Image credit: divesandy.com
The first thing Mustafa Dameh remembers about diving is not the fishes. It is the silence.
About 12 years ago, when he first descended into the water in Hurghada, Egypt, the Abu Dhabi-born diver found himself in what felt like a parallel universe. He was no longer looking at marine life from behind an aquarium glass. He was inside it. “Everything felt calm, magical, and incredibly peaceful,” he recalls. “I felt like I had transformed into a fish for a little while”. Today, Dameh teaches people how to enter that world themselves. And for him, Fujairah offers something particularly valuable: an underwater escape that does not require leaving the UAE.
But calling Fujairah an underwater paradise would be too easy. The emirate's waters are not necessarily competing with the Maldives, the Philippines or some of the world's most famous diving destinations.
The visibility can vary, the water can be cloudy, and the marine life may not be as abundant as in some of the places experienced divers travel across the world to see. For Rhose Andrei Dela Cruz, who has been diving for around eight times, Fujairah may not be necessarily remarkable when compared with those destinations. But it still has quite a bit to offer.
For beginners, Dela Cruz says, Fujairah can be a good place to learn, practise diving skills and become comfortable underwater while exploring corals and encountering different types of fish.
Her most recent dive in Fujairah left her particularly fascinated by a large sea urchin that came close to her, as well as caves where fish sheltered inside.
It was a different experience from her first dive in Puerto Galera in the Philippines, where she remembers seeing clear water, healthy corals, turtles, an octopus and an abundance of marine life. The comparison is revealing. Fujairah does not necessarily need to win that competition. Its appeal may lie somewhere else.
A different kind of escape
On the surface, Fujairah is recognisably part of the UAE: roads, resorts, beaches and the mountains that distinguish the East Coast from the country's more urban landscapes. Underwater, however, the rhythm changes.
At Snoopy Island, off the coast of Al Aqah, the experience is less about the rush of an attraction and more about slowing down. Once underwater, conversation disappears. Movement becomes deliberate. Breathing becomes something you notice. The world above is still there, but temporarily feels very far away. There is something almost meditative about it.
Diving demands attention to the simplest things: breathing steadily, controlling your movement, watching your surroundings and staying aware of what is happening around you. There is little room for the constant noise that fills everyday life.
For a few minutes, the usual pace of the UAE gives way to something slower. And perhaps that is one of the more interesting reasons to dive in Fujairah. Not because it looks like somewhere on the other side of the world, but because it can make you feel as though you have briefly left the world above. Dameh remembers experiencing that sensation himself when he first learned to dive.
He had always been drawn to outdoor activities and nature, and the curiosity to discover what existed beneath the surface eventually brought him into the water. But the experience was more overwhelming than he expected. There was the equipment, the information and the unfamiliarity of breathing underwater.
Over time, his confidence grew. Three years ago, he decided to become a part-time instructor himself, partly because he remembered what he had wanted from his own instructors: someone who could explain things clearly, logically and patiently, while making sure students genuinely understood what they were doing.
His approach is less about convincing people that diving is an extreme adventure and more about helping them feel comfortable enough to discover it for themselves. “If you’re curious, you’re already halfway there,” he says.
