Endless dunes, sparse vegetation, camels. Dubai seems to have looked at the kinds of things you'd expect to find in a desert and replied: Let's irrigate!
And so it has, creating not just botanical gardens but record-breaking botanical gardens, ski slopes with penguins (no, not a mirage) and dozens of green spaces, fairways and golf courses dotted with water hazards.
The secret?
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Well, desalinated water supplies some of the countless gallons needed to make these dreams a reality, but the other source is a little dirtier.
45 million flowers
It takes a lot of water to keep any garden alive in the desert, but imagine trying to keep 45 million flowers in bloom.
That's the task facing the team behind the Dubai Miracle Garden, a seven-hectare landmark that opened in February in the sands outside the city.
Related story: Dubai Miracle Garden: Flower power
Visitors are met with a riot of colorful (some would say garish) patterned flower beds, creative vertical displays and manicured lawns.
Since rainfall in Dubai is rare, falling on fewer than 25 days a year on average, the plants are kept hydrated using wastewater and a drip irrigation system.
A butterfly garden is next up here and, because this is Dubai, there are already world records to boast about: the longest (800 meters) wall of flowers, the world's largest flower clock and the tallest floral pyramid.
Nothing to sneeze at.
Dubai Miracle Garden: Al Barsha South 3, Barsha/Dubailand; +971 4 422 8902; general admission: $5.40 for an adult.
Fairways and greens
Golf doesn't have to be a desert sport. While all that sand might be good for bunker practice, lush fairways sound pretty fanciful.
This is the UAE, though, which seems to have staked its reputation on creating real-life mirages. The emirate has more than 20 golf courses, but how do they keep the greens green? The answer is dirtier than you might hope.
"We use treated wastewater for irrigation," among other sources, says Mark Tapling, agronomy manager at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
The high-tech system "delivers the precise amount of water depending on topography, wind direction and soil conditions."
Jumeirah Golf Estates: Al Fay Road, Dubai; +971 4 375 9999; 18 holes from around $100 for the cheapest guest twilight rate.
A wetland wilderness
You'll find birds of a different feather and a taste of wetland wilderness in an unexpected spot: the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary on the northern edge of Dubai.
Around 20,000 birds of 67 species live in these salt lagoons, which are fed by Dubai Creek and shielded from the city's ever-expanding urban sprawl.
Wading birds such as herons, spoonbills and flamingos, along with birds of prey including ospreys and greater spotted eagles, create a genuine sense of the wild right beside Dubai's ultra-urban surroundings.
Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary: Al Khail Road, Ras al Khor, Dubai; +971 4 606 6822; admission is free, but visitors must register on the Dubai Municipality website.
Penguins and snow
Surreally enough, a small colony of 20 king and gentoo penguins recently took up residence at the emirate's Ski Dubai attraction, where they can be watched marching across the artificial snowy slopes.
Even without the penguins, a winter sports arena in the desert is more than a little out of place.
Taking up 25,000 square meters of the vast Mall of the Emirates, the self-proclaimed indoor ski resort opened in 2006 and boasts five separate runs, complete with a chairlift and a tow lift.
Essentially one giant refrigerator, the temperature is held at -1C during the day, then drops to -6C at night, when chilled water is fired from an overhead snow cannon and turned into fresh snow.
Ski Dubai: Mall of the Emirates, off Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai; +971 4 409 4000.
Two-hour ski passes cost $55 for an adult. Full-day passes cost $83 for an adult.
Penguin encounters from $40.
Runners for fun
Given that most advice for getting around the desert near Dubai centers on traveling inside an air-conditioned 4x4 and not overexerting yourself for fear of heatstroke, the sight of a group of runners pounding along remote highways is a strange one.
Temperatures often top 40C, yet that doesn't deter the participants in the Dubai Desert Road Run, a 10-kilometer race that follows empty tarmac roads through the dunes.
Related story: Retro desert safari: Exploring Dubai's dunes in style
The race is held about six times a year, including in August, when it kicks off at 6 a.m. to avoid the worst of the summer heat.
Dubai Desert Road Run, +971 4 420 6001. The race starts from The Sevens stadium, Al Ain Road, Dubai.
Entry fee for the 10-kilometer race: $22; a three-kilometer fun run and junior race options are also available.
Water slides
In times past, when the Bedouin traveled across the Arabian desert in search of water sources, the idea of people floating down the nearest river on rubber rings or riding an artificial wave on a boogie board would have been dismissed as a mirage.
But now the UAE has not one but a full four major water parks: Wild Wadi (+971 4 348 4444) and Aquaventure (+971 4 426 0000) in Dubai, Dreamland in Umm Al Quwain (+971 6 768 1888) and Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi (+971 2 414 2000).
Each one pumps millions of liters of desalinated seawater through dozens of attractions every day for the enjoyment of water-adventure lovers.
At Wild Wadi, 600 gallons of water a minute rush through the thrilling Jumeirah Sceirah slide to send visitors racing down its steep drop at speeds of over 80 km/h.
