- Address: Al Shindagha Rd., Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Phone: +971 2 681 4455
- Website: torath.ae
- Opening: 1997
In recent years, many museums have appeared in the United Arab Emirates , incl. and ethnographic. In them you can plunge into the life, culture and standard of living of nomadic Bedouins, whose generations have been growing in these deserts for many years. One of such interesting and unique museums is called the Heritage Village in Dubai .
General information
The most famous and bright cultural landmark of Dubai is the Heritage Village. Territorially, it is located near the Marina Mall on the Abu Dhabi Breakwater peninsula on the shore of the Dubai Gulf. Heritage Village is an ethnographic open-air museum.
According to archaeologists, the first settlements in this place appeared more than 4 thousand years ago, although the official date of the founding of the city is read in 1761. According to legend, the descendants of the tribe Bani Yas found fresh water in the desert just then. The creators of the museum tried to restore the appearance of the settlement in order to show visitors how it looked back in the middle of the 20th century.
The opening of the museum as one of the important historical sites of the country took place in 1997. The museum's task is to preserve and tell about the culture and life of the emirate of Dubai as much as possible and show how the Bedouins lived up to the beginning of the "oil development". In the next decade it is planned to increase the area of the museum to the whole area of Shindag.
What is interesting about Heritage Village?
The ethnographic museum looks like the most usual eastern village: tents and yurts, in which the nomads lived. Nearby are the workshops of artisans. Visitors to the Heritage Village come here to:
- to observe the work of tinsmiths and potters, jewelers and weavers, and if desired even take a feasible part in the work and creation of the product;
- to get acquainted with the archeological artifacts found during excavations (many of them date back to the 15th-5th centuries BC);
- snack fresh Arabian flat cakes from a local bakery;
- visit the spice store, which spoils tourists with culinary masterpieces;
- ride a camel.
Since the time of the first rulers, archaeologists have managed to unearth 50 tombs of real stone. The facades of these burials are interestingly decorated with images of different animals. In the local market you can buy a lot of souvenirs: national costumes, household items and kitchen utensils, ancient weapons or mock ship. Also here are trained falcons for hunting, and for entertainment tourists play musicians.
How to get to the Heritage Village?
The most convenient option to get to the Heritage Village is the metro . Just a few minutes walk from the museum is the metro station. A little further is the ferry, where ferries and vessels from all over Dubai and Abu Dhabi come, as well as the bus stop of the city routes Nos. 8, 9, 12, 15, 29, 33, 66, 67 and C07, X13, E100 and E306 .
The entrance to the village is free for all. The work time of the ethnographic museum is daily from 8:00 to 22:00, and on Fridays, visitors are expected from 15:00 to 22:00.