Abazid Murey, translator of the Dubai Court. Studied in Belarus. He graduated from the Minsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in energy. He studied the Russian language and literature in depth. His hobbies are journalism and journalism. Collaborates with leading emirate newspapers "Al Bayan" and "Alittihad", published in Arabic. The main topics of publications are the works of Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and other Russian writers.
This house was the official residence of the sheikhs of the ruling Dubai Al-Maktoum family. It was built by Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai in 1912-1958, and the grandfather of the current ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, back in 1896. The house was restored in the 80s, and now it stands proudly in the Shindag area at the very entrance to the Dubai Lagoon. Today in the Sheikh Saeed House there is a museum where rare collections of historical photographs, coins, seals, stamps and documents are exhibited, thanks to which you can get acquainted with the history of Dubai.
Acquaintance
The house of Sheikh Saeed stands on the very shore of the Dubai lagoon in the Shindag area. It has been listed as a national cultural monument and is a witness to the history of Dubai. Built in the nineteenth century, the House was the seat of local government, the core of political and social organizations of that time, and the official residence of Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum, the father of the then Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Said Al Maktoum, who was the first the "architect" of modern Dubai.
The unique restoration project to restore the Sheikh Saeed House, launched in 1986, received an award from the Arab Organization of Cities Protecting Historic Monuments. Today, the completely restored house is a museum that houses rare photographs, paintings, lithographs, as well as wax figures in costumes that vividly reflect the early development of the emirate. For those interested in Arab history, culture and architecture, Sheikh Saeed House can be a great source of information. In any case, it is worth a visit.
Architecture
Sheikh Saeed's home is a fine example of typical Arab architecture from the late nineteenth century. He vividly demonstrates the canons of Islamic art and the laws of building design of the time. Vaulted high ceilings, arched doorways, overhanging windows and elegant screens of gratings, everything that was fashionable in the late 1800s was used in the design of this two-story house. on the ground floor there is a large room for receptions and meetings (mejlis), spacious living rooms, storage rooms and a kitchen that overlooks the courtyard, surrounded by high walls that protect the desert from the hot wind. The top floor has many bedrooms with elegant balconies overlooking the Dubai Lagoon. The view from the balcony presents a stunning panorama of the city. the facade of the house is decorated with four wind towers (barges), which performed the functions of cooling the air in the hot summer months and were perhaps the very first prototypes of air conditioners in the world.
In paintings and photographs
An exhibition of rare photographs depicting Dubai between 1948 and 1953 gives an idea of how the city looked before oil was discovered. Located on both walls of the outbuilding called the Al-Maktoum Wing, the exhibition leads viewers through the Dubai growth and development process recorded in the photographs, which began to flourish under the wise guidance of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Said Al-Maktoum.
There are old photographs of the famous Al Fahidi Fort (now the building of the Dubai Museum), built around 1799 to protect the city from the invasion of the invaders, Al Ahmediya School, which began the process of universal secondary education in Dubai, and Al Maktoum Hospital, which brought the people of Dubai modern medical care.
Other exhibits include boats moored to the shore, fishermen's shacks and city blocks with their winding alleys and wind towers.
Sea life
Strong ties linking Dubai with the sea are presented in the “Sea Wing” of Sheikh Said’s House, where photographs, sculptures of fishermen and pearl hunters are exhibited. Here you will be shown a documentary chronicle that traces the development of the fishing industry, as well as shipyards on which wooden dhows are built, the process of weaving nets and the hard work of divers for pearls.
This wing displays models of various types of boats that were used at that time, including fishing schooners, pearl catcher boats, water taxis (abra), and ships called al sambuk and al jalbut. Here you can see the traditional devices and equipment of catchers and sellers of pearls, including scales, tools for measuring the size of pearls. All this is the story of Dubai, which not so long ago was considered the largest center for the extraction of natural pearls.
Social life
In a separate wing of the building, paintings and photographs are exhibited dedicated to the social, cultural, educational and religious development of Dubai in the 1950s. Models of residential buildings and wind towers clearly show the architecture of that time. Other exhibits demonstrate the art and folk dances traditional for the emirate, which eloquently tell about the lifestyle of local people.
A special photo essay will show visitors fragments from the life of the Bedouins and their daily work: digging wells, transporting a crop of dates on the backs of camels, collecting brushwood for sale on the market. In addition, there are unique photographs from camel races and from farms for breeding of hunting birds.
Other exhibits
Some of the earliest coins of old coinage, seals and typewriter postal paper used in Dubai are on display at Sheikh Saeed's House. Here you can see rare coins dating back to 1791, as well as the first postage stamps of Dubai and currency samples issued during the reign of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, which many still call the "father of Dubai." Priceless documents - letters, agreements, treaties, decrees, manuscripts and geographical maps telling about the history of the emirate, are also on display.
Sheikh Saeed's home is the place where Dubai began. Be sure to select a time to visit it.
