A
bit of background:
Summer
home of late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum
Traditionally
built from coral and stone, the two-storey Majlis
Ghorfat Um Al Sheef
was used by the late founder of modern Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed
Al Maktoum and has been well preserved.
The
ground floor is an open veranda, and the upstairs of Majlis Ghorfat
Um Al Sheef is furnished with cushions and Arabic antiques. The
rooftop terrace, used for sleeping, enjoys a sea breeze. The majlis
merits a fleeting visit: it's fascinating as a contrast between old
and new Dubai, but not a significant cultural experience.
The
top balcony area was blocked off. Me and another guy checked it out
and found the stairs were blocked. He reckoned it was just as well he
noticed before he bumped his head on it. An young man travelling with
his wife and small baby. They were moving from Perth to Houston in
Texas for a couple of years and decided to stop in Dubai for an
overnight to let the baby have a rest.
It
is unusual to find a traditional building still standing so far from
the Creek, but this one has been well restored and is worth a quick
stop. The two-storey structure was built in 1955 as a summer
residence of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum. Made of
gypsum and coral rock with a palm frond roof and a wind tower, it
provided a cool retreat from the heat. The palm tree garden features
a traditional falaj irrigation system. The actual majlis
(meeting room) upstairs is decorated with cushions, rugs, a coffee
pot, pottery and food platters, and is pretty close to the way it
would have looked in Sheikh Rashid’s day.
That
was from Wikipedia. In many of the older buildings, you could see
those poles sticking out from the walls, making the buildings look
almost unfinished at times. I finally found out what they were for.
Apparently
this was the old air conditioning. They are called “windcatchers”
“The
wooden cross bars were draped with wet cloths so the wind would cool
as it blew into the homes in an early evaporative cooling scheme.”
http://www.solaripedia.com/13/205/2084/wind_tower_dubai_details.html
Here's
one close up.
They
are quite a prominent feature here in Dubai.
The
other little feature of this place was the water channels that I just
discovered are called falaj and was an irrigation system.
And
a bit further down you could see the birds were enjoying the water.
Not a great photo, it was just before we left and there were high
bushes and other people so had to snap quickly.
This is the inside - the majlis or meeting room.
A
picture of the tour group from the second story.
The woman in red
with blond hair was the tour guide.
That's
all for this stop, folks. Waiting to go downstairs to organise my
boarding pass for tomorrow's flight. Makes things much simpler at the
airport.
Ciao
Madeleine
Friday,
14 December 2012
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