Liwa Oasis

A crescent-shaped string of settlements at the northern edge of the Rub' al Khali, Liwa is flanked by some of the largest sand dunes in the world, with individual dunes rising above 300 metres in the surrounding Empty Quarter. The oasis is the ancestral homeland of the Al Nahyan ruling family and retains traditional falaj irrigation systems still in use. Photographers come for the immense scale of dune landscapes with virtually no horizon-breaking features except the dune crests themselves.