Sharjah Heritage Museum
A key museum in the Sharjah Museums portfolio, the focus of the Heritage Museum is on lively presentations that introduce Sharjah and the UAE. While the displays are more traditional in style, the stories are engaging and informative, and the museum delivers a lively introduction to local culture and heritage.
Both everyday and precious objects illustrate community practices and traditions that are ages old, and which have been passed down through the generations from times long ago, and which still resonate in contemporary Sharjah. The emirate’s diverse landscape from the sea to the mountains provides a backdrop to stories exploring daily life, ceremonies, crafts, and trades. Not surprisingly, the significance of the region’s intangible heritage practices is highlighted, with traditional music, the majlis, poetry and storytelling filling this small, yet powerful, museum.
If you ever wondered what can be done with dozens of dried goats’ hooves, you will find the perfect solution here. When they are attached to fabric that is worn like a skirt, the sound that results, when the wearer sways in time with the music, is magical.
The museum is situated in the Heart of Sharjah, the restored heritage neighbourhood of old Sharjah town, which places the stories firmly in a specific geographic context. Many of the families and individuals highlighted in the displays lived their lives in these very houses. In fact the museum occupies a house built around 1795 and which was formerly known as Bait Saeed Al Taweel. It was named after one of its occupants, Saeed Bin Mohammed Al Shamsi, the tall one.
Traditional Crafts Gallery, Sharjah Heritage Museum, image © Sharjah Museums Authority
Address Opposite the Al Arsah Souq, The Heart of Sharjah, The Corniche, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Opening hours Saturday to Thursday 0800-2000; Friday 1600-2000