Skift Take

45 minutes from the center of Dubai is Sharjah, an emirate that isn't trying to turn heads like its neighbors do.

Sharjah, one of the seven emirates in the UAE, is less than an hour from the super-modern Downtown district of Dubai. But unlike Dubai and other emirates, Sharjah is focused on becoming the national center of cultural tourism – it favors tents, camps and eco-resorts over mega-structures.

Khawla Al Hashimi, Chief Projects Officer of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) said at a Dubai event this month the idea is to be "invisible."

She said: "I’m probably the only architect who will say our goal is to be invisible. Our goal is for the development to be invis