Journey to Sharjah, the ambitious cultural pole of the United Arab Emirates

From the center of Sharjah you can see the Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world. A building 828 meters high — twice as high as the Manhattan Empire State — at the core of Dubai, about 20 kilometers away. But in the historic core of Sharjah, the Dubaiti delirium feels far away. Here the low-rise buildings are ochre-colored and reminiscent of the desert. The city, capital of the emirate of the same name and among the oldest settlements …