Google typically travels by traditional means of transportation to capture images for its Street View projects. However, instead of using cars, boats or people to capture images of the Arabian Desert, Google decided to use a camel. And the results were spectacular.
In order to capture "one of the most breathtaking landscapes of the world" without disruptions, the Google Maps team equipped a camel named Raffia with its technologies to allow the world to tour the desert.
The team affixed its panoramic Trekker camera onto 10-year-old Raffia. It made for an extremely unique experience that makes the viewer feel like they are on the camels back and exploring the desert, with its blazing sun and dry sand dunes, from the comfort of their homes.
"To bring this stunning desert to Street View, we fashioned the Trekker to rest on a camel, which gathered imagery as it walked," Google says. "Using camels for the collection allowed us to collect authentic imagery and minimize our disruption of this fragile environment."
The team began shooting around 6 a.m. local time to capture the amazing Arabian Desert and quick snapshots of the local residents.
The shots show ripples in the endless sea of sand that appear orange under the sunlight. The camel is seen with the Trekker on its back, walking against the wind as a tour guide leads it through the Liwa Desert.
The project is part of Street View's greater plan, which aims to create a virtual map of the world. Google Maps have previously brought travelers to the ancient pyramids of Egypt, the North Pole and the Galapagos Islands.
The captured images of the Liwa Desert include sand dunes that range from 82 to 131 feet high. The sandy hills were once home to late Stone Age settlers, making it one of the oldest places in the United Arab Emirates.
Street View also shot images of an oasis where early settlers would trade. A popular tourist location, the Liwa Oasis is the largest oasis in the Arabian Peninsula, and is also home to some date farms.
Google Street View hopes that the footage will bring more tourists to the location.
But for those who can't make it out to explore the Liwa Desert can take a virtual tour from a camel's back thanks to Google Maps.
