Enjoy Sharjah from the comfort of home

You don't have to leave home to hang out in Sharjah's Al Qasba canals. Thanks to Google, it's now possible to frolic in the park from the comfort of your living room (or anywhere else your Internet-connected device happens to be).
Using car-and human-mounted cameras inside the cultural city, Google captured images of the iconic waterfront and old city. The imagery is now available online via Google Street View, the feature that gives Google Maps users an on-the-ground perspective of certain places on Earth.
Some of the special areas captured by Street View are Al Noor Mosque, the Khorfakkan and Kalba enclaves on the East, Al Tamal camel track and Al Murabaa Watchtower on the Corniche.
Taking a virtual walk on the Al Majaz waterfront brought back memories of family get-togethers on the promenade. I could still stand at the ledge surrounded by shops on one side and a waterfront facing me.
Al Noor Mosque stands splendid with its 34 domes at the edge of the corniche. Just a few clicks away is the magnificent King Faisal mosque which is named after King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, former Ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The old Sharjah fish market still continues to buzz with construction activity in the images captured by Google. A virtual drive on the Al Arouba street finds the Google car stuck in a traffic jam - bringing a sense of nostalgia for long-time residents who frequent the neighbouring markets and shops.
Interestingly, the project captures the Qasba walk in its true splendour with the Venetian canals and bridges coming alive in the hues of blue and green.
For the most part - the project captures the sights of Sharjah in a unseen way. The tech-giant officially unveiled its street view imagery on Sunday.

The first Street View Special Collect in the UAE was launched in 2013 for Burj Khalifa followed by the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre and the Liwa desert in Abu Dhabi. In 2014, Dubai was the first Arab city to have Street View on a street level.
Google Street View imagery provides users with a rich, immersive browsing experience and allows users to explore world landmarks, view natural wonders, navigate a trip or other points of interest. Street View was first launched in May 2007 and is already available in more than 3,000 cities across 63 countries around the world.

The Trekker equipment gathered imagery of the Al Majaz waterfront and the Al Qasba with its "Eye of the Emirates" ferris wheel.The Street View car covered the following streets in Sharjah: Al Khan, l Wahda and Corniche Street; and the following streets in Ajman: Al Muntazah Street, Sheikh Rashid Bin Humeed, Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed and Shaikh Ammar Bin Humaid street.
The Google street view project also returned to Shaikh Zayed road to update its imagery since its initial capture last year.
muaz@khaleejtimes.com

Al Qasba. Supplied photo to go with MUAZ story