House Sheikha Saida
This house was the official residence of Sheikhs ruling in Dubai Family Al-Mackum. Sheikh Said Al-Mackum, the ruler of Dubai in 1912-1958, and the grandfather of the current ruler Dubai of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Mactoma back in 1896. The house was restored in the 80s, and now proudly towers in the Schindag area at the entrance to the Dubai lagoon. Today, in the house of Sheikh Said, there is a museum where rare collections of historical photos, coins, seals, stamps and documents are exhibited, thanks to which you can get closer to get acquainted with the history of Dubai.
Acquaintance
The house of Sheikh Said stands on the very shore of Dubai lagoon in the Syndaga district. He was listed in the list of national cultural monuments and is a witness to the history of the development of Dubai. Built back in the nineteenth century, the house was a place where local authorities were meeting, was the core of political and public organizations of the time, as well as the official residence of Sheikh Said Al-McCtum, the father of the then Crown Prince Dubai Sheikh Rashid Bin Said Al Maktuum, who became the first "architect" Owl Dubai.
A unique restoration project to restore Shaiha Said’s home, started in 1986, received a reward of the Arab organization of cities guarding historical monuments. Today, a fully restored house is a museum in which rare photos, paintings, lithographs, as well as wax figures in costumes, brightly reflecting the early development of the Emirate. For those who are interested in Arabic history, culture and architecture, the Sheikh Said’s house can be an excellent source of information. In any case, he is worth it to visit.
Architecture
Sheikh Said’s house is a great example of a typical Arabic architecture of the late nineteenth century. He brightly demonstrates the canons of Islamic art and the laws of designing buildings of that time. Vaulted high ceilings, arched doorways, hanging windows and graceful lattice screens, all that was fashionable at the end of the 1800s used in the project of this two-storey house. On the first floor there are a large reception room and meetings (Majlis), spacious living rooms, storage facilities and a kitchen, which goes to the courtyard, surrounded by high walls that protect the hot wind of the desert. Upper floor is a lot of bedrooms with elegant balconies, leaving the Dubai lagoon. View from the balcony is a stunning panorama of the city. The facade of the house is decorated with four wind towers (Barzil), which performed air cooling functions in the hot summer months and were perhaps the most first in the world of air conditioners in the world.
In pictures and photos
The exhibition of rare photos, on which Dubai depicts from 1948 to 1953, gives an idea of how city looked like oil detection. Placed on both walls of the Flegene called "Al-Macchum wing", The exhibition leads viewers through the process of growth and development of Dubai recorded in the photographs, which began to flourish under the wise leadership of the late Sheikh Rashid Bin Said al-Maktuum.
There are old photos of the famous Fort Al Fakhidi (now the building of the Dubai Museum), built in about 1799 to protect the city from the invasion of the invaders, Al Ahmedia, who began the process of universal secondary education in Dubai, and Al-Mackum Hospital, which brought residents of Dubai modern medical care.
In other expositions, boats moored to the shore, fishermen shacks and urban quarters with their winding alleys and wind towers are presented.
Sea life
Strong bonds connecting Dubai with the sea are presented in "Sea wing" Sheikh Said’s houses, where photos, sculptures of fishermen and pearl curbs are exhibited. Here you will show a documentary chronicle in which the development of the fish industry is traced, as well as the shipyard, on which wooden boats are built, the process of weaving networks and hard work of divers for pearls.
In this wing, models of various types of boats used in those days, including fishing schooners, pearl cattle boats, water taxis (abra) and vessels called "Al Sambuk" and "Al Jalbut". Here you can see traditional devices and inventories of the catches and pearl sellers, including scales, tools for measuring the magnitude of pearls. All this is the story of Dubai, who has not yet been recently considered the largest natural pearl production center.
Social life
In a separate wing of the building, paintings and photos devoted to the social, cultural, educational and religious development of Dubai in the 1950s are exhibited. Layouts of residential buildings and wind towers clearly show the architecture of that time. Other exposures demonstrate traditional art and folk dances for Emirates, which are eloquently talk about the lifestyle of local people.
Special photo wooker will show visitors fragments from the life of Bedouins and their daily work: Drain of wells, transportation of the harvest of dates on the spins of camels, collection of twigs for sale in the market. Also, there are unique photos from camels and with farms for breeding birds.
Other exhibits
A part of the earliest coins of the old chasing, seals and postal paper for printed machines that were used in Dubai are demonstrated in the Sheikha Said house. Here you can see rare coins related to 1791, as well as the first postage stamps of Dubai and the samples of the currency released during the reign of Sheikh Rashid Bin Said al-Maktum, which many still call "Father Dubai". Priceless documents – letters, agreements, contracts, decrees, manuscripts and geographical maps telling about the history of the Emirates, are also exhibited for universal Furnishing.
Sheikha Said’s house is the place from which Dubai began. Be sure to select time to visit it.
