Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi: A Review of Seven Iconic Museums and Experiences

The concept developed for the Abu Dhabi Natural History Museum is based on the interaction between water and land. This dynamic dividing line is seen as a starting point for processes of movement and transformation.

Architecture as Landscape

Instead of being planned as a single architectural structure, the museum was conceived as a landscape shaped by natural influences. In this project, architecture and the terrain itself merge, becoming inseparable elements.

Regional Geological Inspiration

The inspiration for the building comes from the geological formations and the characteristic wadis of the area. Thus, the construction emerges from the landscape as a collection of volumes that appear to have been sculpted over time, allowing the journey through natural history to begin even before visitors enter the museum.

When Shawkat Ali Rana opens the entrance door of his villa in Mirdif for visitors, they realize they are not just in an ordinary house. The walls are adorned with black and white pictures, vintage cameras, film projectors, Polaroids, and wooden field cameras stand nearby.

The Collection and Its Beginning

Yellowed newspapers, old passports, entry permits before unification, coins, stamps, driver's licenses, and other documents that many people might have thrown away decades ago are displayed in glass cabinets. However, Rana does not start the tour with these items. He heads to a framed black and white photograph of Al Maktah Fort near Abu Dhabi, saying, 'This was the first photo I ever took,' holding the frame with a smile.

More than fifty years later, this image remains one of the most precious things to him. It marked the beginning of a lifelong passion that eventually turned into an archive containing over 200,000 photographs documenting the remarkable transformation of the UAE—from quiet rural settlements to one of the world's fastest-growing nations.

Documenting the Development of the UAE

Sixty-six-year-old Rana noted, 'I never thought it would become so big. I just wanted to preserve history.' For nearly six decades, he documented the construction of Sheikh Rashid Port, Dubai's first international airport, the city's early tunnels, air shows, large buildings, and countless neighborhoods rising from the sand. He also captured the first public celebrations of the formation of the UAE, creating a visual chronicle of moments that became part of the country's history.

His collection includes more than just photographs. Rana explains that he started collecting old stamps, then coins, banknotes, documents, and licenses, believing that if no one preserved these things, future generations would never know what life was like.

Life in Dubai in the Past

Rana's journey began long before photography became his profession. He arrived in Dubai in 1968 at the age of eight, following his father, Mohammed Rafi Rana, who moved to the emirate two years earlier to work at the British Bank of the Middle East, and later joined Pakistan International Airlines. Dubai was a completely different place then.

The family first lived in Satwa and then moved to Karama, where sand dunes covered most of the area. Rana recalls, 'Sand was everywhere. We would go outside and collect seashells. There were date palms growing around us, and every evening we could hear ship horns from Ras Al Khaimah Port. There was little traffic, so the sound of ship horns reached all the way to Karama.' His daily commute to school was vastly different from what children experience today; he attended Pakistan Islamia School in Oud Metha and walked there every morning on sandy paths.

Daily Life and Travel

Evenings back then passed slower. Television was not available 24/7, and families structured their routines around limited broadcast time. He remembers, 'TV started at six in the evening and ended around ten in the evening. Everyone waited for the news before bed.' However, weekends brought their own challenges: the family tried to watch Hindi films broadcast from Kuwait, but getting a clear signal was rare. 'We had an antenna on the roof. One of my brothers would climb up while we shouted from below: 'Turn left, now right, no, you lost it again!' I don't think we ever watched a full movie.'

Entertainment was simple, but these memories are what Rana values most. He says that there were many roundabouts in Dubai with green grass and beautiful fountains where his father asked everyone to bring food from home, and they would dine there. These roundabouts served as parks where children played freely because very few cars passed by.

Trips outside Dubai were an adventure. Roads to Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah were mostly sandy tracks, and regular cars often struggled to pass. 'Family trips were usually only taken in a Land Cruiser or SUV.' One trip to Ras Al Khaimah remains etched in his memory: 'Our driver suddenly stopped. My father asked him what happened. He pointed ahead and said the road was covered in seawater. We had to wait almost 40 minutes for the water to recede, otherwise, he couldn't see the way.' For the current generation, a trip to Ras Al Khaimah takes just over an hour, whereas previously, depending on conditions, it could take at least three hours.

Start of Photography Career

One long trip to Abu Dhabi gave Rana one of his most important memories: his father gave him a simple roll camera when he was about 10 years old, saying, 'This is yours now.' Although it was a generous gift, photography was far from cheap at the time. 'A roll could only take 12 shots. If you lost one photo, it was gone. Then you had to buy a new roll, pay for developing, and then pay for printing again. Each print cost about 2 dirhams, so every shot mattered.'

His passion for photography grew. In Karama, Rana set up a darkroom in part of his house where he developed black and white film himself. Later, his father introduced him to a friend, Shamshad, who worked with the late Sheikh Zayed, the Father of the Nation, at Qasr Al Hosn in Abu Dhabi. Shamshad taught him everything about film development and working in a darkroom, and Rana traveled to Abu Dhabi to learn from him.

Photography soon ceased to be just a hobby. Rana started taking his camera to school and offered to photograph classmates and teachers for 5 dirhams. He developed the photos at home and handed them out the next day, using the money earned for film and chemicals.

Professional Growth and Mastery

Color photography presented an even greater challenge. In the 1970s, color films had to be sent to the UK for processing. Rana, striving to master the craft, later traveled to Italy for two weeks to study color processing with the photographic equipment manufacturer Durst. He emphasized that photography back then was entirely manual work, requiring an understanding of light, chemistry, and color, unlike modern cameras where everything is done with the press of a button.

His passion transformed into a business. In 1976, after taking over the family shop on Yusuf Baker Street in Deira, Rana switched from selling fabrics to photographic supplies. He began importing cameras, film, photographic paper, chemicals, and photo finishing materials, laying the foundation for Rafi Group, which is now managed by his sons.

Archive as a Reflection of History

Even while running a business, Rana continued to document the UAE. His archive contains pictures of the construction of Sheikh Rashid Port, Dubai International Airport, major tunnels, early air shows, traditional quarters, and buildings that have long disappeared from the urban landscape. Among the most valuable documents are border permits issued before the formation of the UAE. Rana notes that people are surprised when seeing these documents because there used to be a border between the emirates.

The museum he created reflects not only the country's transformations but also the change in people's lifestyles. In addition to thousands of photographs, the collection includes telegrams that used to deliver messages for weeks, pagers, mobile phones, old radios, cameras, stamps, newspapers, and letters from foreign embassies that helped him source photographic equipment before the internet. He recalls that letters could take months, and if something was urgent, the telegraph was used, where every word cost money, so his father taught him to shorten sentences.

Today, visitors spend hours exploring the collection in his Mirdif home while Rana patiently narrates the story of each item. For him, this collection was never about quantity; every item—be it the first photograph, an old driver's license, or a border pass—represents a small fragment of the country's journey. He concludes, 'I wanted to preserve history. The UAE gave me everything. This is my way of giving something back.'