A story of evolution that formed fertile material for the book
Rare publications dating the UAE. A journey from the time of the fifties
The collection of publications is one of the first ancient books documenting the UAE's journey. Emirates Today
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The story of the UAE's development and prosperity has often been fertile material for many writers, media professionals and travelers who have written on the march of the UAE society, its history, heritage, and other topics.
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, during its 32nd session, which kicked off yesterday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, includes a group of ancient books that document the biography of the United Arab Emirates, highlight cultural landmarks, and monitor the details of the social life of its emirates since the fifties of the last century, and document what was issued by local departments in the Emirates before the union, recorded by officials and visitors who witnessed aspects of life and its development in that period of the region's life, and collected by the researcher in Emirati history and architecture, Dr. Mohammed Al Mansouri, to serve as A rich collection of unique sources and references for researchers and those interested in documentation.
The collection includes one of the first books to shed light on the Trucial States in Arabic, the book "The Seven States on the Green Coast", published in 1957 by Ahmad Qasim Al-Burini, a Palestinian teacher who was part of the Kuwaiti Encyclopedia mission to Sharjah in 1955. It provides a historical and geographical description of the Emirates, in addition to the natural wealth of minerals, as well as its markets, the clothes of its people and the social conditions of its inhabitants.
Dubai has occupied a distinguished place in writings about the UAE and the region, whether as a port, commercial and economic center, or as a tourist destination, as in the book "Dubai... The Pearl of the Arabian Coast", which was issued in 1968 by the Director of Dubai Municipality Kamal Hamza, in which he documented the achievements of local departments in Dubai, and included a lot of tourist information for businessmen wishing to visit the emirate, as the book presents a brief and rich picture of the history of Dubai, and explains the development of the city by word and image, passing from its history to the most important projects that were under construction in the period of the beginning of the formation of modern Dubai during the sixties of the last century.
The book "Six Weeks in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi" presents the observations of the envoy of the Emir of Kuwait before its independence, Abdulaziz Al-Saraawi, on an official reconnaissance mission in the emirate, at the request of the Abu Dhabi government, to help organize its government departments so that they settle on sound foundations at the beginning of their development. This book is a historical description of the emirate's pre-union status, as this journey was sufficient to document aspects of the lives of the inhabitants, the patterns of government administration in the emirate, and the development projects of the period between 1960 and 1961.
The collection of books also includes official publications that saw the light before the union of local departments in Abu Dhabi, including the book «Abu Dhabi (1967) Progress... Issued by the Department of Construction (DROE), it documents the march of its achievements during the year of the accession of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, to the reins of power in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as it represents a record of the Department's achievements in a year full of projects aimed at the welfare and happiness of the people of the Emirate, as well as documenting the beginnings of urban transformation in the Emirate with pictures and figures.
The book "Abu Dhabi in Two Years", published by the Office of Documents and Studies (now the National Archives and Library) in 1968, on the second anniversary of the accession of the late Sheikh Zayed to the reins of power in the emirate, sheds light on the history of Abu Dhabi and the beginnings of its inception in its modern form, and includes many of its rare pictures, and talks about the organization of government administration in the emirate, and the achievements of all its departments in two years.
As for the book "Abu Dhabi Municipality", it is an introductory booklet for citizens in the emirate about the services provided by the municipality and how to benefit from them, providing a summary of the development of the emirate's planning, in addition to narrating excerpts from social life in the emirate and its residents.