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(CNN) — It’s got fast drifting cars and slow drifting deserts. Beautiful beaches and unusual buildings. Camels, castles, culture and waterfront cocktails.
So, why haven’t more people been to Abu Dhabi? Actually, they have — they maybe just don’t know it.
In 2015, the capital of the UAE took a starring role in one of the most hotly anticipated movies in decades: “Star Wars VII — The Force Awakens.”
Abu Dhabi’s deserts doubled for Jakku, a dusty planet where the action kicks off with a dramatic escape that sees the Millennium Falcon swooping over the dunes. It’s an epic landscape made for cinema.
Those “Star Wars” film sets have yet to open to visitors in Abu Dhabi, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from heading there.
Still need convincing? The “best of” Abu Dhabi gallery above should help change that.
Sophie Morlin-Yron is a freelance journalist based in London
