Sheikh Hamdan’s poems now available on Emirates flights

A collection recited by the Crown Prince of Dubai is part of an in-flight package to promote traditional Emirati culture

Sheikh Hamdan records a narration to a science lesson for Arabic-speaking children in 2018. The Crown Prince will also take to the airwaves on Emirates' in-flight entertainment. Courtesy: Wam

A collection of poems recited by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed are now available for Emirates airline passengers to tune into while on board their flight.

Travellers can listen to audio recordings of poems, penned by the Crown Prince of Dubai, as part of the airline’s push to bring Emirati heritage and culture to the world.

Sheikh Hamdan has been writing poems since he was a teenager and uses the Nabati verse, a form of vernacular poetry popular in the UAE.

He often shares his poems on Instagram, where he is known as Faz3 or Fazza – his pen name and has more than nine million followers.

The package, produced by the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre and Al Oula Radio Network, will feature among 4,500 channels on the airline’s in-flight entertainment system and will reach passengers travelling to more than 150 destinations.

Nathalie Awadissian, managing director of the radio network, said the poetry delivered in the colloquial Emirati language conveyed the UAE’s rich heritage.

“They are rich in local vocabulary and reveal a large part of the old Emirati way of life,” she said.

Adel Al Redha, chief operating officer of Emirates, said the airline was proud to spread the culture of its home country to the world.

He said the poems will give people “a unique opportunity to learn more about the rich Emirati culture and heritage”.

The poems, along with a separate audio collection of Emirati proverbs and social values, are part of the airline’s goal to promote local traditions and encourage more understanding about the country.

Hind Al Qemzi, director of events at the heritage centre, said there were also plans to customise videos of activities such as the popular week-long camel trek adventures where tourists and residents travel through the desert using old-fashioned methods of navigation.

The Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre organises events and conducts research aimed at deepening young Emiratis' national identity.