It was the residence of the founding father until his move to Abu Dhabi

Al Ain Palace Museum .. Zayed lived here

• Parts of the palace were built and restored using local, environmentally friendly building materials.

  Archives

picture

Between the aflaj and an oasis of palm trees, the Al Ain Palace Museum stands as a testament to an important period in the history of the Emirates, and from the life of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless him, as the palace was the headquarters of Sheikh Zayed throughout his reign in the city of Al Ain for the year 1946 and until 1966, the year in which he moved to Abu Dhabi to take over the helm of government in the emirate.

The palace, which is located in the southeast of Al Ain, and is considered one of the best rehabilitated castles in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, offers its visitors a unique experience to explore life inside the place during the stay of the Sheikh Zayed family, may God rest his soul, in it, and learn about the nature of life at that time. By moving between its corridors, councils and rooms that still preserve their original heritage character, as the parts of the palace were built and restored using local and environmentally friendly building materials, including mud, sand and plaster, as well as elements of palm trees to make room ceilings, doors and windows.

A historical and heritage journey

The palace, which dates back to 1937, welcomes its visitor with its interior gate topped by verses from the Holy Quran, to find himself in an open yard, and in a corner of which a Land Rover stands as a model for the cars that Sheikh Zayed used during his travels in the desert and his tours to inspect the area and the conditions of people.

The square leads to the councils for receiving guests and official delegations, whether from the region’s residents or outside, and next to it are the councils designated to meet with officials and issue directives to them to conduct daily matters related to various services in the eastern region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The palace also contains housing for senior guests who come to it from far away, which highlights the generosity of hospitality, and the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's adherence to this authentic Arabic characteristic and consecration in the souls of those around him.

Above the main entrance to the palace there is an upper majlis called Al-Barza, which was designated for senior guests, and for sitting in times of heat, in addition to the rooms for the escort.

As for the outer courtyard, it included rooms for preparing coffee, and distributing them to the palace councils, and in the inner courtyard, storage rooms were located near the well.

As for the residence section of Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul, and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, it consists of two floors, where the ground floor of them was designated for the reception of women by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, and the upper floor was entirely dedicated to Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul, and his family.

As for the furniture used inside the rooms, the local and traditional aspect was taken into consideration, and it should imitate the palace furniture in that period, such as the use of floor cushions and others.

In addition to the various councils and bedrooms, Al Ain Palace also includes the study room in which the children of Sheikh Zayed received their education, in which tables and an old board appear, and there is another room for teaching the Holy Qur’an and the noble Prophet’s Sunnah, which was the education that Al-Mutawa used to do at the time. These rooms are among the most visited places in the palace, along with the section on displaying the family tree of Al Nahyan, rulers of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as many pictures of the family of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, and the rulers of Abu Dhabi throughout the ages.

Restoration and addition

In 1998, Al Ain Palace witnessed a two-year restoration and rehabilitation process, and the restoration of the palace required the addition of some buildings, such as the administration building at the beginning of the main entrance, which contains the offices of the reception staff, a picture gallery of Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul, and some heritage landmarks Characteristics and elements inspired by the local environment and architecture were taken into consideration in its design, and two towers were added to the building on both sides of the main entrance, similar to the multi-storey tower of the Al-Jahili Fort.

In addition, the tent in which Sheikh Zayed used to receive his guests, especially in the winter season, which simulates the authentic Bedouin life that God have mercy on him lived and cherished, highlighting the permanent link with heritage, Bedouin life and authentic Arab generosity.

Architectural properties

The Al Ain Palace Museum is distinguished in terms of engineering and architecture with many architectural characteristics that we find in historical buildings in the UAE, including ventilation openings such as windows and balconies, which are wide and square to cool the buildings and shade the main rooms, and there is the high wall that is interspersed with the main gate of the main entrance that is topped by a lobular arch Or moss and raised on the entrance walls, and the wall surrounds the various buildings contained in the palace, and is topped with triangles known as throwing courts.

Designed with features and elements inspired by the local environment and architecture.

Its corridors, councils and rooms still retain their original heritage character, offering visitors a unique experience of life inside the place.

The furniture used in the rooms takes into account the local and traditional aspect, and imitates the palace furniture of that period.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news