- Address: Sultan Bin Zayed Al Awwal St, Al Mutawaa, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates
- Phone: +971 3 711 8331
- E-mail: Huda.almusaabi@tcaabudhabi.ae
- Opening date: 1971.
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday; All days except Friday - from 8:30 to 19:30, Fridays from 15:00 to 19:30
Those tourists who visit the UAE not only for the sake of beach holidays, but also interested in the history of the country, it is worth to visit the museum of El Ain (also pronounced "Al Ain"). It is the oldest museum not only in the Emirates, but also throughout the Persian peninsula. The National Museum is located on the territory of the Oasis of Al Ain , in the ancient fort of Al Jahili; its exposition tells about the history and traditions of the people of the emirate of Abu Dhabi .
A bit of history
The idea of creating the museum belonged to the sheikh Abu Dhabi and the president of the UAE, Zaid ibn Sultan al-Nahyan, who cared for the preservation of the country's cultural traditions and its historical heritage. The museum was founded in 1969 and was opened in 1970, it was then located in the palace of the sheikh. In 1971, he "moved" to a new location, where he still works. At the opening of the museum there was a representative of the President in the Eastern region, His Highness Sheikh Takhnun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan.
Exposition of the museum
The fort itself, built in 1910 by the son of Sheik Zayed the First, deserves attention. The museum contains 3 expositions:
- Archaeological. This department tells about the history of settlements on the territory of the UAE - beginning from the Stone Age and ending with the time of the birth of Islam. Here you can see Mesopotamian pots, whose age is more than 5 thousand years old (they were found in the tombs unearthed in Jebel Hafeet), a lot of Bronze Age tools, exquisite jewelry found in the tomb in the Al-Kattar area , and many others. other
- Ethnographic. In this section you can learn about the customs and culture of the peoples inhabiting the UAE, learn about the development of agriculture, medicine and sports in the country, and, of course, traditional arts. One of the sections, for example, is devoted to falconry, which played an important role in the culture of the emirate, and continues to play it even now. Here you can see a lot of pictures of Al Ain and the surrounding regions and understand exactly how the emirate developed in the last decades.
- "Gift". In the last section you can see the presents sent to the sheikhs of the UAE from the heads of other states. One of the most noteworthy gifts is the moonstone transferred to the United Arab Emirates by NASA.
How to visit the museum?
You can get here by ordering an appropriate excursion . In addition, the museum can be viewed independently. You can get to Al Ain from Abu Dhabi (buses leave the bus station once an hour, the journey time is 2 hours) and from Dubai (from the Gubeyba bus station located in the Bar Dubai district , the journey time is about 1.5 hours ).
The museum works daily, except on Mondays. On Fridays it opens at 15:00, the rest of the working days at 9:00, and closes at 17:00. The cost of a ticket in a dollar equivalent: an adult - about $ 0.8, a child - about $ 0.3.