Baba Zayed's house is a home comfort

ABU DHABI // Unlike many people, Nora al Ameri cannot wait for the weekend to be over.

She looks forward to Sunday and spending a full week at work among her Baba Zayed's most cherished items.

The 26-year-old Emirati particularly enjoys sharing the last items Sheikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, used before he passed away in November 2004.

"Baba Zayed was everyone's father," said Ms al Ameri.

She is the main guide at the Sheikh Zayed Centre in Abu Dhabi, located inside a complex of traditional homes. It can be easily missed since it is tucked away behind tall buildings, just off Baynouna Street in Al Bateen, near the InterContinental Hotel.

"This is where you can come and get a glimpse into the private life of Sheikh Zayed as a man, father and brother," said Ms al Ameri.

Opened in 2009, visitors can come into what is dubbed "Sheikh Zayed's house" and into a hall filled with everything from the late President's last set of creams and perfumes to his old favourite blue Mercedes.

Ms al Ameri likes to start with 200 photos on display, beginning with a series of black and whites from the late 1950s.

"You see here how he is dressed in the traditional bedu attire, but this one tiny detail tells you a lot about his personality," she said, pointing to a pen in his front pocket in one photo, and the chain of a pocket watch in another photo.

"I really like these photos," she says with a smile.

Ms al Ameri moves quickly past photos of Sheikh Zayed's funeral. Such photographs have rarely been seen. They show the leader wrapped in a national flag, then carried by his sons and other male relatives to his final resting place.

Ms al Ameri moves on to photos of Sheikh Zayed with some of his sons, including Sheikh Khalifa, the President of the UAE, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince and Deputy Commander of the Armed Forces. One picture is particularly poignant: taken in 2000, it shows Sheikh Nasser jumping into a pool of spring water to check its depth at his father's request. Only the hand of Sheikh Nasser, who was killed in a helicopter accident in 2008, can be seen answering his father's question.

"There are many moments like this, and some very private ones, captured on photos here," said Ms al Ameri.

Other photos are of Sheikh Zayed performing Haj in Mecca, and posing with heads of states, some of whom have since been ousted as part of the Arab Spring - such as the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Others remain in power, including the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi.

Photos in the hall are changed every three months, when a stock of fresh images are taken from storage and shown to the public.

The display includes an unusual array of personal items, such as a cracked container of used body cream, half-full colognes and aftershaves including Armani and Old Spice, and Arabian incense oils made of the purest oud and musk.

"We all wear this kind of perfume, we like it to be strong and last for a whole day," said Ms al Ameri.

The museum includes some of the many unusual gifts bestowed on Sheikh Zayed by various foreign delegations, including stuffed lions, a leopard and several displayed skins of an anaconda, as well as weapons such as rifles and daggers.

The most photographed items are three of Sheikh Zayed's cars, each one capturing distinct periods of his life.

Looking somewhat beaten up is the late-1970s model blue Mercedes that became synonymous with the beloved leader as he drove it for almost the two decades he built the nation.

"He used to drive it around without a bodyguard," said Ms al Ameri. "People would see it and hope to get a glimpse of Sheikh Zayed as he drove it."

The other two cars on display were used by Sheikh Zayed in more recent decades, the 1990s and 2000s. A white BMW features two handles on its roof, a custom touch so Sheikh Zayed could fulfil his wish of pulling himself in and out of the car. "Everything was left as he left it," she said, pointing to a chair cushion inside the car with faded floral designs on it.

The other, a purple Maybach, was the last car Sheikh Zayed was seen using, as he attended a wedding in 2004 before he died.

Visitors passing through another room can hold one of the founder's rifles and pose for photos with it.

"We added this feature after so many visitors who came here wanted to be able to touch something that once belonged to Baba Zayed," said Ms al Ameri.

One item that triggers many questions is a solid gold and granite mantel clock, topped with a falcon and a child looking up at time.

The clock was kept in the centre of the majilis at Qasr al Bahar, so that visitors would arrive on time and not be tempted to over-extend their visit.

"Punctuality and respect for time were one of his most famous characteristics," said Ms al Ameri.

The guide herself is a stickler for time, explaining that she starts tours at the Sheikh Zayed Museum promptly out of respect for "her father".

"He respected time and so I want to respect it like him," she said.

The centre is open from 8am to 3pm, and closed on weekends, something Ms al Ameri recalls with dread.

"I am away from Sheikh Zayed's house for two days," she said. "I get sad because I miss him so much."

To book a tour or for more information on the Sheikh Zayed Centre, call 02 665 9555.

rghazal@thenational.ae