Sharjah: Culture, Calligraphy and Historic Architecture

Sharjah brings together a restored historic district, calligraphy, striking buildings, and leisure attractions. When searching for hotels in Sharjah, you can first decide whether historic architecture, calligraphy, events, or leisure activities should be your focus. Heart of Sharjah offers historic buildings and cultural events; Flag Island is home to an amphitheater and the Al Montazah Parks, adding two more named attractions to the list.

Historic Alleys and Events

Heart of Sharjah is a restored historic district with coral-stone houses. It includes Bait Al Naboodah, dating from 1845. Narrow alleys lead to craft workshops and traditional cafés. The combination of houses, workshops, and cafés makes the district a distinct focus for culture and architectural history.

Heart of Sharjah hosts the Sharjah Biennial and Sharjah Heritage Days each year, among other events; it also holds other events organized by the Sharjah Art Foundation and the Sharjah Institute for Heritage. These recurring cultural events add an events focus to the historic buildings, which you can take into account when planning the timing of your trip.

Architectural Features in Heart of Sharjah

Majlis Al Midfa is a historic site in Heart of Sharjah and has the only circular wind tower in the United Arab Emirates. The site was used for gatherings of regional intellectuals and merchants. Its circular barjeel—a wind tower—differs from the usual square form. Here, a distinctive architectural feature and the site’s former social use come together.

At Cultural Square, a sculpture of the Holy Quran stands on a 14-meter-high pedestal. This offers a choice of different points of interest: at Majlis Al Midfa, it is the shape of the wind tower; at Cultural Square, it is the sculpture on its tall pedestal.

Calligraphy and Creative Practice

The collection at the Sharjah Calligraphy Museum includes significant works by local and internationally renowned calligraphers. They are created on canvas, wood, paper, and ceramic. The variety of materials gives an impression of the breadth of calligraphy represented in the collection and makes it a distinct art focus alongside Sharjah’s architectural history.

The museum offers workshops where visitors can develop their calligraphy skills. If a workshop is important to your travel plans, check the museum’s current program.

Flag Island: Events and Leisure Activities

Flag Island lies in Khalid Lagoon, opposite Central Souk. A 123-meter-high flagpole stands on the island. When it opened on December 2, 2012, it was described as the seventh tallest in the world. Flag Island is also home to a 1,000-seat amphitheater. It hosts live shows, concerts, and Flag Day and National Day celebrations.

Al Montazah Parks are also on Flag Island. They combine a water park and an amusement park and are considered a family day-trip destination. The island therefore brings together different themes: the amphitheater’s events program and the parks’ leisure activities. If you want to plan your trip around a particular festival, concert, or holiday program, check the current event dates.

Al Qasba

Al Qasba includes pedestrian bridges and a complex along the canal. Here, the canal and bridges are the main spatial features, while Heart of Sharjah adds a historic architectural accent with its coral-stone houses and circular wind tower. This makes it possible to distinguish between canal-related features and historic architecture when choosing cultural and urban interests.

Discover more destinations: Khor Fakkan.

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