Dubai: The Architectural Heritage Department of Dubai Municipality, in coordination with the UAE Heritage Association, will organise a lecture on Wednesday on "inheritance of cities" in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in ancient history.

Dr Hamad Mohammad Bin Sarai, Associate Professor of Ancient History in the UAE University, will deliver the lecture, which will be held at Dar Al Nadwa in the Bastakiya area at 7pm.

This was stated by Rashad Mohammad Bukhash, Director of Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality, who added that this lecture comes as part of educational and awareness-raising events held by the Department throughout the year to raise awareness of culture and heritage among the various groups in society.

He added that in south-eastern Arabian Peninsula a number of cities, ports and towns emerged in different interior, coastal, plain and mountainous environments and on oases.

"They have played important economic roles in the region and contributed to the cultural exchanges between the regions and neighbouring areas.

Local and imported goods were exchanged and some of them earned global reputation over the centuries and became great archaeological places.

Some included elaborate residential and defence plans. These towns, cities and ports had been exchanging roles and inheriting places era after era that extended from the third millennium BC to the seventh century AD, said Bukhash.

This lecture is an overview of the phenomenon of inheritance of cities and their emergence in the region with different environments and places.

Archaeological sites, historic cities and coastal ports, such as Umm Al Nar, Tel Abraq and Al Dour (Oman), Julfar, Shaml, Dibba, Sohar, Maleha, Baat, Heily and Samad are found in this part of the Arabain Peninsula.

It is believed that a lot of these places might have inherited roles, one after the other and some of them lasted to stay together through the test of time. It is clear that some originated on the coast of the Arabian Gulf and some on the coast of the Gulf of Oman and some in the interior and they were all linked through land routes.