UAE history comes alive at Sharjah Book Fair

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The UAE’s history came alive at the Egyptian stall the Arab Archive for Heritage Foundation at the Sharjah International Book Fair, where history lovers could explore books, magazines and news articles about the Emirates and its founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The golden historical collection of rare photos and articles about the UAE and its leader dates back to the pre-independence period. The UAE declared its independence on December 2, 1971.

“We have a huge collection of books and magazines. We also have a good number of books, magazines and articles about Sheikh Zayed and the UAE and some of them were published more than 70 years ago,” says Mohammed, the owner of the Foundation, which displayed the unique collection from at the Sharjah exhibition from November 1 to 12.

Some of the magazines and newspaper articles – which were printed in black-and-white and yellow pages – date back to 1969, shedding light on the pre-independence history of the UAE.

The photos and articles show the humble beginning of the country in its pre-oil discovery era. Appearing in different Egyptian media over the decades, articles also shed light on the initial years of UAE’s independence and its achievements under the late Sheikh Zayed.

Another neatly laminated black-and-white news article gives a peek into how late Sheikh Zayed was working on improving the image the of UAE and building it into a great country from a simple and humble beginning.

Another article explores the UAE’s journey towards self-sufficiency in agriculture with a key focus on palm trees.

Mohammed said they get interest from a variety of people who are keen to peek into the country’s pre-oil and independence era.