Abu Dhabi: Now explore early Emirati life at Sheikh Zayed’s Heritage Village

Abu Dhabi: The Sheikh Zayed Festival in Abu Dhabi has highlighted the UAE’s cultural heritage as part of its main goal of preserving national identity.

A series of events, attractions and pavilions during the festival place particular emphasis on Emirati traditions. Chief among these is the Heritage Village at the heart of the festival grounds. It showcases the Emirati heritage by replicating the four main environments in which Emirati civilization settled and flourished: the marine environment, the desert environment, the mountain environment and the agricultural environment.

Each replica offers visitors a glimpse into early life in the UAE through life-size models created to reflect the realities of these environments.

Heritage Village features a large signage of ‘Hayakom’ (meaning ‘Welcome’ in the Emirati dialect) built according to local design principles. The gates in the area are models of ancient military architectural designs to ward off external threats. Through its installations, the area transports visitors away from the real world and takes them back to a simpler life in earlier times, with their earth and palm frond houses evoking nostalgia and interest in the cultural roots of the UAE.

The village is a collaboration between several government agencies working to preserve and showcase Emirati culture to the public, including the General Women’s Union (GWU), the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Emirates Falconry Club, the Arab Saluki Centre, and the Abu Dhabi Ocean Sports Club.

GWU offers women’s workshops by several women experts in traditional handicrafts, using spinning mills and weaving to produce a variety of textiles such as Al Sadu, Talli, wool and weaving rugs. In addition, there are many other traditional handicrafts in the village that will remind new generations of life in the past. The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation focuses on showcasing home-made products in the UAE.

The Emirati Heritage Club also brings back the Al Hadeera, a group of elders, or Al Showab in the Emirati dialect, to prepare traditional coffee in the traditional way, surrounded by a wall made of palm leaves, called Leptadenia in the Emirati dialect. Other trees such as Acacia tortilis and Ghaf were also used to stabilize the building’s walls and protect against strong winds.

Al Hadeera is open from the windshield side to protect seated occupants from dust and sand. The lounge area is conceived as a winter sanctuary, a place to light a fire and prepare coffee, as well as a place to tell stories and make memories. Al Tawa – a flat, heavy saucepan – and Al Mehmas are the main tools used to roast the coffee. Al Tawa is made of iron. Al Mehmas are iron or copper spatulas used to mix coffee grounds when roasting coffee, or to lift bread from a hot surface.

The Emirates Falconers Club, on the other hand, showcases the art of falconry and aims to raise awareness of the importance of the art of falconry as a legacy that prioritizes sustainable hunting methods and ethics.

The first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf region and the Middle East, the Arabian Saluki Center showcases the greyhound or Saluki breed with the aim of reviving the sport of hunting and training greyhounds for hunting and educating people about their role in hunting Falconry, maintaining the purity of the gene pool of elite breeds and providing those interested with the necessary knowledge on how to care for and train them.

The Abu Dhabi Marine Sports Club showcases model boats in the center of the village, aiming to inspire a passion for marine sports and an appreciation for traditional and modern boats.

The village features an Emirati heritage photo booth where tourists and visitors can take memorable photos in traditional Emirati attire. The studio also offers a traditional grocer – Al Dukan – selling a variety of old food items that bring Emirati nostalgia, and a henna dyeing station where visitors can experience the application of the oldest and most common cosmetic substance, These substances are still used today.