Sharjah

Sharjah sits at the threshold of the Arabian Gulf, its skyline a tapestry of low‑rise traditional buildings interspersed with modern forms shaped by the Al Qasimi dynasty. As the capital of its eponymous emirate, it ranks third in population within the United Arab Emirates—home to more than 1.8 million people as of 2023—yet it defines itself not through sheer scale but by a steadfast dedication to heritage, scholarship and culture.

Throughout its 235 square kilometres, Sharjah plays a central role in the federation of the UAE. Within a federal framework that shares defence, foreign policy and macro‑economic governance among the seven emirates, Sharjah retains control over local civil enforcement and municipal services. Since the early 1700s, members of the Al Qasimi family have steered the city’s course, navigating colonial treaties and post‑independence state‑building with equal skill.

An industrial and commercial hub, the city contributes roughly 7.4 percent of the nation’s GDP. Yet its reputation rests on a reputation for sobriety: the emirate prohibits alcohol, even within licensed venues, a policy that has shaped a distinct visitor profile and encouraged the growth of Islamic tourism. Sharjah’s streets echo with the call to prayer from elegant minarets, and its municipal policies earned it recognition as a World Health Organization “healthy city.”

Sharjah’s universities and colleges enjoyed international notice when QS ranked it among the world’s best student cities in 2016. A decade later, UNESCO acknowledged its commitment to the written word by naming it World Book Capital for 2019. Earlier still, in 2014, it had held the title of Islamic Culture Capital. These honours underscore a self‑image rooted in scholarship and the arts, one that distinguishes the emirate from its flashier neighbours.

Archaeological evidence suggests human presence around Sharjah for more than five millennia, drawn by fertile oases and its strategic position on maritime routes to India. In the early eighteenth century, the Qawasim tribe established itself here, declaring independence around 1727. Their skill at shipbuilding and maritime trade brought both wealth and the attention of regional powers.

By 1820, Sharjah’s ruler, Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi, accepted British protection through the General Maritime Treaty, a pact that sought to quell piracy and counter Ottoman influence. It was one of several Trucial States—so called for agreements signed with Britain—bearing the status of salute states, granted modest gun salutes to mark their standing. An English traveller of 1829 recorded Sharjah as a modest town of 600 inhabitants, a description that masks the city’s vibrant seafaring culture.

On 2 December 1971, just days before the end of British treaty obligations, Sharjah joined its neighbours in the Act of Union that founded the United Arab Emirates. A year later, Ras al‑Khaimah completed the federation. In the lead‑up to union, Sharjah sought both to modernize and to preserve its heritage—a dual priority that continues to shape its urban landscape.

In an innovation widely reported across the region, Sharjah’s public sector adopted a four‑day workweek on 1 January 2022, creating a three‑day weekend. It was the first government sector in the Gulf to make this shift, a reflection of Sharjah’s willingness to experiment with policies promoting work‑life balance.

Industry too has flourished. Air Arabia—based at Sharjah International Airport—became the Middle East’s first low‑cost carrier, its logo a familiar sight across Asia, Europe and the Gulf. Nearby, the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) offers full foreign ownership and tax exemptions. By 2023, more than 6,000 companies from over 90 countries had established operations there, fuelling a 6.5 percent surge in Sharjah’s trade volume.

Sharjah’s core unfolds along the shores of Khalid Lagoon, where the azure waters mirror the pearly domes of mosques. Two covered souks—one of them known as the Blue Souq—frame the waterfront. Designed by British architects Michael Lyle & Partners under the guidance of Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al‑Qasimi, the Central Souq opened in 1978. Today it contains around 600 shops, each crafted into a sinuous arcade of opaline arches and geometric screens.

To the east lies Rolla, named for the great banyan tree that once shaded its square. Rolla’s narrow lanes now bustle with traders and residents, its Market offering goods at modest prices. Nearby Bank Street houses a striking urban park, where benches, playground equipment and signage were contributed by locals recalling places meaningful from their travels. Each piece, replicated at one‑to‑one scale, tells a story of personal memory.

Downtown Sharjah—also called Al Majaz—serves as the emirate’s cultural and commercial heart. Its blend of traditional facades and contemporary public spaces hosts galleries, performance venues and municipal offices. Just beyond, the Wasit Suburb marks the city’s 20th‑century expansion inland, once bordered only by desert and tribal lands.

At Sharjah’s centre stands Al Hisn, or Sharjah Fort. Built in 1823 as both a stronghold and the Al Qasimi residence, its thick coral plaster walls and ceilings of bound palm matting were restored over two decades and reopened in 2015 as an open‑air museum. Nearby, the Al Mahatta Museum occupies the former Imperial Airways airstrip and adjacent fort, recalling the first international landing in 1932 and the site’s later service as a Royal Air Force base.

The Sharjah Heritage District—or Heart of Sharjah—is a long‑term project restoring the old town. Through five phases to be completed by 2025, traditional houses, souks and public buildings are being rehabilitated, creating an open‑air living museum with galleries, hotels and a revived Souk Al Arsa.

Green oasis springs amid the desert city. Sharjah National Park, at nearly 59,000 m², is a haven of picnic areas, children’s playgrounds and a duck pond. Cycling tracks thread past miniature clay models of local landmarks, while barbecues dot the landscape under date palms. Al Majaz Waterfront, a leisure precinct beside Khalid Lagoon, delights with an audio‑video dancing fountain, mini‑golf courses and family‑friendly rides. Its 2023 overhaul added new pathways, play areas and parking over six months at a cost of AED 5.5 million.

A short boat ride or pedestrian crossing leads to Al Noor Island, a sculpted retreat of gardens, art installations and the serene Literature Pavilion. Visitors wander beneath artful lighting displays and pause by the “OVO” and “Torus” sculptures, finding a quiet foil to the city’s kinetic energy.

Maryam Island, north of the city centre, represents a substantial investment in waterfront living. Encompassing 460,000 m² with a built‑up area of 310,000 m², it will house 38 residential towers and host over 35,000 units when complete. A 900‑metre promenade, an indoor garden, fitness clubs and a four‑hectare park promise a self‑contained community.

Further inland, the Al Qasba Canal carves a kilometre‑long corridor through the emirate. Lined with shops, restaurants and apartment buildings, its open‑air theatre stages concerts and festivals that draw thousands each year.

Sharjah’s commitment to preserving regional fauna is evident at the Arabian Wildlife Centre, founded in 1999 near the international airport. It displays more than one hundred species adapted to Arabia’s harsh climate, from desert foxes to long‑eared hedgehogs. A sister facility, the Breeding Centre for Endangered Wildlife, transferred its inhabitants—including Arabian leopards—to Al Hefaiyah Conservation Centre in Kalba when it closed to the public. Sharjah’s wildlife institutions extend support beyond national borders, assisting zoos in Yemen with animal management and veterinary expertise.

The Sharjah Art Foundation has championed ambitious installations. In 2018, the Rain Room by Random International opened permanently in Al Majarrah, allowing visitors to walk through rainfall without getting wet—its motion sensors pausing drops around each person. Annually since 2010, the Sharjah Light Festival transforms buildings across the city with laser projections and thematic narratives.

One of the emirate’s most idiosyncratic venues is the Flying Saucer—originally a 1970s brutalist café, rebuilt in 2015 and reopened as an arts centre in 2020. Its circular form and disc‑shaped roof, supported by V‑shaped columns, recall a spacecraft poised above the palm trees.

Mosques punctuate the skyline. The Sharjah Mosque, inaugurated in May 2019 at Tay, accommodates 25,000 worshippers and features interior space for 5,000. Its opening was marked by commemorative coins struck in gold and silver, each bearing a verse of the Quran. Before it, the King Faisal Mosque—named for the late Saudi monarch—was the emirate’s largest house of worship.

Beyond Islamic centres, Sharjah accommodates other faiths. In 1997, St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Cathedral was consecrated to serve the Syriac Orthodox community of migrants, primarily from Kerala and southern India. This church stands as a testament to the emirate’s growing diversity within the bounds of respect for local tradition.

In December 2020, the ruler inaugurated the House of Wisdom—a library modeled on the great Abbasid institution of Baghdad. Designed by Foster and Partners, its twelve thousand square metres contain reading halls, digital archives and a striking sculpture titled “The Scroll” by Gerry Judah, commemorating Sharjah’s UNESCO World Book Capital status.

Sharjah’s climate is classified as hot desert. Summer temperatures routinely climb above 40 °C, sometimes reaching 45 °C in July and August. Winters are mild, with daytime highs seldom exceeding 30 °C. Rainfall is scarce and irregular, concentrated from November through April, with February and March accounting for over two‑thirds of annual precipitation.

Transport infrastructure reflects both growth and ambition. Sharjah International Airport—once the region’s main aviation gateway before 1976—remains the third‑largest air cargo hub in the Middle East. Air Arabia’s presence has spurred a busy civilian terminal adjacent to the old Mahatta runway.

On the ground, two classes of highways—“E” roads linking emirates and “S” roads serving local areas—intersect across the emirate. Key arteries include E 11 (Al Ittihad), connecting Dubai and Ajman; E 311 (Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road), leading to Ajman and Ras al‑Khaimah; and E 88, which winds toward Fujairah through the Hajar Mountains.

Taxi services—franchised under names such as Emirates Cab, Union Taxi and Sharjah Taxi—operate on meters, with fixed inter‑emirate rates for cross‑border trips. The Sharjah Public Transport Corporation oversees shared taxis along predetermined routes, offering affordable mobility for low‑income residents. Intercity buses connect Sharjah with all other emirates from the Al Jubail bus station, ensuring that cities such as Abu Dhabi, Ras al‑Khaimah and Fujairah remain linked by daily schedules.

Plans are advancing for a Sharjah Metro—the third in the UAE after those in Dubai and Abu Dhabi—and since 2015 for a tramway. Together, these systems aim to relieve congestion on the roads crowded with commuters travelling between Sharjah and its larger neighbour, Dubai.

In contrast to the soaring towers of Dubai or the grand avenues of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah presents a more intimate vision of urban life in the Gulf. Its public buildings—each conceived in Umayyad and Abbasid styles by the ruler, who is himself a trained architect—offer a consistent aesthetic rooted in regional tradition. Arabic and English share signboards; South Asian, Russian and other languages fill its cafés and markets.

For visitors seeking to witness Islamic art and architecture without the veneer of globalized spectacle, Sharjah provides both a lens into the region’s past and a platform for contemporary expression. Its parks and waterfronts cater to families; its museums and festivals cater to scholars and dreamers. Here, commerce and conservation, industry and introspection, converge in a city that measures its success not only in economic figures but in the stewardship of memory. And so Sharjah endures as a place where the rhythms of heritage shape the ambitions of tomorrow.