Dubai is undoubtedly a place of oil, fortune territories, and visitors’ paradise! There is undoubtedly something to visit in Dubai, from shopping to food, cuisine, and the fascinating past. Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum Residence, the residential quarters of the former UAE governor of Dubai, and a historic site in the city are popular tourist attractions in Dubai. Many tourists visit this site every year. We have prepared a detailed guide to the Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum Haus, which includes all the necessary details before your visit if you want to know about the best places to visit Dubai for a holiday.
The Sheik Mohammed House is a prominent place and a great example of architectural design at the beginning of the 20th century. It has many open and closed-winged sections and some air towers called Barajeel. Though it no longer serves as the ruler’s residential office, it has become a museum with various displays highlighting the life and history of the great ruler and his family.
About Saeed Al Maktoum House
Dubai has a famous heritage site in its best place: Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum House. Once a resident of the ruling Dubai dynasty, the former royal house has become a well-known museum of furniture, sculptures, pictures, and other historical items. It offers an exciting look at the fascinating Emirate’s recorded history. Tourists preparing to visit the area should include a visit to Saeed Al Maktoum House Dubai. The historic home is situated near Dubai Creek in the Shindagha district. Read all about this historic Dubai landmark.
The building is a fine example of late 19th-century architecture. Its beamed roofs, woven palm leaves, vaulted embraces, windows, and fine sculptures distinguish this structure. The building was the headquarters of the civic administration and the private home of Dubai’s grandparents. It is a fascinating exhibition on the various stages of the region’s development, model ships, and lighting on the Dubai founding family.
Saeed Al Maktoum Building Layout
The curiosity is, What is inside Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum House? You will head to the majlis downstairs (a meeting area), the dining room, kitchen, patio, and the bedrooms and balconies upstairs. In its pre-oil period, the house shows rare images of Dubai and works, lithographs, and art pieces that capture the emirates’ growth. At Saeed Al Maktoum House, rare coins, prints, and historical records can also be found. Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House was a national landmark and a local administrative center.
The splendid house is no longer the official royal residence today. The Shindagha Museum has been converted and contains many ancient artifacts demonstrating the life and times of the ruling Al Maktoum dynasty. In this former royal home, one of the best museums in Dubai, you can find numerous galleries, objects, rare images, and much more to explore.
History of Dubai
The building of Sheikh Saeed al Maktoum House was built in 1894. Its high vault ceilings, teak doors, Architraves, barrier displays, and the four wind towers are a masterpiece of Islamic style. The lovely coral and plaster house is constructed around a central courtyard and has an expansive meeting room flanked by living quarters, storage rooms, and a kitchen on the ground floor. The bedrooms on the first floor have balconies overlooking the creek and the sea with breathtaking views.
The original building was constructed in 1896 but has undergone many architectural changes. It was the official residence of his highness Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum. From 1912 until he died in 1958, he was a ruler in Dubai named H. H. Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum. Sheik Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the grandfather of the monarch, His Highness.
Nowadays, the house of Sheikh Saeed al Maktoum is a museum where photographs and lithographs are displayed, depicting the life of Sheik and his family between 1940 and 1960. The collection of coins and the exhibition on Perl plunging are good. In the 1930s, however, two world factors contributed to a downturn in the Perl trade under Sheik Saeed’s reign. First, during the Great Depression, Japan began to export crop-growing pearls of better quality and cheaper than natural pearls, accompanied by a significant downturn in the world economy.
The Sheik was a far-reaching person and had the small port on the mouth of Dubai Creek develop, renovate, and welcome trade from India and Iran, constructing numerous souks on the River Creek to become Dubai’s central trading hub in the North East. This may have created an economic crisis in Dubai.
Exhibits at Al Maktoum House Dubai
An extensive array of objects from the glory days of the metropolis is displayed on exhibitions at Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum House or the Shindagha Museum in Dubai. Paintings, photos, coins, jewels, and stamps illustrate Dubai’s times and lives under the rule of Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum and his successors. The museum’s portraits and pictures give a glimpse into the lives of Dubai’s ruling family. These have personal images taken with other dignitaries and officials who visit the building.
The museum also displays old stamps widely used before the oil boom in Dubai and the UAE. Visitors can also visit the jewels of the ruling Al Maktoum family to learn more about their way of life at the time.
Art and Culture
The house, with its incredibly thick walls, was built to keep things calm. It is air-conditioned today, making it the right spot for showcasing Arabic sculptures, lithographs, and objects. For any cultural vulture, the house is the best place to learn about Dubai’s past. The rolling walls, decorated windows, and arched doors distinguish the typical building style. Four massive wind towers, known as Barjeel, flank the whole building.
You would be delighted by this big but simple palace, where the king and his family once resided. This is an impeccable architectural location. Al Maktoum’s house indicates the transparency and tight connection of law to the people of Dubai, as can be seen in the neighboring houses in the surrounding places. The house’s exterior has no obstacles or large closed doors, creating a warm and welcoming environment for the palace.
Unique Architecture at Al Maktoum House
Although the house’s interior is not very spacious from the outside, it is comprehensive and accessible. It is an outstanding architectural design piece that wanted to concentrate on the simplicity of life. This palace aims, as with all the other houses in Dubai, at Mecca, to demonstrate the family’s religious commitment. The first rooms on the right-hand side of the building are some of the other spiritual influences in this house and are considered the most promising site in the Islamic Faith.
The kitchen has been installed in the southern portion of the house to prevent air conditioning from expanding the steam and smoke into the rest of the home. A visit to this house would make you appreciate the modesty of the monarch, obviously representing the ideology and viewpoint of Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum’s life.
Al Maktoum Timings and Tickets
The house of Sheikh Saeed al Maktoum remains open from Saturday to Thursday from 8 am to 8.30 pm. However, it remains open on Friday between 3 pm to 9.30 pm for visitors. Regarding ticket prices, they are 3 AEDs for older people or adults, while for children, it costs 1 AED for those below the age of 6 years. The house will be closed for restoration when this guide is finished. However, the early reopening date for 2019 was announced soon. Sheik Saeed Al Maktoum House and Museum are open from Saturday to Thursday from 08:00 to 08:30 and Friday from 15:00 to 20:30. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, please note that the museum is temporarily closed.
Necessary Information
The historic house sits on the Bur Dubai side of Dubai Creek in the Shindagha historic district. The entrance fee is AED 15 for adults and AED 5 for Saeed Al Maktoum House students. Children below five and dedicated persons charge no entrance fee. It would be best to meet the administration for any questions or information at the official number of their touch: +971-4-515-5336. Culture lovers would visit and hear more about their lives and the royal family. In the meantime, other historical sites, such as the Ancient District of Al Fahidi and the School of Ahamdiya in Dubai, are worth a visit.
Conclusion
It has been concluded that Sheik Saeed’s House was the residence of the governors of Dubai in the middle of the twentieth century. Now, a Dubai museum overlooks the mouth of Dubai Creek. The house dates back to 1896 and consists of towers, patios, and rooms with expositions on Dubai from the late 1800s to the 1960s and its ruling Al-Maktoum Tribe.