Over the course of a century, Sharjah’s buildings have collected their own stories of the emirate’s history and development, according to author and arts patron Sultan Al Qassemi.
Speaking at the Thessaloniki Book Fair on Saturday, where Sharjah is the guest of honour, Al Qassemi discussed the 2021 book Building Sharjah, a co-edited compendium of the emirate's modern architecture.
An Arabic translation is also in the works.
Due to Sharjah’s strategic location for the British Empire prior to the UAE’s formation and its reputation as a regional hub for trade, Al Qassemi, who founded the Barjeel Arts Foundation, said the emirate set the tone for the multiculturalism that would become a hallmark for the entire country.
"The Emirate of Sharjah, it is a microcosm of the Arab world. It is a city that is very globalised even before globalisation became a theme. It is a city that accepted people from the west and east over more than one century," he said.
"Sharjah is a city that also saw the first airport being built on the coast before the UAE was founded and many of the first educational and cultural institutions was established there.”
Featuring 600 images, Building Sharjah traces that development by featuring a combination of the emirate's most famous buildings and hidden gems. These include the Sharjah Post Office, the Airport Mosque with its elaborate facade, the Sheba Hotel where traders and entrepreneurs often met, as well as The Central Souq and Al Qasimia Primary School for Boys.
More than the dazzling designs, some of these forgotten buildings provide commentary on what was happening on the ground.
"The book also has an image of the first purpose-built cinema in Sharjah in the 1960s,” Al Qassemi said.
“What is interesting is that as part of the building is a Chinese restaurant. This tells us that Sharjah had Chinese communities were residing here more 70 years ago.”
Building Sharjah was nearly a decade in the making, with most of time spent collating never seen before photos and testimonies from photographers, architects and former residents of the buildings highlighted in the book.
One of which is the Flying Saucer, a fabulously brutalist structure built in 1978 that became a shopping hub before being renovated and reopened in 2020 as an arts and events space.
"I had a contact in Australia who obtained the images from the engineer who maintained the building,” Al Qassemi said.
Sharjah’s buildings also challenge misconceptions surrounding its environment, he notes, one of which is that the emirate is a desert city.
"It is not true because Sharjah has various landscapes," he said. "There are oases, mountainous areas and there are these large swaths of desert."
The construction method of Sharjah buildings are often dictated by the terrain, Al Qassemi notes.
"In the past, we used to build coastal buildings using corals, which we now preserve as it is a living organism, and clay. “While in the mountainous areas, stone and rocks were used. And because of Sharjah's strong trade with the Indian subcontinent, there was a lot of teak wood imported,” he said.
Sometimes, these disparate materials come together as in Sharjah's former airport, which is now the Al Mahatta Museum.
“This building contains clay and coral, and secondly, cement, aluminium and glass,” Al Qassemi said. “This is the first building in the UAE and perhaps maybe even in the Gulf, where we can see the use of all these materials together.”
Speaking to The National after his session, Al Qassemi states architecture's role should not be ignored in cultural discussions as the story of Sharjah’s buildings is ultimately a human one.
"It is more than just being a technical conversation. You can tell a lot about the city because it shows you its character and reflects the people who live there, who all have their own individual stories," he says.
"You can also tell a lot about the city's embrace of its citizens, as well as migrants across the decades and centuries. So if you think about low-cost housing, whether it's in the city centre or the outskirts, it reflects the embrace of people who come from a different social income class.”
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
RESULTS
Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) beat Azizbek Satibaldiev (KYG). Round 1 KO
Featherweight: Izzeddin Farhan (JOR) beat Ozodbek Azimov (UZB). Round 1 rear naked choke
Middleweight: Zaakir Badat (RSA) beat Ercin Sirin (TUR). Round 1 triangle choke
Featherweight: Ali Alqaisi (JOR) beat Furkatbek Yokubov (UZB). Round 1 TKO
Featherweight: Abu Muslim Alikhanov (RUS) beat Atabek Abdimitalipov (KYG). Unanimous decision
Catchweight 74kg: Mirafzal Akhtamov (UZB) beat Marcos Costa (BRA). Split decision
Welterweight: Andre Fialho (POR) beat Sang Hoon-yu (KOR). Round 1 TKO
Lightweight: John Mitchell (IRE) beat Arbi Emiev (RUS). Round 2 RSC (deep cuts)
Middleweight: Gianni Melillo (ITA) beat Mohammed Karaki (LEB)
Welterweight: Handesson Ferreira (BRA) beat Amiran Gogoladze (GEO). Unanimous decision
Flyweight (Female): Carolina Jimenez (VEN) beat Lucrezia Ria (ITA), Round 1 rear naked choke
Welterweight: Daniel Skibinski (POL) beat Acoidan Duque (ESP). Round 3 TKO
Lightweight: Martun Mezhlumyan (ARM) beat Attila Korkmaz (TUR). Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ray Borg (USA) beat Jesse Arnett (CAN). Unanimous decision
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH DETAILS
Barcelona 0
Slavia Prague 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Asia Cup 2018 final
Who: India v Bangladesh
When: Friday, 3.30pm, Dubai International Stadium
Watch: Live on OSN Cricket HD
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
