An abandoned desert village an hour from Dubai becomes another tourist attraction in a country filled with them

Built in the 1970s to house semi-nomadic Bedouin, the village of Al-Ghuraifa an hour’s drive from the skyscrapers of Dubai stands as an eerie relic of the swift urbanisation of the UAE. But it’s still unclear what exactly led to its abandonment just two decades after the homes were built.

In recent years, the desert village near the town of Al-Madam in the Sharjah emirate has become a sort of tourist attraction in a country already filled with them, offering an escape from the glimmering skyscrapers and a sprawling network of modern highways in the coastal cities.

Built To Facilitate The Transition To A Settled Life

Comprising a mosque and two rows of homes, the village offers a glimpse at the UAE’s hardscrabble past. It “can teach us a lot of the modern history of the UAE,” said Ahmad Sukkar, an assistant professor at the University of Sharjah who is part of a team researching the site.

The village sheltered members of the Al-Ketbi tribe, Sukkar added. They were one of numerous Bedouin tribes that until then had led a semi-nomadic existence, raising animals, travelling among the oases and visiting Abu Dhabi and Dubai when they were just small port towns.

Built to facilitate the transition to a settled life, the modern cement houses featured brightly coloured interior walls and some were even adorned with mosaics. One house had wallpaper depicting a lush green landscape, a stark contrast to the sandscape outside.

ALSO READ: UAE, India Settle Crude Oil Transaction Using National Currencies

Did Evil Spirits Drive The Residents Away?

While local lore suggests the residents had to abandon the village due to evil spirits, Sukkar says it’s more likely they left to find a better life in the fast-growing cities of the UAE. Sandstorms were major trouble, on top of limited access to water and electricity.

Currently, the vast desert is slowly reclaiming the village, with piles of sand nearly reaching the ceiling in some rooms. Only the mosque in the village remains as it was, thanks to maintenance workers from Al-Madam who regularly sweep the place.