Islamic Botanical Gardens tour highlights health benefits of home-grown vegetables

SHARJAH // The use of home-grown vegetables to promote good health was on display on a tour of Islamic Botanical Gardens hosted by the Sharjah Arts Foundation.

The tour offered an insight into Emirati heritage as part of the public and education programme for Sharjah Biennial 13: Tamawuj, an exhibition of events running until October.

Muna Al Hadidi, who has been inviting visitors and helping cultivate the produce said the gardens, which are within Sharjah’s Desert Park, offered an important lesson of healthy eating ahead of Ramadan.

“The gardens contain all of the plants which are mentioned in the Quran as being good for the body,” she said.

“More people here are choosing to eat naturally, and to use more organic food - we should all be turning away from fast-food and these kind of unhealthy foods.

“Here we can grow garlic, olives and onions to use in salads, and also in many other dishes. There is also pomegranates and bananas which can also be used to make healthy drinks.”

An on-site cafeteria is serving up traditional Arabic and Emirati cuisine using vegetables and produce from the gardens.

“It is proving popular - we had more than 300 visitors on Friday,” she added.

The year-long festival features more than 50 international artists, with the biennial encompassing exhibitions and a public programme in Sharjah and Beirut.

“We have organised the biennial to encourage visitors to look at local traditions to help preserve the heritage of the nation,” said a spokeswoman for the Sharjah Arts Foundation.

“A series of workshops are taking place throughout the year to educate about various topics, such as the use of medicinal native herbs and plants taken from the desert, how to fish and preserve fish, or how to make pickles.

“We are very interested in how the Quran is a scientific reference as to how these herbs have certain medicinal properties, as well as being a spiritual guide.”

The arts foundation will shortly announce a new programme to take place throughout Ramadan.

The gardens are open to visitors from 9am until 6pm, except Friday, when times are 10am to 6pm, and Saturday, when it is 11am to 7pm. During Ramadan the opening hours are from 9.30am to 1.30pm.