We woke up at 4:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise and to have as much time on our hands as possible before the day’s heat set in. In this part of the world, the sun emerges from a layer of mist on the horizon, making the pre-dawn time stretch a little. But as soon as it’s up, the heat starts building up fast. Together with the humidity, staying outside becomes really nasty.
Umm Al Quwain is a small emirate, much poorer than Dubai or even Sharjah. It stands on an island-like appendix and was known for its fishing and palm-growing.
Not much remains from the older city, but these remains are what I drove to UAQ for.
Old, one-story housing.
I went to an abandoned building, near to the Umm Al Quwain Museum. It’s a two-story building, built from coral and clay, the second story made by having rows of wooden rods and palm leaves act as the ceiling. I was unable to date this building, but you can see it belonged to someone more than a fisherman, who preferred more temporary housing.
The ceiling, lined with palm and wood.
Notice the decorative edges on the build-in shelves. Some of these shelves were blackened by candles.
Another abandoned building, on the grounds of the Umm Al Quwain Museum.
The actual Umm Al Quwain Museum is housed within a fortress owner by the rulers of the emirate. Think of it this way, this was a two-story structure, solid and strong, dominating the landscape of the old world.
Back to the old house, notice how the walls are a mix of clay brick-like slabs on top, coral at the bottom – you can’t see the coral in this picture.
