Farouq: a collector of antiques

He carefully slipped the envelope out of the plastic covering that had protected it for many years and I was curious, to say the least.

The envelope, addressed to the ruler of Sharjah, was stamped in 1879 and remains in near-perfect condition.

Mohammad Seddiqi Farouq handed me the envelope to inspect and told me how it was posted from Linga to Bombay (Mumbai) 129 years back. Farouq's family has been in the UAE for at least 125 years.

“It is next to impossible to own something this profound because it is priceless,'' Farouq said. “Even $1 million (Dh3.67 million) is too little a price for such an heirloom.''

The Pakistani national is a collector and bought the envelope at the auction house, Spink, in the UK. His house is filled with antique objects and there's even a room dedicated to his prized stamp collection.

“I have [collected] millions of stamps ever since I was a young child,'' Farouq said.

As we continued to talk about his love of all things old and meaningful, he took out two other envelopes, dating back to the early 1930s.

They were mailed from Oxford, England, to India via Bahrain and Sharjah.

Around the world

“The first post office in Dubai was set up in 1909 but there was still no post office in Sharjah until 1932. These envelopes were part of the first air mail service,'' he said.

What's more fascinating, he admits, is their journey and the number of hands they changed. Yet, surprisingly, the quality remains almost perfect.

Farouq's attachment to antique objects stems from the fact that his family has been in the region for more than a century.

“We are one of the oldest inhabitants and, in those early days, Dubai was famous for its pearls and my family was engaged in the trade. It is true the most expensive pearls in the world were found in Dubai,'' he said.

He claims his grandfather was among the richest men in the Emirates and had a team of divers to get the finest pearls, which were then taken to London — a major selling hub.

The family business grew quickly and more offices were opened in Bombay and Indonesia. However, soon after, the business suffered a setback when Japan introduced the cultured (synthetic) pearl.

“They were made so well that it became increasingly difficult to distinguish between the real pearls and the cultured ones. And so my grandfather's business started to collapse slowly,'' Farouq said.

Fortunately, the family had other successful businesses to fall back on — real estate development, mostly in the Bastakia area in Bur Dubai.

“The Dar Al Nadha and a mosque were built by my grandfather, Abdul Rahman Farouq, in 1925. When Prince Charles visited Dubai decades ago, he was impressed and suggested that it should not be demolished, as it is part of the heritage,'' he said.

The government of Dubai took over the houses in the Dar Al Nadha area to ensure that their distinct architectural style was preserved.

As compensation, families living there were provided land that was 11 times more valuable.

Deep connection

Even though most of Farouq's family is from Linga, they now occupy various government positions in Dubai.

At the moment, Farouq travels back and forth from his home country, which he describes as a place that is really hard to resist.

“I love to travel. And will you believe me if I tell you the mountains of Pakistan are more majestic than those in places such as Switzerland?'' he said.

But despite the family's deep and strong links with the region's history, Farouq's application for a UAE national passport is still pending.