Regular readers will know that I have a soft spot for the country's heritage, wildlife and environment. Indeed, it's more of a passion than just a soft spot, an abiding interest that has absorbed me for decades.
I've tried to communicate that passion in a variety of ways, often, I suspect, becoming a bit of a bore on the subject, and I am happy that these aspects of the country now attract much more attention than was formerly the case.
I feel, however, that the way in which the country is promoted overseas as a tourist destination still pays insufficient attention to these topics. Sun, sea, sand, shopping and now, increasingly, sport – these still seem to be the key elements of our tourist promotion strategy. Where culture comes in, it often seems to be of a pastiche kind, such as desert safaris that conclude at fake Bedu camping sites where imported belly-dancing is put forward as some kind of authentic Emirati experience.
I was, therefore, delighted to read a couple of days ago that the chairman of Abu Dhabi's Tourism and Culture Authority, Mohammed Al Mubarak, had said that activities such as kayaking in the mangroves adjacent to Abu Dhabi city and visiting the archaeological sites of Al Ain and Sir Bani Yas were to be included as key elements in the emirate's tourism marketing programme, as well as the Saadiyat museums and malls, theme parks and the like.
Al Ain, he said, will be promoted as “the top heritage site in the Arabian Gulf”.
There's plenty to promote. In Al Ain, for example, of whose status as a World Heritage site we hear far too little, there's a whole range of archaeological sites dating from the Bronze Age, 5,000 years ago, onwards. On Sir Bani Yas, the Christian monastic settlement, founded about AD600, before the coming of Islam, is the only one known in south-eastern Arabia – and is, as Minister of State for Tolerance Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi noted a few weeks ago, telling evidence of the origins of the philosophy of tolerance that characterises the UAE today.
As for those mangroves just to the east of Abu Dhabi island, I remember fondly the days before a deepwater channel divided them from the island, when one could just walk into them, to enjoy the variety of wildlife to which they are home.
There is, of course, a lot that must be done to make these sites more attractive for visitors. The Hili Archaeological Garden, for example, which would serve well as a centre for Al Ain's archaeological attractions, needs a proper visitors' centre, along with an extensive programme of rehabilitating and conserving some of its sites which have, sadly, suffered from neglect for decades.
On Sir Bani Yas, more work on delineating the full extent of the monastery is required, along with a visitor centre, to make it the focal point of a heritage trail that could also include some of the much later Islamic period archaeological remains on the island.
Kayaking through the mangroves is already a popular pursuit, but more information about its environment and wildlife could be shared with visitors.
The new focus promised by the ADTCA chairman will require extensive expenditure – not easy in a period of financial stringencies. It will, though, be worthwhile, not just because it will provide attractions that will interest visitors, but also because it will help to emphasise that these aspects are integral parts of the country's identity, of which everyone needs to become aware, from school students upwards.
On every occasion when I have the chance to talk to meetings about the UAE and its past, I stress that, contrary to general perceptions, the UAE does, indeed, have a history, and one of which we can be proud. We need not just to recognise that ourselves, but also to promote awareness of it to visitors too.
Peter Hellyer is a consultant specialising in the UAE’s history and culture
