In 2021, the UAE celebrates its Golden Jubilee, postponing Expo 2020 Dubai, and with the opening of the Museum of the Future, the young nation is preparing for the future.
But it has also begun to pay more attention to the ancient past, with many sites across the country revealing forgotten secrets and mysteries to curious visitors.
Saruq Al-Hadid
According to Mansour Boraik, Dubai’s chief archaeologist, the discovery of this Bronze Age settlement in the Dubai desert in 2002 upended our understanding of ancient life in southern Arabia. “People used to think that five thousand years ago, people moved to the coast to fish and trade,” explains Bolek, “but Saruk Hadid was a wooded oasis where people hunted animals and settled.” This early metallurgical center was occupied from the third millennium BC until it was abandoned during the Iron Age, leaving behind a bewildering array of things. More than 12,000 objects were found, including daggers, seals, gold jewelry, and, perhaps most intriguingly, hundreds of metal snakes. The Saruk Hadid Archaeological Museum on Dubai Creek houses these and other finds.
Jebel Hafit Desert Park
Al Ain in the emirate of ABU Dhabi has been a vital desert oasis for thousands of years. It is also home to ABU Dhabi’s highest mountain, Jebel Hafit, and Jebel Hafit Desert Park, a recently opened website showcasing the various societies in the area. Marked hiking trails lead to 122 beehive-shaped sarcophagi built by semi-nomadic people during the Bronze Age more than 5,000 years ago. Archaeologists have explored many of these places, while others still hold potential treasures; Mesopotamian ceramics found here prove that Ain was a stop on an ancient trade route. The mausoleum is best viewed in the honey-colored light of early morning – wake up to enjoy the desert sunrise after spending the night in the park’s yurt. Simple and delicious options are available at the on-site dining truck, but for an authentic desert camp experience, barbecue dinner in your fire pit.
Archaeological site of Jumeirah
On Dubai’s waterfront lies the ruins of a 9th-century city, the oldest early Islamic-era site ever found in the UAE. At the New Jumeirah Archaeological Site Visitor Center, you can see excavated finds, including ruby beads, glazed jars, and silver coins, before taking a guided carriage tour of the market, the remains of the mosque, and even the city’s first “hotel” – a thousand-year-old caravan post that served traders from Oman, Persia and beyond. The on-site Khat teahouse is ideal for sipping the sweet Karak tea and reflecting on the remaining mysteries. Archaeologists are still trying to understand where the inhabitants got their fresh water: no evidence of Wells or springs has been found.
Mleiha Archaeological Centre
One area has risen to prominence in the rolling red sand dunes of the emirate of Sharjah, north of Dubai. Archaeological finds at Mleiha date back 130,000 years, suggesting it may have been one of the first places modern humans arrived after leaving Africa. This excellent archaeological center displays these and other artifacts from the Late Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Ages, including flint tools from the sixth millennium BC, red coral necklaces from the Bronze Age, and foreign coins from the first century. A four-wheel drive tour will take you to a stone outcrop full of Marine gastropod fossils, then stargazing through high-powered binoculars in a private Bedouin-style tent—the best time travel.
