The royal toured renovations in Dubai’s historical district of Shindagha, where he was born in 1949.
It was built in 1896, and housed Dubai’s ruling family, the Al Maktoums, until 1958—and one Al Maktoum just made a return visit.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum passed by the home of his late grandfather, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, this week as part of a historic tour.
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The ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE was being guided around Shindagha, the neighbourhood in which he himself was born in 1949.
The heritage district has been undergoing a major renovation project, and Sheikh Mohammed dropped by to survey the progress.
So far, 150 buildings have been renovated in the old Dubai suburb, including the house of Sheikh Saeed, which has been turned into a heritage site open to visitors and tourists.
The aim is to preserve the area, and the history of the city, for future generations, and the project hopes to attract 12 million visitors to the district by 2020.
There are plans to create the largest open museum in the world as part of the project, which will also include 23 secondary museums.
“Preserving our heritage and culture are part of our national responsibility,” Sheikh Mohammed said following his visit.
“The Emirati architectural heritage is part of its identity and culture. Future generations have to preserve it so that it remains a testament to the ability of Emiratis to innovate and discover solutions to adapt to their environment.
الماضي يملكه من له حاضر مشرف .. ومستقبلنا لا يكون راسخا بدون جذور الماضي العميقة .. pic.twitter.com/98swIYfZU2
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 7, 2018
“This is clearly shown in the architectural heritage left behind by our forefathers.”
The royal also added on Twitter that “our future is not firm without the deep roots of the past”.
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Those are some wise words indeed.
It’s not the first visit to Shindagha for the royal this year, who brought his next generation back to his place of birth in January.
Sheikh Mohammed visited the historic part of Dubai, located on the shores of the Creek, with 10-year-old Sheikha Al Jalila.
A snapshot of the family outing was shared on Instagram by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, who captioned the image: “A visit to Shindagha.”
Images: HH Sheikh Mohammed/Twitter
