Al Ain National Museum is located on the edge of Al Ain Oasis. Those visiting this museum will be benefited with a chance to understand the city’s heritage and history. The museum showcases the city’s exclusive heritage and history. The museum is housed in the same compound as the Sultan Bin Zayed Fort (also known as the Eastern Fort) which was built in 1910 and is well conserved. The museum was built under the direction of HH the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who held that a country without a past has “neither a present nor a future”. The museum is divided into two main sections – Ethnographical and Archaeological.
The Ethnographical section unveils to the visitors the pre-oil history of the country, many of which have completely disappeared and the exhibition consists of interesting photographs from the 1960s. There is a series of dioramas which explains to us the traditional educational system and methods and games which children indulged in the pastimes. It also includes household items, weaving looms and traditional medical instruments and techniques. The museum is divided into three main sections that consists of archaeology, ethnography and gifts. Its presentations showcases various features of UAE life and include an attractive collection of Bedouin jewellery, musical instruments, weapons, and a reconstruction of traditional majlis.
In it the archaeology displays are extensive and consists of many artifacts from the close by Hill Gardens so it is good to visit the museum before the gardens. The main attractions or displays are one from Garn Bint Saud (12 kilometres north of Hili) that dates back to the first millennium BC. In the gifts section there you will see a curious collection of gifts that Sheikh Zayed Bin Sutan Al Nahyan received during his lifetime. It includes golden swords, silver daggers and a golden palm tree. All displays are labeled in English and Arabic.
Opening Times: Daily 8am to 7:30pm, except Monday (closed); Friday – 3pm to 5:30pm.
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