For warm weather, golden sands and beautiful architecture, Sharjah in the UAE is an absolute winner.

Arriving nearby at Dubai Airport, the world’s biggest airport welcoming over 80 million people through the doors last year, the rush of heat hits you and if you time it right, you’ll hear the Islamic call to prayer sound through the air from a nearby mosque.

Emirates Airline flights are comfortable and a great feature is the screens on the back of every seat, which allow you to tune in the radio, the latest albums and films which have just been released in the cinema.

Once you reach Sharjah, the food is fresh, with a vast amount of food markets, or souks, dotted around the area selling beautiful and vibrant fresh fruits, vegetables and spices, as well as plenty of cafes to enjoy coffee.

Beautiful fabrics, bags, clothing and trinkets for souvenirs to take home to loved ones are also easy to find in the souks.

For adrenaline junkies, I can personally suggest a desert safari trip, which sees you climb into a 4x4 and a driver races over and across the golden sand dunes at breakneck speed. They pause only momentarily at the top of a dune to build the suspense before gliding smoothly down.

It’s a thrill to see open, unbuilt-upon expanses of land and it’s a way to see the area from a different view.

On a personal level for me, an absolute must to take in a bit of the background culture to the area was the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation visit, which educates visitors on some of the history of the area.

It also proved a great opportunity to learn more about Islam as a religion, as I’m ashamed to say it’s something I know so little about, apart from a basic understanding from school.

I didn’t know, for example, that one fifth of the world’s population follow Islam and that it is the fastest growing religion in the world.

Or that of the four pillars of Islam, the third pillar, Zakat, signifies a monetary and legal obligation for Muslims, meaning that they must give at least 2.5 per cent of their net income to charity every year.

That generous, kind attitude is carried by all of the locals, known as Emiratis, that I met, with one street trader inviting me to come and look in his shop and ask questions about the different traditional gifts he sold.

These included the robes, called thwabs, worn by men in the UAE, which have different collars depending on whether the person is born and bred in the United Arab Emirates, or moved there later in life.

During my time away and the reason for the timing of the trip was the Sharjah Festival of Light, which sees a host of buildings across the Emirate lit up by projections, lasers and displays. It is the area’s jewel in their crown, so to speak.

For 2015, there were 14 locations which were illuminated every day for nine days to provide a distinct memory of your time in the area.

Sharjah is investing a huge amount in tourism at the moment, hoping to attract people to try a different holiday and experience the culture. So it was no surprise to hear that it had been named Arab Tourism Capital for 2015, particularly after seeing their grand plans to lower the height of buildings on the Majarrah Waterfront. The government plan to take away all the tower blocks and high-rise buildings to reveal more of the view on one side of the water’s edge.

Visitors can also enjoy Sharjah Aquarium, which opened in 2008 and features two floors with 20 water tanks housing rays, clown fish, sea horses and reef sharks, which can at various points swim over your head in water tunnels. Entry is 25 AED, which is around £4.50 per adult and 15 AED for children, which converts to about £2.60.

In terms of hotel choice, there is lots of places to stay with my trip taking me to the Radisson Blu in Sharjah, which offered picture postcard views and breakfast in their in-house restaurant, which looks like a rainforest.

This is a family friendly destination, which is best to avoid in the summer months as even the locals say that it becomes too hot to be outside for long, but one worth a visit.

I personally would love to go back and do some more exploring in the Emirate as there is just so much to take in during just a few days, including the shops and more museums to visit.