Sharjah: Sharjah updated its bid as a Unesco Word Heritage Centre, revising the title ‘Heart of Sharjah’ to ‘Sharjah, a Gateway to Trucial States’.
The Higher Committee of the Heart of Sharjah’s bid to be entered on the list of World Heritage Sites by Unesco, announced on Saturday that it updated the title of its bid submitted to the Unesco World Heritage Centre. The move was based on the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
The move aims to highlight Sharjah’s historical role in the political, economic, cultural and social contexts within what was then known as the “Trucial States Council”, established in Sharjah during the era of British rule.
The council played a great role in paving the way for establishing united ties based on the brotherly relations of the rulers of the seven emirates, leading to the announcement of the formation of the UAE on December 2, 1971.
Unesco has registered the Heart of Sharjah in the tentative list of World Heritage Sites, in a testimony of the archaeological and historical richness of the UAE. The announcement was made in February 2014, in concurrence with the official celebrations of the Sharjah Islamic Cultural Capital 2014.
Shaikha Budour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Higher Committee of Heart of Sharjah’s bid for World Heritage Sites, said that the “Sharjah, a Gateway to the Trucial States” file gives the Heart of Sharjah more value, as the new name highlights the political, economic, cultural and social roles played by the area in the previous century, when it hosted the first meetings of the Trucial States Council.
Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Heart of Sharjah’s World Heritage Site bid, commended the update of the initial file submitted to Unesco, affirming that the new title will help expand the geographical scope of the area nominated to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site, and will highlight the role of Sharjah during one of the most vital periods in the region’s history — the mid-twentieth century.
