How to discover Sharjah’s cultural side

The Sharjah Biennial gets under way in a little less than two months, but the city and emirate have all manner of hidden gems and historic curios to discover all year round, as Rym Ghazal discovers.

The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization. Sarah Dea / The National

The name Al Sharjah refers to light and sunrise, and the emirate has been a beacon of knowledge and culture, living up to its name where light is tied with seeking knowledge.

Sharjah served as Capital of Islamic Culture in 2014, but before that, in 1998, Unesco recognised it as the cultural capital of the Arab world.

The emirate has 17 museums, 662 mosques, an annual ­international book fair, which started in 1982, and the Sharjah Biennial, which began in 1993 and will stage its 12th edition from March 5 to June 5.

There’s always something going on in Sharjah, from exhibitions at its many museums and events at the Sharjah Expo ­Centre to surprises at the small independent stalls often strewn along the major waterfront sites, including the bustling Al Majaz Waterfront, one of the hosts of the Sharjah World Music ­Festival, which starts today and runs until January 25.

Busy throughout the day and packed during the evening, Al Majaz Waterfront is located on Al Buhaira Corniche Road (the best way to reach it is by car or taxi). A place that you can visit at any time, it has restaurants and cafes sandwiched between a park and Khalid Lagoon Corniche, and has a 100-metre-high water fountain and a 750-metre jogging track surrounded by palm trees and flower beds. The track has been made out of 6,000 recycled tyres, as part of a green development venture. Every Saturday, there’s the Ripe Food and Craft Market at the main entrance of Al Majaz ­Waterfront. It’s free to enter and runs from 9am to 2pm.

The heritage heart of Sharjah and its art

The Radisson Blu Resort is within walking distance of the city’s heritage area, making it a good place to base yourself. A traditional hotel, Al Bait Hotel, is set to open this year and is actually in the heritage area, which comprises renovated old homes. For now, there’s the Sharjah Heritage Hostel, in the heritage area, behind Al Zahra Mosque. It offers two-star ­accommodation, and is quite simple, with a dormitory­-style set-up.

As you leave the hotel, walk along the Corniche, passing the architecturally impressive, gold-domed Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization. Tickets for all Sharjah museums are Dh5for adults and free for ­children.

This is one of the most-­celebrated museums in Sharjah, with special exhibitions from time to time, together with 5,000 exquisite Islamic artefacts, including manuscripts from all over the Islamic world, arranged according to themes, across seven spacious galleries and display areas. From discoveries and inventions to arts and crafts, gold, silver and textile handicrafts, as well as jewellery, coins and dress, visitors are bound to learn something new about the ­Islamic world.

For instance, in AD 953, when the Sultan of Egypt demanded a pen that would not stain his clothes, the world’s first ­fountain pen was invented and presented to him. The number zero, the decimal point in arithmetic, algebra, tools that measure celestial bodies, breakthroughs in medicine – such as the treatment of cataracts and glaucoma – are just a sample of the wealthy legacy of the ­Islamic civilisation and its greatest minds.

From the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, continue along the main Corniche Road and visit the many cluttered stores of a modern yet traditional market, known as the Iranian Souq, which boasts spices, food, household items such as dishes and traditional Arabic coffee mugs and pots, as well as tailors and clothes that probably have never been showcased on any ­catwalk.

The artistic heart of Sharjah, which is right behind the line of stores, can’t be missed, with the ­Sharjah Art Museum’s massive traditional barajeel (wind towers) beckoning passersby to come in for a tour of Oriental, historic and modern art exhibitions. It’s next to the Sharjah Art Foundation, which also holds exhibitions, as well as educational public events and programmes. For the latest activities, visit www.sharjahart.org.

Farther along the main ­Corniche Road is the Heritage Area, also known as the Heart of Sharjah. It’s distinct, with its small traditional homes that have been turned into museums and centres, such as the Sharjah Centre for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy and Ornamentation (06 568 0848), where one can sign up to learn calligraphy and Arabic writing. Keep walking around to find the “Al Khat” script square, which is where this centre is located, as all the traditional homes look the same but have signs on them marking what they house.

In this heart, there are at least seven museums. One that shouldn’t be missed is the Sharjah Heritage Museum (06 568 0006), which covers everything about the UAE, including the way of life, national dress, what was traded and the lives of women and children. Visitors can listen to traditional songs and djinn tales in a room dedicated to oral heritage. There’s also a traditional toy and games museum, which is tiny but worth a visit, as the man running it will teach you a game or two that the whole family can enjoy.

Other places to visit include an old school, Al Eslah School Museum. Set up in 1935, it was the first formal educational institute in Sharjah and welcomed students from across the region.

A whole day can be spent in this heart alone, as there are also souqs to visit, such as the oldest one in Sharjah, Souq Al Arsah, which houses many unique antique shops as well as carpets and ­traditional Emirati trinkets, such as money, military equipment, telephones, toys made of tin and even stuffed small crocodiles. For location details, visit www.heartofsharjah.ae.

Drive or take a taxi to the nearby Central Market or Blue Souq, so named because of its beautiful blue tiles. Close to Khalid Lagoon, it’s said to be one of the most-photographed buildings of Sharjah – rightfully so, as it’s exquisite. With more than 600 shops, selling everything from rugs and antiques to gold and silver, it’s perfect for tourists visiting from abroad or from within the UAE who are looking for souvenirs. It’s open seven days a week, from 9am to noon and 4pm to 11pm.

Al Qasba: dining, strolling and art

Not far from the Heart of Sharjah, along Al Taawun Road (you’ll need a car to get there), is the artistic and quaint Al Qasba. It features arabesque architecture, a one-kilometre-long canal and the 60-metre-high Eye of the Emirates Ferris wheel. Al Qasba houses the Maraya Art Centre, a three-storey art space that always has something creative and experimental on show. With free ­entry, visitors can wander around each floor viewing the unique ­exhibits.

On the second level, for instance, you can view modern and contemporary Arab art at Barjeel Art Foundation (06 556 6555; www.barjeelartfoundation.org). The foundation’s guiding principle is to contribute to the intellectual development of the art scene in the Arab region by building a prominent, publicly accessible art collection in the UAE.

Two exhibitions are currently on display. The first, entitled Marwan: Topographies of the Soul, is ­the Syrian artist Marwan Kassab Bachi's first solo exhibition in the GCC and features works from the 1960s to 2013. The second exhibition, Aide-Mémoire, is a conceptual show of contemporary Arab art. Both exhibitions can be viewed until February 6.

The Barjeel Art Foundation is open Saturday to Thursday, 10am to 10pm, and Fridays, 4pm to 10pm.

Other gems: a bit out of the way, but worth a visit

Along the highway to Al Dhaid, there’s a series of wonderful sites that are often forgotten, as they are far from central Sharjah. Approximately 25 kilometres east of the city on the E88, at interchange 9, is the Sharjah Desert Park.

Here, you’ll find Arabia’s Wildlife Centre, which has some of the Arabian Peninsula’s rarest animals, such as the Arabian leopard, the Arabian wolf, sand cats and all kinds of other mammals, rodents, insects, fish and birds that are indigenous to the area. It’s indoors, so it can be visited at any time of the year. It’s open daily (except Tuesday), from 9am to 6pm. The park also has a wonderful natural-history museum, a botanical museum filled with fresh plants and a children’s farm.

Inside the natural-history museum, visitors can see the oldest rock in the UAE – a 600-million-year-old lump of volcanic ash from Sir Bani Yas Island.

Next to it is the oldest rock in the world – a 3.9-billion-year-old gneissic rock from Acasta River, Northwest Territories, Canada. It was formed 700 million years after the origin of Earth, which is thought to be 4.54bn years old. Entry costs Dh15 for adults and is free for children under 16. For more information, visit www.breedingcentresharjah.com.

Driving along Al Dhaid Road, you’ll spot signs for other attractions, which are worth a visit if you like history, old photos and rarities from the past. There’s the Dr Sultan Al Qasimi Centre for Gulf Studies, near the University City in Sharjah, which houses an impressive collection of old maps, including the oldest world map of Ptolemy, which was originally conceived in the second century and first printed in 1493. It’s open Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm, and entry is free.

Along the same road, there’s also the Sharjah Classic Car ­Museum. It has about 85 classic cars, from 1915 to the 1980s, as well as two motorcycles and five bicycles. Interesting facts about the world’s most famous designs come alive at the museum.

If you have a car, drive all the way to Khor Fakkan, Kalba and Dibba Al Hisn in the Eastern Region, which are part of Sharjah and offer a serene getaway from the city. These areas offer natural mountain landscapes, water sports and pleasant walks along the waterfront, past traditional homes and alleyways.

There’s always something happening in Sharjah – it’s by simply wandering about that one discovers its many hidden gems.