Sharjah’s Al Montazah Parks has reopened for visitors, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has announced.
This comes as part of the authority's plan to gradually reopen all of its family entertainment destinations in the emirate, which began at the end of May and also includes Al Majaz Waterfront, The Flag Island, Khorfakkan Beach and Mleiha Archaeological and Ecotourism Project.
The leisure facilities had previously been closed in a bid to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Scroll through the gallery below to see more of the Mleiha Archaeological Centre:
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Umm an-Nar tomb from the Bronze Age at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre, Sharjah. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National -
The entrance to the Mleiha Archaeological Centre in Sharjah -
Follow the signs to the Mleiha Archaeological Centre in Sharjah -
A showcase of the baliya practice, in which people buried the dead along with a camel or a horse or both (mostly the animals they owned) in a senate grave -
The in-house cafe at Sharjah's Mleiha Archaeological Centre -
A tombstone featuring bi-lingual funerary inscription in Aramaic and ancient South Arabian script -
The palace site -
A fossil ammonite, 66 million years old -
The Faya cave site -
The Faya cave site at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre -
Learn more about the Faya cave site at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre -
Spot Arabian sand gazelle as you take a tour of the Mleiha Archaeological Centre site -
An active archaeological dig site -
A utahraptor claw, 70 million years old -
A tyrannosaurus tooth, 68 million years old -
A fossilised bird, 44 million years old -
A velociraptor skeleton, 90 million years old -
A close-up of the Umm an-Nar tomb -
Children can try making their own fossils with these moulds -
A gastropod found in UAE seas -
A fossil gastropod from Mleiha, 68 million years old -
A scenography of the Iron Age rock shelter grave BHS-30 at Jebal al-Buhais -
Stone tools, 10,000 years old on display -
The Mleiha Archaeological Centre is just another reason to visit Sharjah -
A Neolithic burial -
An amphora jar
Al Montazah Parks includes two attractions: Pearls Kingdom, a water park inspired by the legend of Princess Pearl, and the amusement park Island of Legends, which is themed around a time-travel journey through nine different countries. They have a total of 62 rides and slides between them.
Strict health and safety measures were put in place ahead of the reopening. This includes social-distancing protocols, disinfection of all facilities and attractions, sterilisation booths, thermal cameras and the provision of an on-site medical team. Visitors temperatures are checked on arrival, and all employees have theirs taken twice a day.
Smart and contactless payment methods are encouraged, while staff also sterilise banknotes.
The parks, which are now open from 10am to 7pm daily, currently have a limited capacity of 30 per cent, and signs and stickers have been posted around the areas in order to ensure visitors maintain their distance while waiting to go on rides and water slides.
There is also a dedicated ladies’ day every Tuesday, when only female visitors are allowed.
Khalid Ibrahim Al Qaseer, general manager of Al Montazah Parks, added: “Sharjah’s most popular and favourite entertainment park is equipped with staff members who will be supervising all the preventive measures being put in place on a daily and hourly basis, such as ensuring that gloves, face masks and physical distancing are applied across all areas of the destination, as well as making sure that the meal bags in restaurants, as well as select products in retail stores across Al Montazah Parks, are sterilised and packed properly to ensure the safety of all visitors.”
Al Montazah Parks first opened in 1979 and in 2018 underwent Dh100 million worth of renovations.
