Jebel Hafit Desert Park Advertorial

17 Feb, 2020

An Exhilarating Journey through 8,000 Years of Emirati History

Another addition to Al Ain’s host of world-class attractions has opened recently with the launch of Jebel Hafit Desert Park, where a fascinating insight into the UAE’s unique heritage is combined with range of thrilling outdoor activities.
Among the key attractions at Jebel Hafit Desert Park are its 5,000-year-old ‘beehive’ tombs, some of the most famous archaeological remains in the UAE, which attest to the rich history and ancient habitation of the area. It also offers beautiful natural surroundings for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy, with the Park stretching through nine kilometres of captivating terrain around the base of Jebel Hafit, the second highest mountain in the UAE.
Created by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the attraction will protect and preserve the rich biodiversity, archaeology and cultural heritage of the area. This is crucial as the Park’s natural and cultural features are of international importance, being one of the Cultural Sites of Al Ain that make up the UAE’s first designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Adventurous activities
Visitors to Jebel Hafit Desert Park will be inundated with a choice of activities. Whether it’s taking a guided hike around the archaeological remains, cycling along bike tracks, riding on a horse or a camel, or touring the area in a buggy, visitors of all ages and activity levels will be given an unforgettable and adventurous experience.

Three shelters within the grounds are perfect picnic-spots, while numerous shaded benches give hikers and cyclists places to sit back and enjoy the views. Those wanting to extend their stay can use the public campsite and spend the night under the stars in their own tent, or rent a traditional tent or even a luxury dome.

Significant site
UNESCO has noted that Al Ain is of “Outstanding Universal Value”, with its sites providing “exceptional testimony to the development of successive prehistoric cultures in a desert region, from the Neolithic to the Iron Age”.
The Jebel Hafit Desert Park area has proved exceptionally significant, with the excavation work here unearthing invaluable evidence into how the inhabitants of the region lived in past millennia.

This excavation work began in 1959, when the UAE’s Founding Father and first President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, then the Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain, invited a group of Danish archaeologists to excavate around Jebel Hafit. Sheikh Zayed was convinced that the ancient mounds contained important evidence about the deep history of the area. In 1961, the Danish archaeologists began their work and each of the mounds turned out to be a Bronze Age tomb dating to around 3,000 BCE.

The archaeologists found that the area had been an important site of habitation for thousands of years, from Neolithic herders who took advantage of the lush grazing grounds, through to the Bronze Age people who found spiritual significance in the natural environment and built the tombs here. Iron Age settlers then created ingenious ways to control the water supply through Aflaj (irrigation channels) and this became an important stopping point, or oasis, for the Bedouin as they navigated across the landscape. The biodiverse environment it created and the remains of early settlers dating back thousands of years make this site truly unique.

The tombs and artefacts here also show how over the millennia, the ancient people living in the area adapted to changing climate conditions and learned how to exploit resources within the vicinity of the mountain. The site provides testimony to the transition from hunter and nomad societies to the sedentary human occupation of the oasis, and the sustainability Al Ain’s culture up until the present day.
Another significant site is the village of Mezyad, located to the south of Jebel Hafit Desert Park, which became an important settlement with a number of historic buildings being built to defend key approaches to Al Ain. This includes the fort at Mezyad, believed to have been built during the reign of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (Zayed the First) in the 1890s, which can be viewed by visitors to the park.

Dedication to Heritage
One of the mandates of DCT Abu Dhabi is to preserve and promote the Emirate’s heritage. A major part of this has been securing the inscription of several of Al Ain places of historical interest onto the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the one at Jebel Hafit, as well as Hili, Bidaa bint Saud, and six of Al Ain’s oases, of which Al Ain Oasis is open to the public.
DCT has also worked in the field of intangible heritage, ensuring that numerous elements have been inscribed on the UNESCO Lists of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with the work and dossiers some of these being led by the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The inscribed heritage elements include Falconry, Al Sadu (weaving), Al Ayyala (traditional group performance), Al Taghrooda (poetry), Gahwa (Arabic coffee), Majlis (council gathering), Al Azi and Al Razfa (both traditional performing arts).

Other ongoing efforts include conservation of historic pre-oil buildings and landscapes, and the development of places of natural and cultural significance, including the sites in Al Ain and the Al Hosn site in Abu Dhabi. DCT Abu Dhabi also oversees the implementation of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Management Plan in coordination with local government and external agencies, helping to implement a value-based approach for the conservation of its archaeological sites, historic buildings and cultural landscapes.

Further information
Jebel Hafit Desert Park is open now. To get there, head south from Al Ain City, past Al Ain Museum along Road 21 in the direction of the border post with Oman. Jebel Hafit will be visible on your right after 15km. The park entrance is located just before the border post.
More information about Jebel Hafit Desert Park, and other attractions in the area, can be found at www.jebelhafitdesertpark.ae.