AL AIN MUSEUM: SHARING PAST TO INSPIRE FUTURE

How the UAE's first museum renews a national journey of preservation, participation, and progress

- BY MOHAMMAD KHALIFA AL MUBARAK | Special to Gulf News

A1 Ain Region is our living oasis. From ancient springs to a thriving city, its story of growth was driven by the ingenuity of our ancestors, who engineered the aflaj system to channel scarce desert water to where life could flourish. This incredible irrigation network still operates to this day, an enduring symbol of the precious heritage that we protect and share with the world.

The reopening of Al Ain Museum on October 24 is an invitation to discover how we celebrate our heritage to inspire future generations. Al Ain Museum was founded in 1969, two years before the unification of our nation, championed by the Founding Father of the UAE, the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. His visionary decision to establish the nation's first museum was based in the belief that heritage is not a distant memory, but the bedrock of our future. Collecting, conserving, and interpreting the archaeology of Al Ain Region, this living archive reveals how our ancestors nurtured both the land and their societies.