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In Sharjah the traditional values are still very entwined in daily life and in 1998 UNESCO declared Sharjah as the cultural capital of the Arabian world.
It is the 3rd largest of the seven emirates and stretches from the Arabian Gulf in the West to the Gulf of Oman in the East and was once part of a single emirate along with Ras Al Khaimah. In 1971, the discovery of the Mubarak oilfield near the island of Abu Musa changed the fortunes of the emirate, however this started swindling in1981 but Saja's onshore gas and liquid gas field was luckily discovered which gave a further boost to its revenues.
The cultural awareness of this emirate ensures an eclectic mixture of traditional and modern Arabia. Modern stylish hotels next to traditional mosques, comfortable restaurants, green parks and in the suburb of Al Khan you can find typical coral stone houses. Sharjah is also renowned for its neo-arabian architecture i.e. the Souq-Al-Markazi. The history of the Emirate is very well explained in the some of the well managed museums – particularly the archeological museum is worth a visit i.e. fossils dating back 80 million years old are on exhibit |
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