Organizers of the Qasr Al Hosn Festival invited media onsite on Tuesday to preview what awaits people when the festival opens its doors on Thursday at 6pm. Think higher than your usual cultural festival in the UAE. Yes, there will be henna-painting, weaving demonstrations, falcons and camels, along with traditional crafts and Emirati food for sale, but in a setting that recreates what it must have been like when Qasr Al Hosn was surrounded by sand, with arish huts, some vintage desert vehicles and uniformed troops from the era before the UAE was formed. It's only Dh10 to wander the grounds, and it's worth it just to pause amongst all of this, looking up at the high-rises circling this small patch of desert and marvel at how much Abu Dhabi has grown. Not to mention, it's the closest we've come to Al Hosn, the star of the show, in a long time. <em>* Words and pictures by Maureen Gannon</em>
