Its oblong wings loom over the architectural panorama of the Saadiyat Cultural District, forming a new landmark on Abu Dhabi’s skyline, but Zayed National Museum stands apart from its impressive neighbours by more than its silhouette.
While other cultural institutions built displays with international collaboration, Zayed National Museum’s collection has come predominantly from local sources. Cultural organisations and private collectors from across the UAE have pooled their artefacts to tell the country’s history in a way that has never been done before.
The museum represents a nationwide effort that resonates with the name of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. This symbolism will be underscored when the museum opens to the public on Wednesday, a day after the UAE celebrates its 54th anniversary.
It is “a museum of the history of the United Arab Emirates as a country and as a land,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
To tell the story of the UAE, the museum linked up with cultural institutions, archeological institutions and museums, Al Mubarak explained. Emirati families, whose heirlooms and lived experiences play a vital role in the museum’s displays, have also contributed.
Much of the UAE's history – and what came before over the past few hundred years – has been passed verbally from one generation to the next, said Al Mubarak. Bringing those stories together to share in the museum created “fantastic community exchanges”, he added, describing the process as “very beautiful”.
The museum displays old doors from a house in Ras Al Khaimah, artefacts from the UAE’s maritime past and footage of Sheikh Zayed roving along steep dunes in a Chrysler sedan among myriad archival material. Personal journals, postcards and documents are animated through interactive screens, which let users flip through testimonies from citizens and residents.
“Our cultural strategy is embedded in showcasing and enhancing the history, culture and heritage of the land and its people,” Al Mubarak said, adding that he means “all the people of this land, not just Emiratis”.
The museum experience begins in its outdoor gallery, Al Masar Garden – a lush walkway that traverses through oases and deserts. The 600-metre path stretches from the Saadiyat coast, between Louvre Abu Dhabi and National History Museum Abu Dhabi, up to the entrance of Zayed National Museum.
Inside, the museum inspires awe from its atrium. While its monumental size is evident from its exterior, it is only after stepping inside that visitors will begin to truly understand its scale.
The Magan boat is presented here. The 18-metre reproduction of the ancient vessel is the culmination of a project launched in 2021 with researchers from New York University Abu Dhabi and Zayed University. It was built exactly as it would have been 4,000 years ago using raw material available at the time, including reeds, date palm fibre rope and goat hair.
The first gallery is dedicated to Sheikh Zayed. It highlights his life and vision for the UAE, as well as the initiatives he took to help better the lives of the country’s people. Some of his personal items are exhibited here, including his copy of the Quran and his rattan stick. A replica of his famous Chrysler is also presented.
The next gallery delves into the various biomes of the UAE, including its marine and coastal environments, as well as the desert and the mountains. Artistic displays show the different elements that make up the land, its minerals, rock formations, types of sand as well as marine life.
The galleries on the upper floor delve into the ancient history of the land. To Our Ancestors traces the Middle East's history over 300,000 years up to the Bronze Age. Artefacts show how tribes in the Middle East started by moving out of Africa, searching for water and following the changing climate. Pottery, copperware and a replica of the Hili Grand Tomb, give insights into the Umm an-Nar culture that flourished between 2,600 and 2,000BC.
Through Our Connections goes on to trace developments from the Iron Age to the spread of Islam. Artefacts, particularly coins, provide clues to historic cross-cultural exchanges. The Abiel Coin is one example. Presented behind a magnifying glass, it represents the connection between ancient Arabian and Hellenistic cultures.
A small ceramic cup, unearthed in Hili in Al Ain, shows how the 3,000-year-old falaj irrigation system – still found across the country – was significant to ancient communities. The gallery concludes with the founding of Islam in the 7th century, showing how the faith profoundly impacted life and culture in the region and beyond.
By Our Coast explores the country's maritime history. The gallery opens by highlighting the contributions of Aḥmad ibn Majid, the 15th-century navigator and cartographer from Julfar, present-day Ras Al Khaimah.
The gallery explores pearl diving traditions and the economy that predated the oil boom. It showcases boatbuilding techniques and delves into the minutiae of the daily lives of seafarers, pearl divers and the women who supported their journeys.
Al Mubarak believes several aspects of the museum's collection will take visitors by surprise. One that he is particularly fond of is a warrior woman who was excavated in Marawah Island.
“We found her in this beautiful stone tomb, an amazing burial ground from 8,000 years ago,” he said. “She could have been a chief. She was definitely somebody held in very high regard.
“What she had around her was amazing. She had a necklace with shark teeth, so she was probably a warrior. Next to her hands were human bones that were fashioned as weapons. She had this beautiful red pigment of paint around her, most likely an ancient version of henna. She would have been surrounded by beautiful feathers when she was buried.”
The museum is not a static display of the country’s history. About 1,500 artefacts are on display, but will be periodically cycled to reveal the whole 3,000-strong collection. The museum is also encouraging and supporting further research and studies into the country’s past.
Al Mubarak stressed that the museum's purpose is not to attract tourists. It is explaining and celebrating the country's history and culture. “That culture in itself is the true building block of any forward-thinking society,” he said.
“There's a very famous quote by Sheikh Zayed that underlines this effort: ‘If you do not know your past and you cannot know your future’. That quote is embedded in the walls of this beautiful space.”
