Joanna James
Sharjah is one of the more popular cities of United Arab Emirates. It is well known for its wealth, ambience, and interestingly, cricket.
The country of United Arab Emirates is divided into Emirates, and Sharjah is one of them. The location of Sharjah is such that it is in a unique position, being the only Emirate to share its border with all the other six Emirates of the country. Although not located right in the centre of the country, Sharjah is connected to all the other Emirates. This unique location allows it to be a forerunner in any Abu Dhabi desert tour.
The literal meaning of the name Sharjah is "Eastern". However, the common usage of the word refers to the meaning as "Rising Sun". This is largely attributed to the fact that Sharjah is located to the East of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, east being "Sharq". The Arabic form of the name Sharjah is Al Shareqah. Abu Dhabi, with its skyscrapers and luxury abodes like Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, is the leading force behind these names. Those from Abu Dhabi call the residents of Sharjah "Sharagwah", which translates to "Easterners". Sharjah is also known as Umm Khanoor.
While alcohol, in general, is not served or consumed in public in most of the Middle Eastern countries, Sharjah takes this one step further. Alcohol is not served even in hotels and restaurants in Sharjah due to the majority of the population being of the Islamic faith. While more touristy areas do serve alcohol in private, Sharjah is one of the cities where you will not be able to find even a drop of alcohol whether in public or to be consumed in the privacy of your own room.
Although the United Arab Emirates itself does not have a popular or a well-performing cricket team, the sport is quite popular in the city. The Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in Sharjah hosts a couple of annual cricket tournaments between foreign countries. In fact, this stadium is known to have held the most number of One Day International matches in the world, 218 cricket matches, despite the home team not taking part in the majority of them. Sharjah Cup is a much sought after award among the South Asian Cricket teams, and the crowd in Sharjah absolutely love the sport.
Sharjah has made its mark in history as one of the leaders when it comes to local history, especially in terms of education. The first school in UAE was opened in Sharjah, thus paving way for education in the country. Moreover, the first library was also opened in Sharjah, a further step in highlighting the importance of education and literacy within the country. The most important, however, would be the fact that Sharjah was the first emirate to open its doors to women in terms of education. In 1942, Sharjah became the first in UAE to provide education for women.
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