(CNN) — The UAE could have only just celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence but Abu Dhabi has a hundreds of years-previous previous.
The biggest of the emirates features an array of UNESCO World Heritage web-sites as properly as some of the country’s most very well-preserved forts which showcase its crucial geographical area in excess of the centuries, telling the tale of the Emirati people’s link to both land and sea.
A limited travel to the oasis town of Al Ain is the place some of the most magical gems of the bygone generations arrive to daily life, a dwelling museum paying homage to the country’s Bedouin roots.
The birthplace of the country’s founder and to start with president, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, Al Ain is a have to for website visitors to the UAE for a accurate style of its genuine lifestyle and heritage.
Regarded as the Yard Metropolis, Al Ain was once a essential green oasis on the caravan route from the UAE to Oman and is now residence to many UNESCO guarded web-sites.
In this article are some of Abu Dhabi’s critical archaeological and historic treasures.
Qasr Al Hosn
The 18th-century Hosn Palace, or Qasr al Hosn, started as a one watchtower in the 18th century and, as the complex grew, sooner or later became the seat of electricity until finally the late 1960s.
“There are beautiful tales about the palace told by people that utilized to live about this location,” suggests Nataly Leslie, a tour information in the emirate. “The palace door was really a lot open for persons to speak to the sheiks and notify them their considerations.”
These days, the palace remains a critical attraction not only for holidaymakers but Emiratis alike, who appear and sit in the palace coffee shop to savor the spot they have listened to their ancestors talk of so fondly.
The palace also showcases local lifestyle with regular exhibitions and situations.
Al Ain Oasis
Al Ain is home to 100 versions of date palm.
Barry Neild/CNN
The initially of the UAE’s UNESCO internet sites was the extraordinary Al Ain Oasis.
Established in the heart of the spot recognised as The Backyard garden Metropolis, the site dates again a lot more than 4,000 years and is evidence of a person of the very first irrigation systems of contemporary moments.
The system, identified as “falaj,” took h2o from the nearby Hajar Mountains by way of a series of slim waterways continue to visible currently.
Guests can take curated strolling trails by way of the internet site which covers over 1,200 hectares and contains a lot more than 147,000 day palm trees and 100 types of date.
The centuries-aged falaj system was only up-to-date in the 20th century with the introduction of pumps. An eco-centre is also offered for site visitors to get a deeper being familiar with of the historic Bedouin irrigation devices.
Bidaa Bint Saud
A treasure trove for archaeology fanatics, Bidaa Bint Saud, an historical caravan web page, is found 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Al Ain.
The interesting space which after experienced a large group of farmers extending all the way to the northern emirates, all using the area’s network of falaj irrigation devices, features a scarce Iron Age setting up and 5,000-yr-aged Bronze Age tombs as perfectly as the towering Gharn Bint Saud.
This 40-meter-tall rock rises earlier mentioned the landscape with many historical stone tombs at the leading. A number of of the discoveries from the spot these kinds of as pottery, dagger blades, jewelry and bronze arrowheads, are now on display screen at the Al Ain Countrywide Museum.
Hili Archaeological Park
Relationship back to the Bronze Age (3200 BCE to 1300 BCE) and Iron Age (1300 BCE to 300 BCE), this region demonstrates proof of the ancient daily life the moment dwelling in the area’s deserts.
Archaeologists have uncovered villages, burial grounds and agricultural infrastructure from what is now referred to as the Umm an-Nar period of time, named after the island off the coast of Abu Dhabi where by the continues to be of the lifestyle ended up first discovered.
It is also household to the UAE’s premier collection of tombs and properties from this time period.
Jebel Hafit Tombs
The 500 tombs identified at the base of Jebel Hafit (Hafit mountain) day back again to the start of the Bronze Age. Now site visitors can camp at the historical website in luxurious air-conditioned pods.
In addition to currently being Abu Dhabi’s highest peak, Jebel Hafit (Hafit mountain) is also household to all-around 500 5,000-year-outdated tombs which mark the start of the Bronze Age in the UAE.
Very first uncovered via excavations back in 1959, archaeologists discovered ceramic vessels and copper artifacts in the igloo-like tombs which showed the worth of maritime trade throughout the Arabian Gulf.
The solitary chamber tombs are a remarkable site supplying a window into a time absent by.
Tour guideline Leslie phone calls this 1 of Abu Dhabi’s “concealed gems.”
“Most men and women never know about all these discoveries in this location,” she claims. “Even however the UAE is a relatively younger nation, it has ancient conclusions that show that this area was when a fast paced place in which history was made.”
Maqta Fort
This modest but essential fort at the gateway to Abu Dhabi’s major island was erected in the late 18th century applying essential materials these types of as coral stones, seaside rock and sand and its tower would guard and protect Abu Dhabi for a lot of a long time to occur.
“Even though Qasr al Hosn developed into a put of good value for the regional men and women, Maqta Fort became a relaxation stop for folks coming into Abu Dhabi,” states Leslie.
Al Ain Palace Museum
Al Ain Palace was when the residence of the UAE’s ruling relatives.
dudlajzov/Adobe Stock
As soon as the residence of the late Sheikh Zayed, the very first president of the UAE, Al Ain Palace was lived in by the ruling family till the 1960s prior to they designed the emirate’s town their long-lasting household as Abu Dhabi’s primary island transitioned into a political and financial funds.
People can get a glimpse of life inside of the home which stands as a memory of the time right before oil was found out in the mid-20th century.
Though not “aged” compared to other internet sites in the emirate — the oldest developing at the complicated is from 1937 — it is produced of the common resources of the era, dotted with the traditional courtyards which characterised this sort of attributes in the location during that interval.
Now a museum, visitors can see the significant hyperlinks amongst previous and present and enjoy Abu Dhabi’s fast transformation from Bedouin everyday living to present day affluence.
“If you are a fan of record and want to study about the royal family and regular architecture of this time, this is the ideal position to go, claims Shamsa Al Naqbi, an Emirati tour guide.
“It is really an perception into the life of the royal relatives, their rooms, the fashion of architecture, things they would use, so it can be a actually great put to go to to see the genuine record of the UAE. It also definitely reveals the transition our ancestors built to the present day UAE we have today.”
Sir Baniyas Island Church and Monastery
A very little off the overwhelmed monitor is Sir Baniyas Island in the Western Region which can be attained by boat or flight from Abu Dhabi as a result of the Anantara resort, which manages the distant island’s tourism.
Discovered in the early 1990s, the church and monastery is the only pre-Islamic Christian site found in UAE, discussed Leslie. It’s the supply of hundreds of artifacts supplying a intriguing perception into everyday living for the duration of this period.
“Like everyday living in the UAE prior to the discovery of oil, the inhabitants of this settlement utilized the sea as their resource of meals,” she mentioned. “They also saved animals like sheep and cattle and traded throughout the Arabian gulf and into the Indian ocean.”
Sir Baniyas Island is now a wildlife reserve, dwelling to a extensive vary of safeguarded animals from Arabian oryx to gazelle which website visitors can witness 1st-hand on safaris.