Top 10 Historic Sites in the UAE in 2026

Ancient Julfar was the birthplace of Ahmed ibn Majid, the Arab navigator who guided Vasco da Gama to India in 1498, and the excavated port city near Ras Al Khaimah documents a trading civilisation that connected the Gulf to East Africa, India, and China from the 5th century AD.

The Mleiha plateau 60 kilometres from Sharjah city contains rock art, Iron Age tombs, and evidence of caravan routes connecting Arabia to Mesopotamia — the most diverse archaeological concentration in the UAE outside Al Ain and the only site with Umm An-Nar period tombs open for walking.

Built in 1787 of gypsum, limestone, and palm wood, Al Fahidi Fort is the oldest surviving structure in Dubai and now houses a museum so comprehensive about pre-oil Emirati life that architects have used it to argue that the building should have remained the city's most important.

Dating to the 16th century and positioned on a natural rock outcrop overlooking Fujairah's historic oasis, Fujairah Fort withstood multiple Omani and British naval bombardments and today houses a small weapons collection and a viewpoint that explains the fort's original strategic function immediately.

The preserved neighbourhood around the Sharjah Heritage Museum contains over 30 restored Emirati houses with original coral-wall construction, mud-brick fortifications, and the only remaining working barjeel (wind tower) system in the UAE that still cools a residential interior by convection alone.

Built on a 200-metre volcanic plug in Wadi Dhayah, Dhayah Fort is the last hilltop fortification remaining in the UAE and the site of the final battle against the British East India Company expedition of 1820 — the climb is demanding and the views of the Hajar Mountains justify every step.

The Al Bidya Mosque, built in the 15th century from mud brick and gypsum, is the oldest functioning mosque in the UAE and has operated continuously for over 600 years on the same site — its four mud domes, no two identical in size, remain structurally sound without modern reinforcement.

Dubai Creek has functioned as an active trading port for 200 years and the wooden dhow wharves in Deira still operate — Iranian, Indian, and Pakistani merchants load and unload by hand from boats that use navigational practices and cargo manifesting systems unchanged since the 1950s.

The Hili Grand Tomb in Al Ain's Hili Park dates to 2500 BC, the same era as the Great Pyramid of Giza, and its decorated facade depicting warriors, animals, and oryx represents the earliest known narrative stone carving found anywhere in southeastern Arabia.

Ancient Julfar was the birthplace of Ahmed ibn Majid, the Arab navigator who guided Vasco da Gama to India in 1498, and the excavated port city near Ras Al Khaimah documents a trading civilisation that connected the Gulf to East Africa, India, and China from the 5th century AD.

The Mleiha plateau 60 kilometres from Sharjah city contains rock art, Iron Age tombs, and evidence of caravan routes connecting Arabia to Mesopotamia — the most diverse archaeological concentration in the UAE outside Al Ain and the only site with Umm An-Nar period tombs open for walking.

Built in 1787 of gypsum, limestone, and palm wood, Al Fahidi Fort is the oldest surviving structure in Dubai and now houses a museum so comprehensive about pre-oil Emirati life that architects have used it to argue that the building should have remained the city's most important.

Dating to the 16th century and positioned on a natural rock outcrop overlooking Fujairah's historic oasis, Fujairah Fort withstood multiple Omani and British naval bombardments and today houses a small weapons collection and a viewpoint that explains the fort's original strategic function immediately.

The preserved neighbourhood around the Sharjah Heritage Museum contains over 30 restored Emirati houses with original coral-wall construction, mud-brick fortifications, and the only remaining working barjeel (wind tower) system in the UAE that still cools a residential interior by convection alone.

Built on a 200-metre volcanic plug in Wadi Dhayah, Dhayah Fort is the last hilltop fortification remaining in the UAE and the site of the final battle against the British East India Company expedition of 1820 — the climb is demanding and the views of the Hajar Mountains justify every step.

The Al Bidya Mosque, built in the 15th century from mud brick and gypsum, is the oldest functioning mosque in the UAE and has operated continuously for over 600 years on the same site — its four mud domes, no two identical in size, remain structurally sound without modern reinforcement.

Dubai Creek has functioned as an active trading port for 200 years and the wooden dhow wharves in Deira still operate — Iranian, Indian, and Pakistani merchants load and unload by hand from boats that use navigational practices and cargo manifesting systems unchanged since the 1950s.

The Hili Grand Tomb in Al Ain's Hili Park dates to 2500 BC, the same era as the Great Pyramid of Giza, and its decorated facade depicting warriors, animals, and oryx represents the earliest known narrative stone carving found anywhere in southeastern Arabia.