kittycat1

Dumb blonde- should know but dont- where and what is RAK?

rowell

Ras Al Khaimah is located north of U.A.E. on the Arabian Gulf. With a total area of 5,800 sq km. and a population of 250,000. the emirate is under the ruling of Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, and his forth son, Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qassimi was appointed as the crown prince in 2003.

Ras Al Khaimah's history extends into antiquity. Archeological excavations reveal that a settlement with an advanced civilization that carried on trade with the Indian sub-continent existed in this region. Later historical records cite that the town of Ras Al Khaimah , then known as Julfar, belonged to early Muslim Caliphs. In the 18th century, after the invasions of the Persians, Portugese and the Dutch, it finally became a part of the Al Qawasim State. It was also once the center of the naval strength of the southern Gulf states. The traditional occupations of this emirate are mainly fishing, trading and agriculture which have been heavily modernized to meet the demands of the UAE's economy.

Ras Al Khaimah is famous for its cement, quarrying, pharmaceutical and ceramic industries among the seven emirates. The emirates owns four cement factories, with their products covering 40-50% of local market. R.A.K. Ceramics is today the world leader in the ceramic tiles and sanitary wares industries, exporting to 128 countries around the world, and has set up a ceramic factory in Zhaoqing of Guangdong Provenience.

Mina Saqr, located next to the town of Ras Al Khaimah, is a deepwater port with heavily utilised bulk handling facilities where major amounts of transhipment takes place. It can handle vessels up to 260 metres long and 11.5 metres maximum draught and is ideal for low cost general cargo and container handling. R.A.K international airport is 15 minutes' drive from the city of Ras Al Khairah.

rowell

Map attached

MacScot

Yep..had my kitchen in Melbourne fitted out in RAK ceramic floor tiles...very hard wearing and looked good.

Autonomy

"R.A.K. Ceramics is today the world leader in the ceramic tiles and sanitary wares industries, exporting to 128 countries around the world"

I did not know that.... here, sure, I pee on that RAK logo regularly, but worldwide.... who knew....

MacScot

Must check that there are no RAK logos on the kitchen floor tiles before inviting you around as a guest

Autonomy

oops... sorry.... *kitchen towel please*

hnd

Great for a summer break if you're staying in the region and not 'going home' for the summer. There are some really good deals to be had for GCC and UAE residents. Went to Cove Rotana last summer and with their loyalty card and vouchers paid only 200dhs/nite/room (don't do breakfast so didn't care about that and, anyway, Spinneys is just down the road so you can stock up on whatever you want and put it in the in-room fridge). And with loyalty card vouchers earned while eating at other Rotana hotels during the summer basically ate and drank pretty much free for 2 of the 3 nights we were there

Planning on doing exactly the same this summer.

And as an afterthought, we were there second week in August (just before Ramadan) and whilst we chose to eat inside, there were many many people still eating outside in the evening. And our room was at the top of the resort and it was no problem to walk up the hill (10 mins or so from reception/bar area) even during the middle of the day. But perhaps the beers we'd savoured in the bar had cooled us down sufficiently for what may, in other circumstances, have been an arduous climb up a hill which was definitely far easier to descend (after a well-earned siesta) for a sojourn in the bar before dinner

Bahtatboy

I like the Hilton Resort at RAK. Still using my HiltonHonors points from my initial 4 months here in the Hilton. Private beach, decent restaurants, good service, fair prices.

I've taken the family twice, and they're eager to go back again this summer.

Ethos83

How's the water up in RAK during the summer months? I have taken a few weekend breaks on the East coast in July/August in the past two years because while the air temperature is about the same as in Dubai, the sea water is much, much cooler than the Gulf because it gets the Indian Ocean currents.

Inselaffen

not sure about RAK but at Dibba the last time I dove in the summer it was 32 deg at 15m down

Ethos83

Whatever the temperature is, it's still much cooler than on the west coast. Well worth making the trip in July or August. Sandy Beach is all right, but I also like the Oceanic Hotel in Khorfakkhan for its seriously outdated facilities. A time warp.