UAE

The Emirates give the atlas three answers to the same money, and the interest is in how little they resemble one another. Dubai built towers and a brand; Abu Dhabi bought institutions and put a museum island offshore; Sharjah kept the museums and refused the nightlife, alcohol included. Ras Al Khaimah, added later, has neither the oil nor the towers and trades on a thousand-year-old port and the country's highest mountain. All four sit within an hour of each other.