The year is 1971 and a sense of action fills this photograph. It was taken at Al Ain’s Al Jahili Fort sometime around unification that December when the country was on the move.
Al Jahili Fort was built in the 1890s as a defence for the oasis and palm groves. It also became the headquarters of the Oman Trucial Scouts, the force that ensured stability in the region before unification.
While we don’t know exactly what meeting is taking place, we can see the scouts in their uniforms, piled into three off-road vehicles. Two men shake hands in the centre.
The Trucial Oman Scouts became the UAE’s Union Defence Force and the restored fort is now a tourist attraction, also housing an exhibition of photographs taken by British explorer Wilfred Thesiger.
This photo was taken by French photographer Bruno Barbey, who roamed the UAE in 1971. A selection of his photographs are on display at the Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai until
November 10, while the Al Jahili Fort will host the Aga Khan Award for Architecture ceremony tomorrow.
* John Dennehy
