ABU DHABI // Most images for Google Street View are collected with a car, but for the first time, the task was given to an animal – a 10-year-old camel named Raffia.
Raffia walked through the desert around Liwa Oasis with a Street View camera mounted on top of her hump to create panoramic views for internet users around the world.
The images, now available online, show scenery from Liwa including dunes, the oasis, other camels and Raffia's footprints and shadow.
Google has taken the Street View cameras on boats and even underwater, but this is the first time the tech company has used an animal, said Joyce Baz, spokeswoman for Google in the Middle East and North Africa.
“With every environment and every location, we try to customise the capture and how we do it for that part of the environment.
“In the case of Liwa we fashioned it in a way so that it goes on a camel so that it can capture imagery in the best, most authentic and least damaging way,” said Ms Baz.
Utilising the desert’s ancient mode of transport, an Indian guide walked the camel from as early as 6am to photograph the area in the clearest weather conditions possible, said Ms Baz.
Street View, launched in 2007, now not only collects 360-degree views of streets, but also heritage sites and other landmarks on seven continents.
It has images from 59 countries, covering a distance of more than five million miles.
Google typically uses a camera attached to a car for photographing streets, but to capture Liwa, it used the Trekker, a camera that is more than a metre high and can sit in a backpack, said Ms Baz.
The Trekker is often used for places inaccessible by car, such as narrow alleyways.
Street View photographers take the weather and time of day into account in deciding when to capture the images.
Photos are then stitched together to create the panoramic image that users can virtually navigate.
This is the third Street View available in the UAE, following the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Street Views are also available from locations in Egypt, Israel and Turkey, as well as the Grand Canyon in the US and the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Ms Baz said the feature could help boost tourism for Liwa.
“Twenty to 30 per cent of the views come from outside the country,” she said.
“We think this really helps people check these locations out before they come to visit.
“Liwa is a highly touristic site and is growing in popularity.”
Google hopes to bring Street View to more countries in the region, she said, as well as more locations in the UAE. They are in the process of capturing Dubai, said Ms Baz. “Ideally, we want to capture all of the UAE,” she said.
The company hoped to bring Street View to other countries in the region as well, said Ms Baz.
“We want obviously all countries, because there is so much history and culture and heritage,” she said.
“I think it’s just a matter of time before we move to the other countries in the Middle East.”
Liwa Oasis lies in the south west of Abu Dhabi emirate, about 100 kilometres south of the Arabian Gulf coast, at the edge of the Empty Quarter.
lcarroll@thenational.ae
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Profile of Tamatem
Date started: March 2013
Founder: Hussam Hammo
Based: Amman, Jordan
Employees: 55
Funding: $6m
Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5