In July 2018 I took another drive into the UAE deserts, this time heading out to Sharjah's famous Fossil Rock area, a beautiful rock formation around the town of Maleha. While not as dark as other spots in the UAE (and therefore not ideal for Milky Way spotting), it makes for an amazing place to venture out at night. Aside from the natural beauty of the rocks dotted into the desert dunes, we spotted a desert fox and scorpions as well.
In fact - it wasn't as I missed to take it along, which is a mistake if you venture out into the desert at night. Luckily, today's phones have good flashlights built in.
The Camel Rock is located just off the small town of Maleha, which surprisingly houses very signficant architectural discoveries of the human journay through the Arabian peninsula.
While visible with the naked eye, there is quite a bit of light pollution, making the Milky Way only a faint glow.
Development doesn't stop in the desert, so large power masts cross the area.
This rock formation in the middle of the dunes makes for amazing photos. Looks more like a dragon to me.