Here's an itinerary for exploring the palm groves of Al Aïn, and the forts and towers that lie hidden within them. Our starting point is Fort Jahili, counter at zero. For timetables, please consult each establishment.

Around 1.6 km further on, Sheikh Zayed Palace stands with its modest facades facing the Al Aïn palm grove (Al Aïn Street). Sheikh Zayed lived here from its completion in 1937 until 1966. Splendidly restored, this desert palace offers a glimpse of the young governor's simple lifestyle. Starting on the right (see map), you move from patio to patio, from rooms to majlis. Observe the two schools, Koranic on one side, and fundamental on the other. In the latter, a reproduction of an old French map showing "Banc où l'on pêche les perles" and "Désert sans eau et sans habitations". Interesting Al Nahyan family tree, with their portraits, including, immediately to the left of the door, Zayed Bin Khalifa (1855-1909), the master of Fort Jahili, who had the courage to authorize stopovers by the French navy against the advice of the English. In the middle of the courtyard, an antediluvian Land Rover pickup. You have to realize that this palace was still occupied while the foundations of the historic Hilton Hotel were being laid just a few miles away!

As soon as you leave the museum, take the first right into the palm grove. Just a few metres away, you'll find the entrance and a parking lot. You can choose to visit the palm grove either on foot, by renting a 4-seater family bike or by taking one of the carts with a guide. One kilometer long, this lung of 147,000 date palms hundreds of years old is irrigated by the falaj, called foggaras in North Africa. It's a delight to stroll along the cobbled streets, or on foot, in this green and golden world, cool and restful. Heading towards the old Al Ain Museum, closed for restoration, just before the gate, you can buy a few dates in the last garden on your right before the exit.

If you exit the oasis in the direction of the Al Ain Museum, you'll find the Sultan's Fort (Zayed Bin Sultan Street), also known as the Eastern Fort, built in 1910, just adjacent to the building. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed, known as Zayed the Great, father of the Father of the Nation, lived here until 1922. Three towers dominate its triangular merlons and machicolations.

Head due north to reach the Al Jimi palm grove, 5 km away, which is best approached via its eastern entrance (Mohammed Bin Khalifa Street). Turn left into the small street that crosses the Jimi and Qattara oases, then immediately left to enter Jimi territory, that of the old Al Dhaheri family. As the maze of alleys between the date palms is impossible to describe, you'll take a few minutes to wander along the random paths and eventually spot, at the edge of the trees, the proud profile of Sheikh Ahmad Bin Hilal Al Dhaheri's ^{mid-19th-century} fortified house, not far from the 14-metre-high tower built by the man who was then the permanent representative of Abu Dhabi's central government. In the middle of the palm grove, you'll also find two superb forts (with carved wooden doors) amidst the plantations. Al Jimi, with its men at work under the date palms, its landscaped areas and its level of restoration, is in our view the most interesting destination, and therefore the one to keep in mind if you only do one visit.

We rejoin the asphalt road that winds between Jimi and Qattara (5.6 km from Jahili) to reach the latter, where the elongated tomb (^2nd millennium) mentioned during our visit to the museum was discovered. Several adobe towers, the remains of what was once a market and the Al Qattara fort, which recently housed the Arts Centre of the Adach Heritage Authority, are visible. Push on to the central tarmac, then turn right towards Heritage Village, a good lunch stop. From here, it's a 5-minute walk to Bin Fudhaid Al Darmaki House. It's easiest to ask the guard for directions. Another 15-minute walk takes you to the remains of the Abdullah Bin Salem Al Darmaki mosque and the foundations of this great family's patrician house.

Leaving Qattara via Al Nakhal Street to the west, we walk northwards up Al Baladiah Street to the right for a few hundred metres, to see the entrance to a public garden on the other side of the road (turn around if necessary to park). Reserved for women, you can ask the janitor for permission to have a quick look at the precious heritage it contains. At the far end of the park stands Fort Murayjib, which housed Sheikh Shakhbut Bin Dhiab, his men and his court from the time of its construction in 1816. A watchtower stands out at the front of the building. Here we stand before one of the emirate's oldest buildings, an image of a power that is settling in space: at this date, the Bani Yas lived mainly in Liwa, maintained an outpost on the shore in Abu Dhabi and settled here in the Qattara perimeter.

Via Bani Yas Street to the right, heading east, then Al Falah Street to the left, heading north, you reach Al Aïn's northernmost palm grove after around 4 km. As soon as you approach Al Hili (9 km from Jahili), a pretty crenellated fort caressed by palm trees appears on the right. Enter by car via the path along its walls and sink beneath the green canopy.

You'll come out on to the tarmac of Al Athar Street, then turn right to the east to approach the twin towers, known as Hili Watchtowers, on a man-made mound. One circular (Seebat Khalifa), the other quadrangular, based on the more massive Fort Murabba, were built during the early years of the Zayed government, after 1946, to keep an eye out for attackers, especially the Saudis who were trying to establish themselves as a regional authority.

Let's continue for a few moments on Al Athar Street and cross the next traffic circle to enter (11 km from Jahili) the Hili Archaeological Park, one of the most renowned excavation sites in the Middle East. It was here that Danish, Iraqi, Emirati and French teams unearthed the remains of numerous buildings dating back to the ^3rd millennium BC. Following on from the Hafitic period (Jebel Hafeet tombs), the Umm an Nar culture - named after the island near Yas where markers from this period were found - saw the emergence of these circular tombs made of fitted stones during the Bronze Age. Dating from 2500-2000 BC, they bear witness to cult practices that are still rather mysterious.

To get to Al Muwaiji Fort, take ^120th, also known as Mohammed Bin Khalifa Street, towards the center. Go straight ahead and count twelve traffic circles before turning right at the thirteenth onto ^135th, also known as E22 and Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street. At the second traffic circle, take the second exit and continue on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Street/E22 and at the next traffic circle continue on the same road. Turn slightly right to reach Saeed bin Tahnoon Al Awwal Street and after 80 meters turn left. Follow the signs. Built by Sheikh Zayed the First (grandfather of Sheikh Zayed, father of the nation) in the early ^20th century, it was given to his descendants and served as the office of the Al Nayhan family governors of Al Aïn. It was therefore only natural that Sheikh Zayed should settle here with his first wife Sheikha Hassa, from whom the former President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nayhan, was born in 1948. It was in this palace that he lived throughout his childhood. The visitor wanders through a maze of glass galleries designed by architects Machado and Silvetti. The museography makes full use of multimedia to discover the life of its prestigious former host, as well as the work of archaeologists and lifestyles of the time.