnel Services.

Check with your local medical health immunization centre to learn which shots are recommended for the Emirates and to make sure that your immunizations (and any "boosters") are current. This should be done well in advance of your departure, as some inoculations require the administration of doses several weeks apart. A new and useful injection to think about having is Twinrix for Hepatitis A and B. This is a course of 3 injections - 2 at two-week intervals and a third a year later. This will protect you for 10 years. This is a worthwhile investment when you consider that the old Gamma Globulin injection only lasts 6 months. Hepatitis B is becoming more prevalent in the area and it is worth taking the course of injections especially if you intend to travel.

You will discover that advice about malaria differs widely. Very few people take malaria tablets. You might find it useful to consult your doctor or local health clinic to find out what the current recommendations are. The Lonely Planet guide devotes a comprehensive section to pre- and post-travel health care in the Emirates. The UAE - A MEED Practical Guide also has some useful information about general health measures. Basically cases of malaria, hepatitis or cholera are no more common in the UAE than in Europe or North America. Serious health problems are not an issue in the UAE.

If you take medication regularly arrange to bring a generous supply with you until you have had time to obtain your medical card and locate a physician. Make sure that you carry the medicine in its original container and consider having your doctor write a note attesting to the medical reason and necessity for the prescription. Some drugs that are only available by prescription in the West can be purchased without a prescription in the UAE; narcotic drugs are a notable exception and in a recent amendment to the Health Bill hormones, steroids and some antibiotics can now only be obtained on prescription. The local pharmacists are very helpful and will be able to tell you what you can and cannot get without prescription. Some over the counter drugs available in your country may not be available here although something similar may be.

Reading glasses, contact lenses, and prescription sunglasses are all readily available at pharmacists and opticians, at considerably cheaper prices than in Europe and North America. Lens cleaner/fluid is more expensive on the local market. It would be advisable to bring a good supply. Bringing your eye prescription with you will save time initially, but eye tests are readily available and usually free of charge.

Some useful telephone numbers: