Buraimi is an oasis town in on the border of the United Arab Emirates. The adjacent city on the UAE's side of the border is Al Ain.
Buraimi is considerably smaller than the adjoining city of Al Ain and is visibly less affluent. Streets in Buraimi are not named and development could be considered 'piece meal' with large villas often appearing some metres from roads, footpaths do not occur away from the main streets.
Before the relocation of the border (see above) it was fairly common for expatriates from Al Ain to rent villas and apartments as they were roughly 50% of the cost of an equivalent villa/apartment in Al Ain, however the change in border policy has led many of these expatriates to relocate to Al Ain due to long waiting times at the border checkpoints during peak traffic hours.
The town of Al-Buraymi is an oasis town in northeastern `Oman, on the border of the United Arab Emirates. An adjacent city on the UAE's side of the border is Al Ain. For many decades there has been an open border between Al-Buraimi located in `Oman and Al-`Ain (UAE). Effective from 16 September 2006, this border has been relocated to an area around Hilli which is around 8 kilometers from the traditional open border. The traditional border near Al-`Ain City is now closed to all except to those with valid visas (GCC nationals require no visa).
Geography
The surrounding landscape of Al-Buraimi differs vastly from that of Al-`Ain, consisting mainly of wide open gravel plains and sharp jutting rocks (The sohar gap found to the east of the Buraimi township is a good example of this), Samr (Acacia spp.) and Ghaf (Prosopis cineraria) trees are fairly common on these gravel plains.
Al-Buraimi is considerably smaller than the adjoining city of Al-`Ain and is visibly less affluent. Streets in Al-Buraimi are not named and development could be considered "piecemeal" with large villas often appearing some metres from the roads, and footpaths do not occur away from the main streets.
Habitational system
Before the relocation of the border it was fairly common for expatriates from Al-`Ain to rent villas and apartments as they were roughly 50% of the cost of an equivalent villa/apartment in Al-`Ain, however the change in Border policy has led many of these expatriates to relocate to Al-`Ain due to long waiting times at the border checkpoints during peak traffic hours.
Transportation
Transport in and around Al-Buraimi is by taxis, which like the majority of taxis in `Oman are coloured orange and white. Drivers accept payment in both `Omani Riyals(OR) and United Arab Emirate Dirhams (AED), a trip within the township of Al-Buraimi will generally cost no more than 5 AED/0.5 OMR. A trip to Mahdha may cost over 10 AED / 1 OMR.
Culture
Al-Buraimi, like the rest of `Oman, features many historic forts in varying condition. The largest mosque in Al-Buraimi is the Masjid Qaboos, named after the Sultan Qaboos. There are ruins of ancient hovels and a fort in Al-Buraimi
