Talk about desert cities typically conjures images of the Middle East, from modern metropolitan oases like Dubai, to vital commercial hubs of the ancient world, like Petra in Jordan.
Consisting of expansive areas of sand and little more, deserts are some of the most inhospitable environments on the plant. However, several have presented significant development opportunities for civilizations brave enough to venture where few have gone before.
In this article, we look at some of the world’s most famous Middle Eastern desert cities and the architectural and engineering feats it took to put them on the map.
Sharm El Sheikh – Egypt
Situated on the southern tip of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula fronting the Red Sea, the city of Sharm El Sheikh is well populated, with approximately 73,000 residents as of 2023. Serving as the administrative hub of Egypt’s South Sinai Governate, a jurisdiction that includes several other mountain and coastal towns, the city is a tourism hotspot thanks to its dramatic landscape, consistently warm weather, and abundant marine life that entices divers from all over the world.
Backed by rugged mountains, with no historic pilgrim or trade routes running through it and no mineral wealth, Sharm El Shiekh remained a small fishing village until the 20th century, when it was developed as a naval base to protect access to the Gulf of Suez. By the 1980s, the region had become a thriving tourism destination, luring travelers from all over the world with its year-round temperate climate.
Today, Na’ama Bay is the city’s most developed district, presenting an array of hotels, spas, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs. Local sites of religious interest include Al Sahaba Mosque, which although completed relatively recently, is built in the Ottoman architectural style, and could easily be mistaken for being hundreds of years old. Nearby, the stunning Colored Canyon and White Canyon await, offering stunning views as well as an authentic taste of Bedouin life.
NEOM – Saudi Arabia
The pinnacle of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, NEOM is a $500 billion smart-city currently under construction. Commissioned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon and touted as one of the greatest and most technically advanced development projects in history, creating NEOM will involve transforming an area of desert the size of Belgium into a major technological and commercial hub.
Some describe the project as so ambitious it verges on the unrealistic and fantastical, with project catalogues including images of urban spaceports, elevators flying high in the air, and buildings shaped like a double helix. Extending across 26,500 square kilometers in the Tubuk region of Saudi Arabia, NEOM will skirt the Aqaba Gulf. The build will be divided into three main areas:
- The Line, comprising a strip of hyperconnected communities spanning more than 170 kilometers.
- Oxagon, the largest floating city in the world, spanning 7 kilometers, and making history as the world’s first completely automated port and integrated logistics hub.
- Trojena, situated 50 kilometers from the Gulf of Aqaba in stunning mountain scenery. The climate here will be different due to extreme cold in the winter and cooler temperatures year-round, making Trojena the ideal location for snow sports and adventures.
In creating NEOM, the Saudi government hopes to attract up to a million international arrivals by the end of 2025, helping the country to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels by embracing and capitalizing on growth in green industries.
New Cairo – Egypt
Located in the desert 20 miles east of its namesake, New Cairo was conceived in the late ‘90s and established by presidential decree at the dawn of the 21st century. Not to be confused with the current Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s proposed new administrative capital, which as yet remains unnamed, New Cairo has been created to house a staggering population of some 5 million people, with a few hundred thousand citizens already calling it home.
Serving as a satellite city to the Egyptian capital, New Cairo is home to several mosques, a church, and a Coptic monastery, as well as several educational institutions, including New Cairo Academy, Future University in Egypt, American University in Cairo, Canadian International College, and German University in Cairo. It is also home to the well-known gated communities of Al-Rehab, Mostakbal City, and Madinaty.
Baghdad – Iraq
Another well-known desert city is the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, the Arab world’s second largest city after Cairo. Situated on the banks of the Tigris River, Baghdad is a very old city, having been founded in the 8th century, and serving as an important cultural, intellectual and commercial hub in the Muslim World. Continuing this tradition, Baghdad is home to several academic institutions today, including the House of Wisdom.
Translating from Arabic to English as the “City of Peace,” Baghdad maintains an allure and mystique equaled by few other cities worldwide. Made famous in the West through print and film as a backdrop to The One Thousand and One Nights Adventures, Baghdad is a prosperous, sophisticated city, its cultural richness evidenced by its many museums, institutes, and universities.