DK Travel : Dubai & Abu Dhabi : Dubai Museum

Dubai Museum

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A visit to Dubai would be incomplete without a tour of this cleverly-planned museum. It offers a vivid picture of how Dubai has crammed into a third of a century what most cities achieve in several. Located in the creekside historic Bastakiya district, the museum is housed within and beneath one of the city’s oldest buildings, the Al Fahidi Fort. It traces the city’s meteoric development from small desert settlement to centre of the Arabian world for commerce, finance and tourism. Visit here to gain a sensory insight into traditions past and present.
A souvenir area sells traditional Bedouin artefacts, but it’s more fun, and cheaper, to bargain in the souqs. After your visit, retain the flavour of historic Dubai with lunch or coffee in the shady courtyard of nearby Basta Art Café .

Top 10 Features

1. Al Fahidi Fort

Originally built in 1787, this fort, with its magni-ficent watch tower, was constructed to defend the Emiratis against invasion. Renovated in 1971, it now serves as a city museum.
2. Barasti Wind-tower House

2. Barasti Wind-tower House

The fort’s courtyard houses a barasti (date palm reed) home and wind-tower cooling system, common in the region up to the 1950s.
3. Bedouin Traditions Display

A gallery displays the costumes, jewellery, weapons and tools of the Bedouin people. A holo-graphic video presentation of a tribe performing the ceremonial sword dance, the Ardah, is hypnotic.
4. Multimedia Presentation

A 10-minute film presentation, with archive footage, explains the development of modern Dubai from 1960 onward. The film takes you through a pictorial tour of Dubai’s trans-formation over 40 years, decade-by-decade.
5. Old Dubai Souq Dioramas

5. Old Dubai Souq Dioramas

Holographic technology combined with waxwork figures, smells, sounds and archive footage transport you into the creekside souq of half a century ago.
6. Islamic School Dioramas

6. Islamic School Dioramas

Young Emiratis recite the lines of the Koran under the eye of their tutor in this reconstruction of a 1950’s school.
7. Desert at Night Exhibitions

Learn how animals that live in the Arabian desert have adapted to cope with lack of water, extreme temperatures and shortage of food.
8. Underwater Pearl Diving Exhibition

8. Underwater Pearl Diving Exhibition

This gallery explains the techniques used by pearl divers who wore nose clips to descend to impossible depths.
9. Archaeological Finds

9. Archaeological Finds

Interesting artefacts from excavations of graves that date back to 3,000 BC, such as fine copper and alabaster objects and pottery, are on display.
10. Wooden Dhow

10. Wooden Dhow

A traditional Arab vessel, the dhow , is on show at the museum’s exit. For celestial navi-gation, sailors used the kamal, a device that determines latitude using the angle of the Pole Star above the horizon.

Practical Information

A souvenir area sells traditional Bedouin artefacts, but it’s more fun, and cheaper, to bargain in the souqs. After your visit, retain the flavour of historic Dubai with lunch or coffee in the shady courtyard of nearby Basta Art Café . Al Fahidi Fort, Al Fahidi St 353 1862 Open 8:30am–8:30pm Sat–Thu, 2:30pm–8:30pm Fri Adm www.dubaitourism.ae