A collection of 10 million antiques and rarities, representing the pre-millennium lifestyle and heritage of the UAE, has gone on display at Souk Al Marfa.
The Museum Hub, which opened to the public on Wednesday, comprises 50 stalls at the waterfront marketplace on Deira Islands.
The stalls, dubbed "museums", are thematically curated. They present handmade portraits of UAE leaders, postal stamps, coins, jewellery, books and daggers, and medical and musical instruments.
The items also include decades-old mandoos chests, old licence plates from the seven emirates, rare stones, antique ice cream machines and a majlis set owned by UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
While a few of the exhibited objects are for sale, the ones that hold the most historical value will remain part of the collection.
It is a dizzying assortment, with some items dating back centuries, but what is most impressive about the objects is that they are all owned by one man.
Naser Sulaiman has been a dedicated accumulator of antiques for 45 years.
“I collect by my heart,” he says. “I have 300,000 classifications of antiques.”
The objects that are being presented at the Museum Hub, which organisers say are worth about Dh100 million, are only a fraction of Sulaiman’s assortment.
The hub is set to expand by another 50 stalls in September, with 50 more opening every six months until all of Sulaiman’s antiques are housed at Souk Al Marfa — or at least, a lion’s share of it.
“We first made 50 museums as a way of celebrating the UAE's 50th anniversary,” he says. “It is a summary of the history of the UAE. We’re going to open another 50 soon as a signal for the next 50 years. It will be another 10 million antiques.”
One of Sulaiman’s most prized objects from his collection are his agals. Sulaiman has dozens, if not hundreds, of variations of the black cord accessory worn by men in the region to keep their ghutra in place.
“I have four or five made out of gold,” he says. “They’re about 300 years old. I have one from leather that dates back 900 years. I even have a women’s agal. People can even wear it and take souvenir pictures.”
Museum Hub also includes a dedicated perfume and oud section, where visitors can experience different scents. They can also taste and purchase chocolate and confectionery, baked goods, a tailored collection of tea and coffee as well as hand-made ice cream that is prepared using the authentic Arabic stirring method.
While a large part of Sulaiman’s antiques focus on regional history and heritage, his full compilation includes rarities he has come across on his travels and these are housed around the world.
“I have antiques in 160 countries,” he says. “Most of them are housed with families that I trust in those countries. If I buy something I can carry back with me then I will. But storage is a big issue.”
Sulaiman says that while Museum Hub represents decades' worth of work, he is proud that his collection is now public. He says its true owners are the UAE’s leadership and people, and that he is merely its custodian.
“This museum is for everybody,” he says. “The aim is to educate and inspire tourists, expats and younger generations to learn about the heritage of our country and the advancements it has made in the past 50 years. Collectors will also have access to a rare collection that has not been tapped into before.”
More information is available at soukalmarfa.ae
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
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