23 February 2006
Dubai: The date September 1, 1966 turned things around for Dubai.
On this day at 5am the rules of the road changed from driving on the left to driving on the right.
The decision was taken by the Trucial States Council and announced in English and Arabic by Dubai Municipality's Traffic Committee on an "Important Notice" certificate.
This certificate is just one of dozens of pieces of history on display at the new Dubai Municipality Museum, which opened on Wednesday.
There is everything from royal decrees to a map of how Dubai looked in 1960, official stamps from Dubai Abattoir and a short television film giving glimpses into the city's early life.
On the walls are several pictures of the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum showing him chairing meetings and signing agreements that helped to spark the city's rapid development.
The museum focuses on the history of the municipality itself and by doing this officials hope it will give tourists and residents alike a better understanding of how Dubai came to be what it is today.
The exhibits, which are spread between four rooms: Administration, Organizational Structure, Municipality History and Municipality Projects, date from 1957 to 1980.
The new centre is based in the first floor of a renovated house in the Al Ras Heritage District close to Deira Old Souq and overlooking Dubai Creek.
The house was built in the mid 1950s with three shops in the ground floor, with another floor being added later for use as a residence for the traders.
The civic body moved into the first floor, which consists of four rooms separated by shaded corridors, in 1957 and kept it as its headquarters until 1964.
In 1954, when the municipality was formed as an offshoot of the customs department, it had just six employees. Today there are about 13,000.
The renovation of the building, which cost Dh350,000, was carried out using traditional materials and completed in 1999.
After officially opening the museum, Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director General of Dubai Municipality, said it was "very important" for people to learn about the city's history.
"There is a lot of valuable documentation and interesting things on show.
"People can evaluate the work that's been done in the city and see the wisdom of the rulers in creating a government organization to provide the services that everyone uses," Lootah said.
Rashad Bukhash, Director of the municipality's General Projects Department, said the museum was expected to attract about 1,500 visitors a month, at least 40 per cent of them children on school visits.
"We thought it was important to protect this building and keep it as a history of the municipality. It shows how the city of Dubai developed from this small village to the huge projects of later years," he said.
Bukhash added that he hoped the museum would be extended to include the ground floor also since many municipality officials were keen to offer documents and artefacts for display at the museum.
The museum is open from Saturday to Thursday from 9am to 5pm and admission is free.
By Daniel Bardsley
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
