Today's Edition
ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Heritage villages across the UAE play a critical role in telling the nation’s story that blends authenticity with modernity and keeping the country’s culture and traditions alive across generations.
The heritage villages showcase the traditional life of the UAE, giving insights on the old crafts that shaped the economy of the past as well as the core customs and traditions that form the society’s fabric.
Emirati folklore performances, heritage festivals, and traditional restaurants give visitors an authentic glimpse of the UAE’s past.
The country dedicates efforts to develop heritage villages as key touristic attractions that enrich the cultural scene and immerse visitors into the deep rooted values that shape the present and future UAE.
Highlighting the UAE’s heritage villages comes as part of the 4th season ‘World’s Coolest Winter’ campaign that aims to promote the country’s cultural, recreational, natural, and historic treasures under the slogan ‘Unforgettable Stories.’
Rich Heritage
Tucked away on Marina Mall Island close to the city centre, the Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi stands out as one of the main cultural landmarks in the capital.
Established in 2001 over an area of 16,900 square meters, the village serves as an immersive time capsule, with an old-world souk (market), mosque and camp modelled on life in pre-modern UAE. It gives visitors and tourists a taste of traditional life from architecture and artefacts to the talented artisans creating pottery, fabrics, and glass ornaments.
Its small souk hawks handicrafts like handmade soaps, as well as local spices, dried herbs, traditional attire, and souvenirs.
The heritage village showcases a collection of artefacts including old jewelry, ancient pictures capturing different historical stages, silver, bronze, and paper Islamic currency, hunting tools, and old weapons, especially rifles, with a special corner for rare manuscripts and archives.
Visitors can also explore an ancient mosque and see inside an authentic Bedouin tent.
History fans can enjoy learning about the growth and development of Abu Dhabi, from how palm groves were irrigated to how Emirati homes kept cool.
Unique Model
Situated at the heart of Al Shindagha Historical District on the shores of the creek, the Shindagha Heritage Village provides a glimpse into the life in pre-modern Dubai. It presents a unique demonstration of the traditional Emirati ‘Freej’(neighborhood), souqs and handicraft, inviting the new generation to get a feel of the life of their ancestors.
Established in 1997, the Shindagha Heritage Village is nestled in an attractive cluster of historic buildings constructed with mud, stone, and palm trees to offer a glimpse into the diverse facets of living local life, ranging from the coast to the mountains.
The heritage village is a living museum of local craftsmen who demonstrate the various traditional and local crafts. It also enables visitors to get familiar with the ancient irrigation systems of farms.
The village’s local clinic shows how doctors in the past offered traditional remedies.
Visitors also get the chance to enjoy traditional Emirati dances like Al Ayala and Al Razfa, and head to a traditional souq, housed in the village, for demonstrations on a range of craft skills including jewelry making and blacksmithing.
Hatta Heritage Village, one of the main historic landmarks in the UAE, immerses visitors in the traditional village life with reconstructed huts and buildings selling traditional wares. Opened in 2011, the village also houses life-size prototypes, documents, handicraft, and sculptures to showcase rural living dating back centuries and revive Dubai’s heritage.
Pulse of History
The ‘Heart of Sharjah’ captures the beauty of the past in every corner of its roads and historical buildings.
Seeking to reflect life in Sharjah over half a century ago, the ‘Heart of Sharjah’ project restores and revamps the city’s traditional areas to create a tourist and trade destination with contemporary artistic touches, yet retain the feel of the 1950s.
The ‘Heart of Sharjah’ enables visitors to spend a whole day exploring cultural and residential projects, including art galleries, museums, traditional and contemporary markets, archaeological sites, and play areas. It is home to nine museum including Bait Al Naboodah, Sharjah Fort, Sharjah Heritage Museum, and Al Eslah School Museum.
Considered the largest historical preservation and restoration project in the region, the ‘Heart of Sharjah’ enables current generations and the future generations to experience Sharjah’s cultural and social fabric.
Glory of the Past
Fujairah Heritage Village is an open air ‘living’ museum that reconstructs the traditional way of life in the UAE, demonstrating the UAE’s rich history, cultural heritage, and the challenging, yet glorious, past.
Inaugurated in 1996 over an area of 6,000 square meters in Madhab, the village life is beautifully replicated through various exhibits including a majlis, raised sleeping platforms with cradles attached for the children, and a traditional water well centrally located.
Traditional houses in the village are made with the ancient materials and techniques of the region. Huts are designed with bricks and mud while some are made of twigs and date leaves.
Artisans in every corner of the village demonstrate handicraft work for different professions of the past including perfumery, tailoring, and carpeting, taking visitors back to the traditional Arab life.
A special corner captures the UAE’s marine environment with displays such as boats made of palm leaves and fishing nets and utensils.
The Fujairah Heritage Village enables visitors and tourists from around the world to get to know the heritage and traditions of the peoples that lived in the area. Its wide display of antique collectibles, cooking utensils and farming tools tell the story of the struggles faced residents of the past to establish a decent living.
Visitors also encounter the famous Al Yazrah Irrigation System that was used in Arab farms. Unlike the use of modern machinery for the irrigation of crops in modern times, the Al Yazrah Irrigation System relied on a bull.
Standing Symbol
Al Jazeera Al Hamra in Ras Al Khaimah is the only remaining historical pearling village in the entire Gulf region. The old town stands in testament to the majestic ancient architecture, featuring the original fortress and watchtowers, ornate residential wind tower complexes and closely-packed residential quarters, as well as three historical mosques and its central souq.
There is also a mix of dwelling styles from small, simple houses, courtyard homes, two-story buildings to a large courtyard residence that belonged to the wealthy pearl merchant.
The buildings were built in a traditional manner using local materials such as coral blocks and fossilised beach rock, mangrove tree beams, date palm trunks, roofing, matting and ropes and layers of seashells for drainage.
The village comprises some 500 houses and was occupied by the Zaab tribe.
As part of Ras Al Khaimah’s ‘Balanced Tourism’ strategy, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority launched a three-phased restoration program at Al Jazeera Al Hamra to boost the visitors’ experience to the historical landmark.
Al Jazeera Al Hamra also hosts the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival as a nonprofit community arts festival designed to showcase the work of local and emerging artists, photographers, and filmmakers. The festival brings the community together to celebrate art, create opportunities for cultural exchange, and support the creative and artistic sectors of the emirate.
Cultural festivals
Cultural festivals that are organised across the country include special pavilions for heritage villages.
Al Marmoom Heritage Village, a one-stop shop for everything relating to UAE heritage, is a main attraction of the Al Marmoom Heritage Festival, one of GCC’s sporting highlights of the year that celebrates the region’s rich heritage and camel racing.
The Heritage Village is set up for visitors to explore the Emirati way of life through handicrafts, cuisine, mock weddings, and music, in addition to small shops and kiosks that are organized to recreate a carnival like setting.
The Liwa Date Festival celebrates the date harvest season and showcases the palm tree and its products as a national wealth and an essential component of the cultural heritage in a story narrated in the ‘Heritage Village’.
Sheikh Zayed Festival’s heritage village reflects the UAE’s civilization and long history across 4 different environments: the marine, the land, the mountain, and agricultural environments. The village takes visitors through the UAE’s ancient heritage experience and evoke the fragrance of the past. It also showcases diverse ancient crafts such as pottery, dagger making, and sewing.
The heritage village under Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center, organized at Dubai’s Global Village, brings several authentic Emirati handicrafts and professions back to life in a live example of reshaping the UAE’s social fabric deeply rooted in history. The village’s design, renewed every year, features a theme inspired by the UAE’s traditional houses and environment, while hosting artisans demonstrating the traditional crafts of the UAE.
