Sharjah celebrates Ruler who built a world centre of culture in 50 years

Under the rule of Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Sharjah has grown from fishing town to global city

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, holds a news conference in San Francisco in 1973 to discuss plans for developing oil operations in the emirate. AP

High rise buildings and hotels sprout on the sandy shore of Sharjah during its transformation from fishing town to major city in 1977. AP

A British official mingles with local dignitaries at a feast in November 1971. AP

Sharjah's Central Souq in January 1980. AP

An electronics shop in the city in the 1970s. Getty

The park established by the Sharjah Municipality in front of Al Hisn, the city's fort, pictured in 1967. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

The Rolla tree in Sharjah in the 1950s during Eid celebrations. The enormous tree fell in 1978, to be commemorated by a statue in Rolla Square. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Old Sharjah Airport Mosque, which was located near the airport in Al Qasimia. It was demolished and Al Khayal Mosque was built at the same site. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Sharjah city seen from the east in the late 1960s including the Clock Tower Square. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Al Hisn. The old fort was built around 1820 by then Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, as Sharjah’s government headquarters. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

A mosque in Sharjah city in 1972. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

The entrance of the Sharjah Radio building, which was constructed in 1972. The station broadcast in Arabic for 16 hours a day. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

The Sharjah TV and Radio building in 1989. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Sharjah's Central Post Office in the 1970s. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Sharjah Public Library. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

The entrance to the Sharjah Radio building, constructed in 1972. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Eid celebrations in front of Al Hisn in the early 1970s. Photo: Sharjah Documentation and Archive Authority

Mleiha Archaeological Centre. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

Khor Fakkan Beach. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

Al Majaz Amphitheatre, Sharjah. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

Sharjah International Book Fair is an 11-day event that was first held in Sharjah in 1982. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

The College of Sharia and Islamic Studies is one of the foremost colleges that rose to prominence with the establishment of the University of Sharjah in the year 1977. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

Al Noor Mosque and Al Noor Island, which sits in Khalid Lake in the city of Sharjah. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

The House of Wisdom, Sharjah's state-of-the-art public library that opened in 2020. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

The Sharjah Mosque, the largest mosque in the emirate, opened in 2019. Photo: Sharjah Media Office

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, is shown a new housing and business development by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed, right, in 2020. The National

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, ​​​​​​presents his latest novel at a dinner reception hosted by the Sharjah Book Authority at the Literaturhaus in Frankfurt in 2018. Photo: Sharjah Media Corporation

Related: Eight highlights from the life of Sheikh Dr Sultan Al Qasimi

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, will on Tuesday celebrate 50 years since he took the helm of the emirate.

Under his rule, Sharjah has grown to be a global city of high-rise buildings, museums and nature reserves that more than a million people call home. It is also renowned across the world as a place of culture and education.

The emirate is a far cry from the Sharjah that Sheikh Dr Sultan was born into on July 2, 1939.

Then part of the Trucial States, it was an era when pearl fleets still crossed the Arabian Gulf, people lived in barasti huts and the Arabian leopard roamed freely.

The outbreak of the Second World War a few months after he was born brought immense hardship to the region, delaying the search for oil and leading to increases in food prices.

An RAF base at Sharjah, however, proved crucial to the Allied war effort in turning the tide of war. It was also the modern-day UAE's first airport.

High rise buildings and hotels sprout on the sandy shore of Sharjah in 1977. AP Photo

After the war, Sheikh Dr Sultan finished secondary school in Sharjah and Kuwait and undertook postgraduate studies during the 1960s in Cairo. By 1965, he chaired Sharjah Municipality and, after his graduation in 1971, managed the Ruler’s office.

When Britain announced in 1968 that it was to leave the Gulf in 1971, Sharjah joined the UAE and he became the UAE’s Minister of Education. He became Ruler of Sharjah on January 25, 1972.

In the five decades since, Sheikh Dr Sultan has been at the forefront of the emirate’s cultural, economic and social development, with education prioritised. Culture has also flourished. Sharjah is home to some of the Middle East’s top artistic centres and museums, such as Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Maraya Art Centre and the Barjeel Art Foundation, not to mention pioneering installations such as the Rain Room.

Old buildings such the Flying Saucer have been restored and turned into art hubs and community spaces, the historic heart of the city – the Heart of Sharjah – has been revamped, while stunning new libraries such as the House of Wisdom have been built.

Under Sheikh Dr Sultan's rule, Unesco declared Sharjah “cultural capital of the Arab world” in 1998. The UN body made it the “world book capital” in 2019. It was also honoured as Islamic culture capital in 2014 and capital of Arab tourism in 2019.

Sheikh Dr Sultan has also led the development of Sharjah’s east coast areas of Khor Fakkan and Kalba. A new Corniche was built in Kalba, with heritage buildings restored and Khor Kalba nature reserve rejuvenated.

Khor Fakkan has become a tourist destination in its own right, with a huge waterfall and Roman-inspired theatre wowing onlookers.

These are just a few of Sharjah's achievements over the past 50 years, prompting excited speculation of what the next five decades will bring.