by Andre Sanchez

The Al Fahidi Fort is one of Dubai’s most important historical monuments.  It was built at various dates from 1787 to 1799 to defend Dubai against invasion and is probably the oldest of the important architectural structures in Dubai.  It has an unusual construction of seashells and coral, stuck together with lime and is on two stories surrounding a central courtyard in the normal design of a fort.

It can be found in the city on the Bur Dubai side of the Creek, and is a popular tourist attraction.  It was converted into a museum in 1970-71, and displays the culture of the region as it developed through the ages. Prior to its conversion it has at various times been an arsenal, a private residence and a jail. Among its exhibits are Arab dhows, traditional Arabian weapons and other military equipment. 

At one time Dubai was a rich pearl fishing area, especially round the Creek, and even Marco Polo wrote about the Dubai pearl fishing industry.  This died out due to competition from the Japanese pearl industry, but the museum exhibits old pearl fishing costumes that bring back to life  this era of Dubai’s history.

If you are interested in history, especially of the Middle East, the Al Fahidi Fort is a charming and fascinating showcase, and also the site of the Dubai Museum, with well presented displays of traditional Arab life such as a Moslem school, a traditional souk, or market, and home life as it once was, and still is in many areas of the Middle East. There are exhibitions of pearl diving and fishing in a separate room.  The depiction of an oasis is particularly good, and you can imagine the Arab traders and wandering Bedouins visiting them and settling down for the night, having refreshed themselves after a long trail with the caravan, or moving their camp from one oasis to another.  

There is also a display of the desert by night with displays of some of the wildlife indigenous to the area. The whole museum complex with its lifelike dioramas and multimedia shows really gives a flavor of what life was like in this part of the world, well before the discovery of oil changed traditional lifestyles for ever. 

Some of the exhibits go back thousands of years, and if you are interested in archaeology as well as history, a real highlight is a complete grave taken from the Al Qusais site.  Al Qusais is a suburb of Dubai, and the site of an archaeological dig where remains of a settlement 3000 – 4000 years old were discovered.  Many of the finds are on display at the Al Fahidi Fort museum.

Apart from these, the Dubai Museum is not richly endowed with ancient artifacts, but more than makes up for that with its magnificent displays.  The courtyard has excellent displays of wooden dhows and palm huts. If you want a few souvenirs, try the museum gift shop which is similar to museum gift shops all round the world, only it offers examples of traditional Arab craftwork.

If you have an interest in archaeology, there are three sites around Dubai city that may be interest to you.  The Jumeirah archaeological site to the south of the city contains the excavations of large houses dating from the first few centuries of the Islamic era, and is the only entire settlement that has been excavated from this important period in Islamic history that has largely undamaged architecture. Artifacts from the site can be seen in the Dubai Museum.

There is also the Al Qusais site previously mentioned, that yielded finds of early weapons and other material that is again displayed at the Dubai museum, and a cemetery was also discovered with the settlement.  There is a suburb to the south of Dubai called Al Sufouh that is the site of a tomb and parts of a settlement.  The discovery of some pits nearby containing burned bones could indicate the practice of cremation, some containing the remains of up to fifty people indicating the possibility of mass cremation.  Perhaps the result of some epidemic, or even cremation of warriors after a battle.  Who knows?

All in all, Dubai is good for the archaeological or historical minded, and the Al Fahidi fort and the associated Dubai Museum give the visitor an insight into what life must have been like in this part of the world, long before oil was recognized as being of value, and even before the native way of life was changed by the influx of visitors that probably began with the Romans.