Commodifying Heritage: The Case of the Dubai Heritage Village

Hillary Shusterman

Professor Mona Damluji

9 December 2013

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BACKGROUND

Dubai today is described as one of the paradigms of architectural innovation, with a skyline that has established it as a powerful international entity. With its soaring glass towers and glitzy shopping malls, Dubai’s urban heritage has become a distant memory, an intangible idea that has been overshadowed by its exponential growth and modernization.

While Dubai’s urban identity has been codified as a cityscape, its origins and history are quite disjointed. In the fifteenth century, the Portuguese, followed by the

British, attempted to gain control over the area, which was then referred to as ‘Historic

Oman’.1 The land was sought after for its potential commercial gain, for example, the availability of spices, which were valuable at the time for their use in the preservation of food.2 In addition, the locals generated the majority of their income from fishing and pearling, leading to economic prosperity that appealed to global entities. The area became a cultural melting pot of nomadic groups across the present Middle East, such as the

Qawasim from Persia and the Bani Yas tribal group from the Najd area, what is now

Saudi Arabia.3 Even when Dubai became an established emirate in 1820, the population was made of mostly migrating tribal groups who were attracted to the region due to trade.4 As a result, Dubai’s local population became the minority of the area.

In present-day Dubai, the population is approximately one million residents; while locals make up only about ten percent, the majority is comprised of Arab, Asian,

1 Yasser Elsheshtawy, Dubai behind an Urban Spectacle (London; New York: Routledge, 2010), http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=446783. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. Shusterman 3 and Western nationalities.5 Due to its disjointed formation and cultural makeup, Dubai itself, as well as its “heritage”, can be described as a hybrid. There is no single heritage that can be defined or drawn from Dubai; however, there has been a drive to extract a coherent record of architectural and cultural heritage from Dubai in the midst of its exponential growth and urban development. In the last two decades, Dubai has witnessed major urban growth generated from oil revenue, leading to a rapid industrialization.6 In the period following World War II, Dubai was maintained as a mercantile city, remaining more or less a British protectorate. With British assistance, a series of development projects were executed that solidified Dubai’s position as a center of trade.7 When commercial quantities of oil were discovered in 1966, cheap labor foreigners from India,

Pakistan, and other countries began to inhabit the city.8 The new influx of revenue from the oil industry allowed for infrastructure development, providing the necessary environment for global corporations.

Today, Dubai has established itself as a cosmopolitan metropolis, becoming the cultural and industrial hub of the Gulf region.9 However, under the forces of an oil-based economy and the fast paced change, the UAE government is very keen on preserving, representing, and inventing a distinct ‘national’ culture and heritage.10 The globalization and modernity of Dubai has threatened what the UAE government imagines to be

‘authentic’ Emirati culture and heritage. These fears have been translated into the politicized government policy of heritage revival which is centered around museums,

5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Lucy Barnard, “Cost of Living in Dubai Rising Rapidly | The National,” accessed November 26, 2013, http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/economics/cost-of-living-in-dubai-rising-rapidly. 10 Oliver James Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area,” Journal of Heritage Tourism 5.1, no. 2010 (n.d.): 69–84. Shusterman 4 heritage villages/areas, the invention of cultural traditions, and the renovation of old buildings.11 While this need to establish a cohesive history to Dubai is rooted in a fear of loss of heritage, the UAE government preservation of a so-called ‘Dubayyan’ identity has some apparent capitalistic undertones. In Dubai’s fast growing and developing environment, historic quarters have become an afterthought, and in the eyes of the UAE government, a lost tourist opportunity.12 Therefore, under the administration of the

Department of Tourism, Commerce, and Marketing, these rebuilt sites of heritage are being resurrected not just to maintain some kind of lineage to Dubai’s past, but also to market itself to the outside tourist market.

Despite the desire to establish an all-encompassing heritage for Dubayyans, Dubai itself is very segmented. Referencing the map in Figure 1, while the inner city of Dubai has developed as a global city, the area close to the coast of the Arabian Gulf is historically where the local ‘Dubayyans’ were situated, where most of their income is generated from fishing and pearl diving.13 The local population is confined to three small enclaves located at the mouth of the Creek, which mostly residential with extremely limited commercial space.14 The area west of the Creek is still undergoing a process of rapid expansion, which began in 1970. “Dubbed as the ‘new Dubai’, this area is emerging as the new commercial and financial center of the city”.15 As a result of this growth, the city is composed of an immigrant population, which, proportionate to the natives, is the highest in the world.16 Dubai’s population as a whole has become a conglomeration of

11 Ibid. 12 Rami Daher, Tourism in the Middle East: Continuity, Change, and Transformation (Multilingual Matters, 2007). 13 Elsheshtawy, Dubai behind an Urban Spectacle. 14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Ibid. Shusterman 5 people with a variety of different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, there has been a drive to find a balance between modernizing for a global audience, while being conscious of a heritage of a population that do not necessarily identify as ‘Dubayyan’.17

UAE government policies have been instituted promoting heritage revival, building museums, heritage villages, renovation of old buildings, and the extraction a sense of cultural tradition. In the last decade, Dubai has capitalized on its so-called

‘heritage’, using it to full advantage in the development of their tourism industry. By conserving these heritage areas to save what is left of Old Dubai, the government is essentially re-using them to become an important economic force for the city.18

In this pursuit to create a singular historical narrative of heritage for Dubai, the fact that Dubai has developed into a modern multi-ethnic city has been overlooked.19

Therefore, the creation of heritage sites such as the Dubai Heritage Village represent a supposed ‘heritage’ that is not necessarily ‘Dubayyan’. Instead, it is a heritage that has been constructed, based off of a singularized historical narrative that is based on the notion of what tourists expect from a Middle Eastern historical site. The Dubai Heritage

Village is a site that is made to appeal to a global audience rather than the Dubayyan population itself.

17 Ibid. 18 Mohamed Amin Mohamed, “Heritage and Tourism: An Approach to Urban Conservation/Case Study of Dubai-UAE” (King Saud University, 2004), http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/hs/ArchCairo%202004%20Conference/mohamed%20amin%20%20hertige.pdf. 19 Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” Shusterman 6

ANALYSIS

The question that arises in regard to the construction of Dubai’s Heritage Village is whose heritage is represented, and for what audience is this supposed resurrection of the past speaking to. As previously addressed, the Village is an attempt by the UAE government to draw a cohesive narrative of architectural and cultural history from Dubai.

According to the UAE, “[the Heritage Village] is living testimony of the government’s respect of Dubai’s past. Exhibitions in the Diving Village illuminate Dubai’s historical significance as a pearling nation while potters and weavers practice their traditional crafts at barasti stalls set up in the Heritage Village”.20 However, the heritage that has been extracted and reconstructed through the Village is based off a singularized historical narrative, which is in direct contradiction to the hybridity of Dubai’s ethnic and cultural makeup and heritage. The separation of the Heritage Village from the central nucleus of the city mirrors the clear disconnect between the modern international city that Dubai has become and supposed ‘heritage’. The Heritage and Diving village is the physical manifestation through the build environment of the inner conflict Dubai is having between their desire to modernize for global audiences but also to be conscious of a heritage of a population that does not necessarily identify as ‘Dubayyan’. In turn, this

Disneyfication of Dubai’s so-called ‘heritage’ transforms it into a commodity, a commodity that the UAE views as a selling point for Dubai in the greater tourist industry.

20 “Heritage Village | Sightseeing in Dubai | Discover Dubai,” Emirates Taiwan, accessed December 7, 2013, http://www.emirates.com/tw/english/destinations_offers/discoverdubai/sightseeingindubai/heritageanddivin gvillage.aspx. Shusterman 7

In the last few decades, the UAE government has launched Dubai into the tourism market, reconstructing “real” traditional quarters to cater to an increasing demand for an authentic Emirati cultural experience and nostalgia.21 However, the placement of the

Heritage Village suggests an inner struggle in establishing a bridge between the old and the new – what Dubai supposedly was and the booming metropolis it is today. The

Village was constructed around old settlements of the local Dubayyan population located around the mouth of the Creek, where their income was predominantly fishing and pearl diving.22 Referencing the map in Figure 1, there is a clear separation between these quarters and the expanding city, which exists across the Creek to the west. This defining of the borders between Dubai’s past and present only furthers the notion that Dubai’s history must be compartmentalized and kept separate from the urban paradigm it has established itself as on the international stage.

While the Dubai Heritage Village is claimed to be an accurate representation of

Dubai’s cultural and historical heritage, when looking past the seemingly credible façade, its authenticity is put into question. The Dubai Heritage Village consists mostly of newly built structures that are designed to look like traditional Emirati constructions (Figure

2).23 While these mudbrick buildings claim to be constructed in order to simulate traditional Dubayyan architecture, they show signs of simulation.24 In reality, there is barely a clear record of what local Dubayyan houses and buildings actually looked like.

According to Yassar Elsheshtawy, “There is no detailed data as to the character of the

21 Oliver James Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area,” Journal of Heritage Tourism 5.1, no. 2010 (n.d.): 69–84. 22 Yasser Elsheshtawy, Dubai behind an Urban Spectacle (London; New York: Routledge, 2010), http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=446783. 23 Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” 24 Ibid. Shusterman 8 houses in Dubai except that they were built out of clay and coral fragments”.25 While the planners of the Heritage Village constructed the buildings out of the traditional materials, there was no clear record of the formula to create an authentic Dubayyan building. As a result, the Heritage Village, while it makes claims to authenticity, is actually the physical manifestation of an educated guess. Therefore, the notion of heritage claimed by the

Dubai Heritage Village is not meant to speak to any sort of native population who could recognize the architecture as a tradition of their own, but instead offers the suggestion of

Dubai’s culture and heritage.

Due to its isolated location and artificial upbringing, it is clear that the Dubai

Heritage Village, while it has made claims to rekindling a sense of Dubai’s cultural history, it is constructed and organized to meet the needs and expectations of Dubai’s tourist industry. The Dubai Heritage Village is administered by the Department of

Tourism, Commerce, and Marketing, which confirms that this site is not simply made for the purpose of nostalgia. By conserving areas considered to be ‘heritage sites’ to save what is left of old Dubai, the UAE government can re-use them as an important economic force for the city by establishing it as a tourist destination.26 In its development as a global city, Dubai has delved into the tourism in order to obtain foreign currency, competing between other cities in the UAE for the tourist trade.27 The formal elements of the Heritage Village’s built environment are also suggestive of its appropriation in the greater tourism industry of Dubai. The main entrances of the Heritage Village have been

25 Elsheshtawy, Dubai behind an Urban Spectacle. 26 Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” 27 Ibid.; Mohamed Amin Mohamed, “Heritage and Tourism: An Approach to Urban Conservation/Case Study of Dubai-UAE” (King Saud University, 2004), http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/hs/ArchCairo%202004%20Conference/mohamed%20amin%20%20hertige.pdf. Shusterman 9 designated with both Arabic and English translations, both occupying equal space on the façade of the building (Figure 3). The equal allocation of space of both languages on the entrance suggests that in the construction of the Heritage Village, staff wanted to have the site appeal to global audiences, prioritizing it as a tourist destination rather than a historicizing landmark.

Another factor that contributes to the artificialization of the Dubai Heritage

Village is the staff. While there is Emirati involvement, a large number of decision- makers and staff are non-Emiratis, mostly from other Arab countries and also Western expatriates.28 This introduces complex geometries of power in the decisions being made.

It is the non-Emirati staff that is reviving the Village’s heritage through living displays, taking on the roles of village residents.29 The performances include dance, music, storytelling, cookery, crafts, and pearl diving, which has its own designated area (Figure

4) and skilled staff to take visitors on a less risky version of the expedition. Participants pay an additional fee to take a trip on a dhow and dive for pearls at a modified depth, accompanied by rescue boats (Figure 5).30 While these performances and exhibits are certainly popular among visitors, they are merely a façade of authentic Emirati culture.

Although staff and national visitors at the Dubai Heritage Village certainly believe in an authentic past and an authentic Emirati culture, there is arguably no such thing as the

‘authentic past’…It is a sense of nostalgia rather than a need to ‘understand’ Emirati

28 Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” 29 Ibid. 30 Oliver Robinson, “Pearl Diving in Dubai - Around Town Features - TimeOutDubai.com,” TimeOut Dubai, accessed December 7, 2013, http://www.timeoutdubai.com/aroundtown/features/32166-pearl- diving-in-dubai#.UqNcKY06JrR. Shusterman 10 heritage that drives the Heritage Village.31 While initially this site was made for the purpose of reviving a cultural heritage that was swallowed up by the exponential industrialization of Dubai, it has been developed and transformed into a tourist attraction that suggests authenticity, but is in fact an artificial heritage. However valuable this rekindling of the past may be to the UAE, “visitors to this site are not primarily looking for scientific historical evidence. Visitors to historic sites are looking for an experience, a new reality based on the tangible remains of the past. For them this the essence of the heritage experience”.32

Although the creation of the Dubai Heritage Village was initially thought of as a way to preserve, represent, and invent a distinct culture and heritage, the site ultimately caters to an outside tourist market. While the commodification Dubai’s heritage is economically sound, the village rides a fine line between fact and fiction. Because of

Dubai’s fragmented ethnic and historical makeup, the reconstructed buildings, performances, and exhibitions are making claims to heritage that instead of acknowledging Dubai’s historical progression as a city, create a timeless, artificial reality of its past. The staticicity of the Heritage Village plays into the notion of self-

Orientalism, isolating its culture and heritage instead of creating a continuous historical narrative between what Dubai was and the booming metropolis it has become.

31 Picton, “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” 32 Ibid. Shusterman 11

Images Referenced

Figure 1: Map of Dubai

Figure 2: Overview of mudbrick buildings, Dubai Heritage Village Shusterman 12

Figure 3: Entrance to Heritage Village, Dubai Heritage Village

Figure 4: Entrance to Diving Village, Dubai Heritage Village

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Figure 5: Dhow boat, Dubai Heritage Village

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Works Cited

Daher, Rami. Tourism in the Middle East: Continuity, Change, and Transformation.

Multilingual Matters, 2007.

Elsheshtawy, Yasser. Dubai behind an Urban Spectacle. London; New York: Routledge,

2010. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=446783.

“Heritage Village | Sightseeing in Dubai | Discover Dubai.” Emirates Taiwan. Accessed

December 7, 2013.

http://www.emirates.com/tw/english/destinations_offers/discoverdubai/sightseeingind

ubai/heritageanddivingvillage.aspx.

Mohamed, Mohamed Amin. “Heritage and Tourism: An Approach to Urban

Conservation/Case Study of Dubai-UAE.” King Saud University, 2004.

http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/hs/ArchCairo%202004%20Conference/mohamed%20amin%

20%20hertige.pdf.

Picton, Oliver James. “Usage of the Concept of Culture and Heritage in the United Arab

Emirates: An Analysis of Sharjah Heritage Area.” Journal of Heritage Tourism 5.1,

no. 2010 (n.d.): 69–84.

Robinson, Oliver. “Pearl Diving in Dubai - Around Town Features - TimeOutDubai.com.”

TimeOut Dubai. Accessed December 7, 2013.

http://www.timeoutdubai.com/aroundtown/features/32166-pearl-diving-in-

dubai#.UqNcKY06JrR.