“It really reminded us of the old days”: Inside The RAGE 90s in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: An ice-cold Rc Cola from the corner shop, Oman-chips with yoghurt, the glow of an Atari screen, a gold-and-white taxi gliding down the Corniche, and the songs of Jaber Jassim and Khaled Mohamed crackling from the car stereo, with a bag of Pofak in your hand.

That is the Abu Dhabi that comes alive at The RAGE 90s, which has taken over the Cultural Foundation in Al Hosn until Sunday, November 8, and is organised in collaboration with the Cultural Foundation, a cultural centre under Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi).

Each evening from 5pm to midnight, 20 retro retail brands and 20 food and beverage stalls line the grounds, classic arcade machines blink back to life, and an amphitheatre screens 90s films under the open sky.

For some, it is a trip down memory lane; for others, a first glimpse of a decade they only know from stories.

Gulf News spoke to visitors of all generations, from those who grew up in the 90s to the young people discovering it for the first time, about what brought them here and what it feels like to step into the Abu Dhabi of another era.

"Like flashbacks of old memories"

For 37-year-old Faryal Amin Butt who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, the exhibition is a reminder of how much has quietly faded from the city.

“There is a lot of stuff which has eventually, with time, evaporated from the UAE,” she said. She points to the old taxi as the “wow factor”, and recalls Action Zone, one of the first arcades to open in the city, and the Konica photo shops where you took your film to be developed. “Now you don’t have them at all.” The only thing missing, she says, is the Corniche fountain. Perhaps a pop-up next year could add it to the collection.

Her husband, Ammar AbdelHakim, 30, from Egypt, has lived in the UAE for only three years, but the nostalgia works on him too. “It’s really bringing flashbacks of old memories. Back in time, everything was livelier and more cheerful.” Technology may have moved on, he said, but “people still feel this thing for the roots.”

Gen Z and Gen Alpha may wonder what they are looking at, but for their parents’ generation, the wow is still there.

Step inside the decade

And there is plenty to see. The gold-and-white taxis that once crowded the city’s streets are parked up for a close look, alongside classic cars and vintage motorcycles.

Then come the shopfronts, bearing names that will ring a bell for many residents: Ayub Ali Store, Shabab Al Wadi Recordings, Doukan Abbas, Mahalat Abu Omar and Doukan Al Tayebeen.

Wander into an old baqala stocked with the snacks, toys and games children used to spend their pocket money on, or step into a recreated living room, furnished just as family homes once were.

Photography studios bring back the days of printed portraits.

Then there is the taste of it all. Cafeteria Ahmed serves ice-cold RC Cola, and try Chips Oman served with yoghurt, a combination that will take many visitors straight back to childhood.

The arcade draws the biggest crowds, with the Atari and the PlayStation at the centre.

“You would wait until your mom and dad went to sleep, and then you would sneak and play late into the night,” Ahmed said. It is his favourite corner of the whole event.

The smell of an old house

25-year-old Ahmed bin Helal came for the cars. “I love the classic cars,” he said. But it was the small details that won him over: the decor in the shops and, above all, the smell.

“I understand how they brought the decor, but I don’t understand how they recreated the smell of old traditional houses. It is the smell of my late grandmas home.”

His friend Waleed Al Mesaabi was struck by how much of what is on show can no longer be found elsewhere, from the fresh juices to the details in the shops. “There are many things here you don’t find anywhere else anymore,” he said. He also likes how children are introduced to history here “in a fun and creative way”.

Mohammad Al Saleh who is born in the 90's was drawn to the old arcade games they were once addicted to, the classic cars and the photo studios. “It was a lovely initiative, and we enjoyed it,” he said. For him, the real feeling of being taken back is about simplicity: a time when life was less complicated and families gathered around the one television in the house.

From the youngest visitors, the food steals the show

For the youngest guests, the 90s are a decade from before they were born, but that did not stop them from joining in.

Reem, 11, and her sister Mouza, 8, arrived dressed in traditional colourful Mkhawars and jewellery.

“The food is nice and the juice is nice,” Reem said, who singled out the warak enab (vine leaves) and the juice as her favourites.

Mouza was even more enthusiastic. “I loved everything,” she said.

"It reminded us of the old days"

For Manar Abdullah Salem Al Jaafari, who was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, the visit was a trip back to the decade she grew up in. She came after friends told her how good the event was, and it lived up to their word. “What I saw from the 90s really reminded me of the old days. I loved the atmosphere and the vibe.”

It was the shopfronts that hit her hardest. Seeing the old names, Shabab Al Wadi Recordings and Cinema Eldorado, took her straight back to days gone by. “I really encourage people to come,” she said

Whether you grew up with a pocket full of coins for the baqala or have only ever heard about it from your parents, The RAGE 90s has something for you. Go for the cars and the arcade, stay for the snacks, and leave with a few stories to tell. There are only a few evenings left to catch it.