Beneath Sharjah’s golden dome lies a constellation of wonders that opens onto the vast universe of the Islamic world.

Most visitors to Dubai never make it to the end of the Red Line, but those who do find something the city doesn’t advertise: the remains of a world’s fair where three pavilions still stand to make their case for the future.

From a pearl pulled from the seabed 8,000 years ago to a necklace that once graced the neck of the Arab world’s greatest singer, the Zayed National Museum traces the stories of this land, its people, and their connections with the wider world.

In an era where religion is often wielded to incite division, the Abrahamic Family House is an argument — in concrete and light — that another way is possible and already standing.

Abu Dhabi tells its story through ancient fortresses, world-class museums, and sacred sanctuaries, and all you have to do is start wandering.

To wander is to notice what others have grown too familiar to see. In Observers of Change, it is the artists and creatives who are perhaps the most discerning observers of all, chronicling a nation’s transformation through their art and eye.

Wandering through Expo City Dubai, I didn’t expect to find Interwoven, an exhibition that explores the threads of connection through the lens of contemporary art.

Sharjah, named the cultural capital of the Arab world, is a city where heritage refuses to stay behind glass. It moves through its streets, slips through its souqs, and settles into the qahwa offered before you’ve thought to ask.

Before Dubai had a skyline, it had a creek. Follow it far enough, and you’ll discover how a fishing and pearling village became the world’s most dazzling city.

At Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai, Urdu Worlds draws you into the worlds of Zarina and Ali Kazim, where the Urdu language becomes a wellspring of memory, imagination, and art, and you find yourself wonderfully lost.