In many ways, Sharjah could not be more different than Dubai. Perhaps most notably, this emirate is significantly more conservative. In fact, Sharjah is dry state with one of its most renowned landmarks being a museum dedicated to Islamic Civilization no less. It is also slightly more affordable, does not seem to be trying to become the next biggest holiday destination, and instead seemingly values keeping its own way of living as intact as possible. I do think that these differences are more than enough to justify a visit to this emirate, but in fact, Sharjah offers way more than just that. It is a rather sizable emirate on its own right, and the only one with holdings that look at both the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Moreover, in its capital, which is what I visited, it has an abundance of cultural sites and museums, which goes hand in hand together with its more conservative outlook. Join me as we find out why a day trip to Sharjah is one of the most enjoyable things one can do if you are staying in Dubai.
While I originally planned to take a bus to Sharjah, a day prior to my departure, I realized that there was a boat that left the port near Ghubaiba metro station and anchored near Sharjah’s Maritime Museum. Sailing the seas is always preferable to riding the bus, and I was going to take that same bus in the opposite direction to get back to Dubai later that day anyways, so I hopped on ferry FR5, and merrily made my way to Sharjah. I immediately entered the Maritime Museum and bought a combined entry ticket that would let me see the premises and the nearby aquarium. The museum itself was enjoyable, though a bit small, but it did tell quite a lot about different types of ships that were and still are prevalent in the region, which is interesting to those interested in all aspects of the sea like me.
I then moved on to enjoy the nearby aquarium, which was yet another short but sweet experience. Truth be told, I was certainly rushing around a bit in both of these premises, as I had a long walk to the city center that awaited me. If I had taken the bus to come to Sharjah I would already be in the city center, alas, taking the ferry meant that I had to walk for quite a while in parts of the town that were actively being developed before I could actually arrive at its more central parts.
It was already noon by the time I arrived at Sharjah’s bustling cit center, so I decided to take a quick break and enjoy a quick lunch at Tasty Station. I am very happy to report that this restaurant was, in fact, as tasty as its name suggested. In fact, the simple Szechuan noodles with shrimps that I ordered was even a bit better than how I make them back home, which is not usually the case with noodle dishes I try elsewhere. Shrimps were just the right size and were cooked to perfection, and the sauce was potent, though it could have been a spicier. Moreover, the vegetables remained crunchy, which is always a plus in my book as well.
I was also taken aback with just how good their sweet melon bubble tea tasted. I did not expect such a flavor bomb, yet there it was. It goes without saying that the staff worked efficiently, and they were also quite friendly. Certainly being satisfied with that small feast, I quickly made my way outside, knowing fully well that there was a lot to see in this rather big Emirate in the remainder of the day.
After a short walk, I found myself in the Al Majaz Waterfront, where I checked out the Al Taqwa Mosque in its center. This was a particularly green area and it can be considered as the starting point of the corniche of Sharjah, which eventually brings you quite close to the city’s historic center.
On the way I found a few more beautiful mosques, and a lovely ship that seemed to be working as a restaurant. I could also see the rising new skyline of the city on the left, which was actually the part I was dropped off in the morning.
Soon enough, I arrived at the entrance of Al Noor Island and was met with the first unexpected news of the day. For some reason, the park was off limits for the general public on that particular day. It was reserved for some sort of an event. This was a mostly manmade island with a ton of greenery on it as well as some interesting attractions, and it was certainly one of the bigger reasons that excited when I started to plan my visit to Sharjah. Well, I was not meant to see it. Certainly a bit let down not to be able to enjoy both the natural beauties and the modern art that I would find inside, I slowly made my way to see the rest of Sharjah.
However, before I made it to city’s heritage centres, I slightly changed my route to visit the nearby King Faisal Mosque, which certainly looked a bit unusual in the best way possible. As always, I was in my shorts again, and thus I cannot say whether the insides looked as interesting as the exterior or not, alas, it was well worth walking a bit more to get this closer shot regardless.
I then moved on to the city’s historic heart, where you can find a plethora of museums. Here, once again, I ran into an issue. Most of the museums in the area were not accepting any visitors, well, at least not from the general public. Once again, something was going on in them, and as such I was told to visit some other museums in the vicinity. This was rather unexpected, but I also had no delusions about being able to visit tens of museums in a day, so I took the news like a true stoic. After spending some time around this area and then realizing that the sun was already about to set, I started to hasten my walk around the city. I enjoyed the few classic cars found around Souq Al Shanasiyah, but without stopping there at length, I quickly made my way to the nearby Sharjah Fort.
It costs 10 AED to visit this fort. To be clear, this place was used as a prison and a fort for a long time, until it was eventually destroyed. It was then rebuilt quite recently, to be used as a museum to tell the history of the region and the Emirate.
All of its rooms told a different part of the local history, and all was as informative as I liked it. The tone used in most of these rooms was also much welcome to me as a historian, as it felt quite neutral, which is not necessarily the case everywhere. I could not help but left the place with much appreciation for its curators and donators, finding a really good museum can be such a difficult feat these days.
It goes without saying that I loved every single second I spent in Sharjah Fort, and feeling quite energized thanks to that visit, I made my way back to Souq Al Shanasiyah, through which I would reach the two remaining museums on my list.
The first one of these was the Sharjah Art Museum, and it was actually free to visit. Well, do not let its non-existent price tag fool you, despite being “just a freebie,” this turned out to be the most enjoyable museum I visited in Sharjah. There were two wings to explore at the time, though a bunch more were undergoing renovations. Among the open two, one wing was dedicated to orientalist paintings focusing on the Persian Gulf, and the other wing was full of various artworks from local artists.
Suffice to say, I simply adored that latter wing, which made me realize just how many different styles did Arabic artists employ in their work. While there were a lot of paintings like this one, there were also a ton of other artistic displays that commented on everyday Arab life using more different techniques and materials. This is to say, there are much more to this museum than just excellent paintings, and it would be a mistake not to spend some time here.
I must have spent almost an hour in the art museum because by the time I left it, the sun had already set. Thankfully, my last remaining museum was just around the corner.
This was none other than the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization. It is a very sizeable one. You pay 10 AED to visit it, and if you are interested in the subject and did not visit a museum of this kind before, it is a bargain to say the least. There are four exhibitions on the ground floor, and four other upstairs. The ones on the ground focus on Islamic science, technology, Hajj rituals, and so on, whereas the ones upstairs are less interactive and instead focus on culture and literature.
Other than a few fully functional scientific contraptions that you could enjoy, I also really appreciated the effort that was put in for different types of visitors in this museum. For example, at certain exhibitions, visually impaired visitors could enjoy touching and feeling some replicas like this one. Children seemed to have liked them quite a lot as well.
Moreover, there was a part dedicated to Islamic coins, and you could actually enjoy a very big collection of these using these displays with built in movable magnifiers, which made it so easy to see all the details of these tiny pieces of gold and silver. In short, it would be most difficult to leave this place disappointed if you enjoy learning about Islam or Islamic civilizations at large.
Eventually I started walking towards the city’s bus station, though on the way I managed to go through multiple souks, most of which seem to be livelier now that the sun was down. While I would not mind seeing the city at night, I really had to go back to Dubai so that I could recharge for the next day. Besides, Sharjah already provided me with a full day of entertainment despite some last minute alterations to my original plans. I sure would not mind visiting it again to finally see its Al Noor Island, and to observe how the locals live at night, when I am sure this emirate shines even brighter. Until then, I do hope that this short piece of mine was enough to convince you that a cheeky little day trip to Sharjah is well worth your time if you are staying in Dubai and have a day to kill, you will not regret it.