The campaign highlights authentic crafts that attract visitors and tourists

Emirati fingers weave a painting of loyalty to the past during "the most beautiful winter in the world"

• Preserving traditional crafts and introducing new generations to them is a well-established institutional work in the UAE.

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Heritage has an unmissable presence in the diaries of the UAE, and its vocabulary has a special place in the heart and mind of every Emirati. Preserving the system of authentic values ​​and national identity was the cornerstone of the nation-building strategy, embodying the saying of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul: « He who has no past has neither present nor future.

The slogan "Our Heritage", carried by the third edition of the "The Most Beautiful Winter in the World" campaign, translates the story of loyalty to the traditions and values ​​of parents and grandparents, and immortalizes the lifestyles that grandparents lived since ancient times, as they sought the paths of livelihood, and it has become an integral part of our national identity.

Traditional heritage crafts and professions are of great interest in the UAE, and preserving them and introducing new generations to them has become a solid institutional work, the pillar of which is long-term planning, preparing qualified national competencies, and providing them with everything necessary to keep these professions alive, and promote them on a large scale, Because of the great value it represents in the culture and memory of the people of the Emirates.

The list of Emirati traditional and historical crafts is long, as it includes various types that vary between the environments of the sea, desert, mountains and oases, and all of them formed a rich cultural human painting, the most prominent of which are the art of adapting to the place and climatic conditions, overcoming difficulties, and adhering to the national identity, ancient history and human civilization of a people who knew the dignity of living. And build on the glories of the ancients to build a beautiful present, and look forward to a promising future.

She's still alive

Dozens of traditional crafts are still alive in Emirati society, and capture the spotlight in festivals and national events that attract skilled practitioners in making swords and daggers, talli, ropes, stripping wickerwork, spinning wool, loaning burqas, carpentry, making yazra, garaqir, safafa, ships, perfumes, and al-Sadu , smoke, sweets, popular dishes and many more.

Skilled craftsmen in the cities of the Emirates made swords, daggers, and copper household tools, and the inhabitants of the mountainous regions were creative in making pottery, building fortified stone houses, and digging wells and ponds.

The “salty” industry spread on the coasts of the Emirates, especially in the eastern region, and it is a traditional method that was active in the summer to preserve fish for as long as possible, and these products are still very popular to this day.

Coastal residents excelled in building large ships such as the "owl", small wooden boats, and fishing tools, such as the "gargoor", which is one of the oldest fishing tools in the Emirates, and was made from palm fronds before the later trend towards using metal wires. Nets made of cotton or nylon threads.

Palm land

The people of the Emirates have a special relationship with the palm tree, and they excelled in benefiting from all that it provides, such as fruits, trunks, fibers, leaves and fronds. They made poles for tents and old houses from the trunks, and from the branches they made beds for sleeping, seats and cages for birds.

In areas where palm trees abound, the profession of “al-Saffa” has spread, and it is one of the handicrafts that Emirati women practiced in the past, which is weaving the wicker of palm trees. The women weave strands from this wicker that intertwine with each other, and trim them by cutting off the excesses from them, to become a “saffa” ready for the manufacture of indispensable household tools, such as baskets, spoons, grills, socks, mats, and others.

Residents of agricultural areas in the Emirates were famous for their ingenuity in professions and industries related to obtaining water and irrigation tools, the most important of which is the “yazra”, which is wooden lists from which ropes hang to the water well with a bucket or two buckets, and after the water collects in it, the oxen drag it to the surface of the well and then The water is emptied into channels prepared in advance to make its way to irrigate the crops.

Residents of agricultural areas were also interested in making molasses from dates, to be used in the production of sweets and popular foods.

I am gold

The “Sadu” craft is of great importance in the UAE’s heritage, and the country was able to include it in 2011 in the “UNESCO” list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity that needs urgent preservation.

Women excelled in the past, especially in the desert, in the craft of “Sadu” and wool spinning, and their golden fingers created exquisite shapes that adorned the houses of poetry, and these creations are still present despite the spread of counterfeit products.

Al-Sadu is a type of traditional Bedouin textile, and camel or goat hair and sheep's wool are often used to weave it.

The craft of talli is considered one of the famous heritage crafts, and one of the oldest arts of embroidery in the UAE. It consists of silk threads and metal wickerwork, and is woven on a tool called “kajuja”, which is a pillow on an iron base on which the threads are fixed.

And the "Tali", which was included in the "UNESCO" list of intangible cultural heritage, last November, is used to decorate Emirati women's clothing, and it was made using threads of silver and gold, but today it uses flat metal threads, and the "Tali" pieces are now used in Other than clothes.

national responsibility

It is difficult to comprehend all the traditional crafts and traditional professions in the UAE, as they were associated with aspects of economic and social activity, and represented a daily item in the lives of the people of the Emirates, which made preserving and preserving them a national responsibility that successively preserves for generations.

• The slogan "Our Heritage", carried by the third edition of the campaign, perpetuates the lifestyles that the ancestors lived since ancient times.

• The list of Emirati traditional crafts is long, and includes various types between the environments of the sea, desert, mountains and oases.

• A special relationship for the people of the Emirates with the date palm tree and innovative ways to invest the abundant fruits and palm leaves.

• "Al-Tali" is one of the most ancient arts of embroidery in the UAE, which consists of silk threads and metallic wickerwork.

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