The famous French pilot-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupry (1900-1944) can be compared to the pilot-photographer Harold Gorden Leach Allsop. Al Serkal Cultural Foundation, in collaboration with Dar Bin Haytham, inaugurated an exhibition showcasing the artistic photography of Wing Commander Harold Allsop entitled Memories from the Past in Bastakiya.
Saint-Expury is best known for his novellas The Little Prince (Le petit prince) and Night Flight, and some other works. But Allsop took another path. He studied the Gulf in the 1930s during his trips to Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Palestine.
These trips were an occasion for him to record the culture, people, towns and cities of this area through his profound passion for photographic art. Both these men were artists; one through literature and the other through art.
This event illustrates the fact that much of our history is still undiscovered by us. We need to look for it in the West.
These pictures were taken 80 years ago. Behind them lies an interesting story. Patrick Allsop, the son of the pilot-photographer who received these photographs as a gift from his father, forgot about them until they were discovered by the grandson some 20 years later.
Then, an Emirati visiting Canada, where Patrick lives, heard about these pictures and informed Ahmad Bin Eisa Al Serkal about them. Al Serkal hurried to save this treasure and gave the collection as a gift to this exhibition so that it can be seen by the public.
The collection showcases photographs taken in different places in the Middle East, and includes the "Flight B Squadron in 1933", "Refuelling in Sharjah", "The Fort at Muscat", and other momentous images that take us back to the early 1930s. In this period, photographers were rare in our region. And this was the period that saw the establishment of the Gulf states.
These photographs have no colonial connotations and are not orientalist in nature. They are indeed, taken by a man with a strong passion for the Middle East.
Patrick talked about his father's passion for photography. He inherited these photos from him but he didn't understand their historical value; therefore he neglected them for 20 years.
"When my father left me these photographs, I couldn't understand their importance because I ignored Middle Eastern civilisation and culture as I didn't know much about the culture of the Middle East at that time.
"My son discovered them by accident one day, and cried: ‘Father, I found a treasure left by my grandfather'. Then I remembered that my father always told us tales and proverbs about the Middle East. I knew my father as a pilot but not as a photographer. He always had a small camera with him when he flew in this region.
"I would like to thank Ahmad Al Serkal who managed to show them in the UAE, especially in the historical Bastakia area, the UAE's public and Shaikh Mansour Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who honoured us with his presence."
These photographs record a very important stage in the development of the UAE and the Gulf region. We need this visual depiction of our history. If we compare the "Memories From the Past" exhibition and present-day UAE, we realise how much has been done in this country.
Museum plans
The discovery of these photographs shows us that documents on our heritage still lie undiscovered in the West. We need to do more research to find them. We can build a huge museum of photographs by gathering them from all over the world, as in the case of pictures taken by Allsop.
Al Serkal showed the extent of his interest in these photographs by publishing them in a special book in collaboration with Dar Bin Haytham Foundation.
This collection of photographs, also titled Memories from the Past, are taken in different places: streets, shops, castles, fishing areas, farms, aircraft stations and others.
There is also a remarkable collection of aerial photos of the coast of Ras Al Khaimah and other well known places. These photos are not only important for the Gulf but also for the wider world. They help promote interaction between the peoples of the West and those in the Middle East.
Pilot-photographer Allsop, who died in 1991 at the age of 82, didn't try to trade these pictures, but simply gave them to his son.
These images make one wonder how many Arabic documents are still lying undiscovered around the world.
The UAE has left no stone unturned in its efforts to preserve and promote its heritage. This is illustrated by the fact that Unesco has recognised falconry as a sport.
Shakir Noori is an editor and writer based in Dubai and Paris.
