Jazirat Al-Hamra

I visited the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village in February 2023. I was on the way from the emirate of Sharjah to the emirate of Ras al Khaimah, the last emirate in the United Emirates that I had not yet visited. The bus stopped at the bus stop Jazeera al Hamra and several passengers left the bus; I decided very spontaneously to get out there, too. According to the schedule, I had two hours until the next bus. I bought a bottle of water in a small shop opposite the bus stop and walked for about 35 minutes in hot temperatures through dusty and fairly deserted streets. You hardly saw anyone, and when you did, they were foreign workers from India or Bangla Desh.When I reached the large parking lot in front of the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, two Egyptian guards approached me and informed me that the area was closed.
I was sweating, in a bad mood, tired and simply refused to leave. I demanded to see the sites's manager or the person in charge. Luck was on my side. They automatically thought that I was part of the western camera team that was filming a documentary on the site with the senior local director in the middle.I could enter the Jazirat Al-Hamra area unaccompanied and without restrictions.

Within the fenced-off terrain, many areas were being built and restored; many areas were still in a very run-down and poor condition. You could see indian workers …