Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, January 2017
(Title from Sara by Fleetwood Mac)
Sharjah borders Dubai. A huge development project aims to focus on the traditional side of the UAE without the bling.
Oh God, I am an aspiring travel writer: supposedly I should write about what inspires me, what I love… But I cannot get my head around Sharjah, next door Emirate to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The people are wonderfully polite and friendly, it feels safe, it is totally westernised and clean with a public loo on each corner, but it has all the substance of a house of cards.
Flying Emirates, the UAE offered a chance to break the long trip back from Australia to the UK. I had been to Dubai before, so this time thought we would check out Sharjah and in my usual inimitable style had booked us into the Premier Inn on King Faisel. This had changed its name to Al Majaz by the time we arrived, but proved to be a great value budget option at about £35 a night. We had the famous comfy mattress and pillows – very welcome as we crashed on arrival at 4pm and so did nothing towards adjusting our body clocks at all.
Day 1.
The next day was a long one as we subsequently woke up at 2 a m, but venturing out at a more normal hour, we headed off to the Corniche which follows the teardrop bay of the Khalid lagoon, just off the Arabian Gulf. The Al Majaz waterfront area at its apex is a popular restaurant stop and boasts a musical fountain.
All sparkled in the sun, the high rises projecting their sharp reflections in the water. Everything was manicured and clean; even the resting seagulls looked too perfect to be real. It appeared as if the whole area had been newly built: large palm trees were being planted as we passed. We went on through the Al Qasba area, another westernised eating area along a canal, with Venetian echos in the buildings and an Eye of the Emirates wheel.
The Aquarium is surrounded by building sites; one gets the impression that everything has been built in the last year or two. Step off the pavement and the empty expanses are just sand and quite desolate; you may drive a ferrari here but it will be covered in sand. Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Sara’ lyrics rearranged themselves in my mind: ‘when you build your house on sand’.. it just feels like an elaborate stage set, insubstantial and unreal.
The aquarium highlights the local species and can easily be wandered through in a pleasant enough couple of hours. The Dhs 25 admission also covered the little maritime museum next door which was quite nicely done, though even here some of the boat exhibits were reconstructed rather than original. Pearl fishing had once been a big industry here and there were some interesting photos: the boats had so many people manning the oars that they looked like slave ships.
With aching feet after our long walk, we staggered no further than Spinneys for supper. A smart 24 hr supermarket two minutes down the road from the hotel, it has a great bakery and fresh salad section as well as some of the Waitrose range. There is also a little cafe manned by two friendly Indians: a tasty vegetarian thali was Drs 25.
Day 2
We walked through the arcade of the central souk with its dazzling gold shops en route to the huge food markets, just north of our hotel. I enjoy going round local markets, they are a good reflection of the country. The long building with exterior arches was only completed 14 months ago and it shows. I have never been in a cleaner market anywhere and that includes most of the western world. Walls gleam with fresh paint and the stalls are neatly numbered in orderly rows. Even the vendors seem to adhere to a strict hygiene regime, the fishmongers being particularly well turned out with jolly matching caps.
There was a vast array of fruit and vegetables and also an aisle devoted to dates, a local delicacy and the only crop which naturally thrives in the region. The fish selection was equally impressive with gutting rooms to each end: you buy your fish then take it down for cleaning. We were amused by the white robed Arabs directing operations through the windows; I only hoped the lobster I watched being sliced down the middle was not alive.
It is worth being there at 3.30 pm, for the fish auction: baskets of fish are emptied onto the floor of a large circular enclosure and multiple auctions happen at the same time. The fish sold are rapidly scooped up and a new lot flung out, some distressingly alive and gasping in the air. There are all sorts of colourful people milling around and a frightful din, but it was one of the most interesting things I saw in Sharjah.
We found the animal market just beyond the nearby flower market. There were a series of stalls in a low key dusty yard containing mostly goats and sheep though there were a few cattle and we even noticed one lonely camel.
Further on around the corner was the bird market; as we entered, a man in his sparkling white traditional dishdasha came out with a hawk sitting on his left arm. I remarked that it would be a good place to have a laundry and simon suggesteded that maybe that is one reason for multiple wives: one for the dish and one for the dash! Inside there were more hawks, sitting huddled in their hoods and jesses, rather bedraggled peacocks, pigeons and numerous smaller birds.
There were also fluffy cats far removed from the average street moggy, baby rabbits, a few dogs, geckos and some tiny possum like animal which I could not positively identify. If you wished you could select your hen and have it butchered on the spot.
Heart of Sharjah
The ‘Heart of Sharjah’ is the traditional historic area. The Sharjah Hisn was indeed old,dating back to 1823 and once the home of the Al Qasimi ruling family. It is a large coral-and-render walled enclosure with crenellated tops and imposing front door, now overlooked by modern blocks. Outside was a charred post – though now typically a replica – once used for punishment.
However a great scheme is underway: having destroyed most of their traditional architecture, the Emirate is now demolishing vast tracts of modern buildings and building a traditional village. This should be completed within 8 years and I can see it one day being a big attraction as a day trip from Dubai. The concept seems to be ‘if you don’t have it, build it’, though as my husband remarked it is in danger of ending up with the feel and style of an American outlet village.
At the moment, the souk Al Arsah, which is the oldest in the UAE and a low level adobe affair, seems underwhelmed by visitors. However, I think their little cafe would have been a better bet than the one at the Sharjah Art Museum where we went for lunch on the basis of a glowing mention in the local guide book. The highlight was a chicken kebab, wrapped hot dog style in cardboard like bread. The cakes and coffee might be safer, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
The gallery itself seemed sparse and the art rather modern for my taste though the under age 10 category was quite extensive. However, they were showing a marine based environmenal movie with superb photograpy which gripped us for a good hour, before we guiltily left to hurry back to see the fish auction.
We checked out the Bait al Naboodah en route, an opulant house built in 1845 for a rich pearl trader, but it was closed for restoration. A side chamber has the masterplan for the rebuilding project and it was interesting to see the model of the future village, and to realise just how many modern buildings they are prepared to demolish to achieve it. Another nearby old house is in the process of being consumed into yet another 5 star hotel, and so the list goes on.
Our walk back took us past the fishing boats, largely wooden with high prows harking back to a long ago Portugese influence. The fluttering washing on their decks bought a pleasant discord to the order.
Sharjah: it might yet be a more dignified, less flashy rival to Dubai. It is a conservative state with all alcohol banned but I would not hold that against it. The markets were fascinating. The people are great. They are trying really hard and preserving the essence of their culture and if you like yours in identikit form, Sharjah may well work for you.
Practialities
We used the Premier Inn, now Al Majaz, hotel which we booked with www.booking.com. A taxi from/to the airport will be between Drs
60 – 100. The hotel has a free shuttle bus to the aquarium, central souk and shopping malls.