Discover your Emirati roots

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

1. Which town or region of the United Arab Emirates did our family come from? Was it near Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain?
2. Who was the first in the family to leave the United Arab Emirates, when, and why?
3. Which dishes from the United Arab Emirates were cooked at home? Did anyone make Machboos or Harees?
4. Does anyone in the family still speak Emirati Arabic, or use a few words of it?
5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from the United Arab Emirates that the family kept?
6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from the United Arab Emirates? Who has them?
7. If you could visit the United Arab Emirates together, where would you go first?

A short history of the United Arab Emirates

People have lived along this coast and in its oases for thousands of years, trading copper with Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley and farming dates with the help of underground water channels called falaj. Islam arrived in the 7th century. From the 1820s the coastal sheikhdoms signed a series of treaties with Britain and became known as the Trucial States. After Britain decided to leave the Gulf, six of them formed the United Arab Emirates in December 1971, and Ras Al Khaimah joined on 10 February 1972.

1. 3200 BC

   The Hafit period begins

   Around 3200 BC people began building beehive-shaped stone tombs on the slopes of Jebel Hafeet near today's Al Ain. The period is named after the mountain, and the tombs are part of a World Heritage Site.

2. AD 630

   Islam reaches the coast

   Islam is thought to have reached the region after the Prophet Muhammad sent a letter to the rulers of Oman in 630. Within a few years the peoples of the coast and the oases had become Muslim.

3. 1793

   The Al Nahyan move to Abu Dhabi

   The ruling family of the Bani Yas tribe moved their residence from the Liwa Oasis in the desert to Abu Dhabi island on the coast, where pearling and fishing offered a living.

4. 1833

   The Al Maktoum settle in Dubai

   Members of the Al Bu Falasah tribe left Abu Dhabi and settled on the creek at Dubai, led by Maktoum bin Butti and Obeid bin Saeed. The Al Maktoum family has ruled Dubai ever since.

5. 1968

   Britain announces its withdrawal

   In January 1968 the British government announced that it would end its treaties with the Gulf sheikhdoms and withdraw its forces by the end of 1971. The rulers began talks about forming a union.

6. 1972

   Ras Al Khaimah joins the union

   Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost emirate, joined the federation on 10 February 1972, making it the seven emirates of today.

7. 2010

   The Burj Khalifa opens

   The Burj Khalifa in Dubai opened on 4 January 2010. At 828 m it became the tallest building in the world, a title it still held as of September 2026.

8. 2025

   Faya joins the World Heritage List

   UNESCO added the Faya Palaeolandscape in the emirate of Sharjah to its World Heritage List. Stone tools found at Jebel Faya are some of the earliest evidence of modern humans outside Africa.

Family recipes to cook together

Machboos 1 h 30 min · serves 4Harees 4 h · serves 4Balaleet 30 min · serves 4Luqaimat 1 h 30 min · serves 6Arabic coffee (gahwa) 20 min · serves 6Karak chai 15 min · serves 2

Emirati Arabic words to teach the grandchildren

Towns and regions

• Abu Dhabi, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Persian Gulf coast: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, The Louvre Abu Dhabi.
• Dubai, Emirate of Dubai, Persian Gulf coast: The Burj Khalifa, Dubai Creek and its abra water taxis.
• Sharjah, Emirate of Sharjah, Persian Gulf coast: The Museum of Islamic Civilization, The restored Heart of Sharjah quarter.
• Al Ain, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, inland on the border with Oman: The Al Ain Oasis and its falaj channels, The Cultural Sites of Al Ain, the country's first World Heritage Site.
• Ajman, Emirate of Ajman, Persian Gulf coast: The smallest emirate, The Ajman Museum in the old fort.
• Umm Al Quwain, Emirate of Umm Al Quwain, Persian Gulf coast: Mangroves and lagoons, Siniyah Island.
• Ras Al Khaimah, Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, far north: Jebel Jais and its mountain road, A record-breaking zip line.
• Fujairah, Emirate of Fujairah, Gulf of Oman coast: Fujairah Fort, Diving and snorkelling.
• Khor Fakkan, Emirate of Sharjah, Gulf of Oman coast: Its sweeping bay and beach, One of the country's major container ports.
• Hatta, Emirate of Dubai, inland exclave in the Hajar Mountains: The Hatta Heritage Village, Kayaking on the Hatta Dam lake.
• Liwa, Al Dhafra, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, on the edge of the Empty Quarter: The Moreeb Dune, about 300 m high, Date farms.