Al Ain Palace Museum celebrated World Heritage Day under the ‘Heritage of Sports’ Theme

24/04/2016

In celebration of World Heritage Day, Al Ain Palace Museum held an array of public activities and family workshops celebrating Emirati Heritage, on Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22, 2016.

The yearly occasion, initiated by UNESCO in 1983, is meant to honour international monuments and sites around the world while addressing a specific aspect of human heritage under a different theme every year. Consequently, Al Ain, which was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, alongside the several archaeological and historic sites and landscapes it embraces, rises as the right home for this occasion. This year, the theme was ‘The Heritage of Sport', where the festival's programme focused on traditional Emirati sports, and emphasised the social and cultural values that are gained by preserving these early practices.

The event featured a variety of educational and artistic workshops that enabled visitors to discover the basics of falcon training, principal photography and book binding techniques, and the fundamentals for drawing with charcoal. Additionally, guests also participated in different activities, such as riding camels and shooting, and attended live shows for Falconry and Salukis. Whilst ensuring the seamless Emirati cultural experience for the public, the event also offered traditional products, like Sadu artefacts (a traditional form of weaving), censers, Dallahs (traditional tea and coffee pots) and Emirati cuisine, in numerous arish kiosks and booths, spread out in different locations in the museum.