Abu Dhabi: Everybody knows Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan as a great leader, but a photo exhibition here reveals some of his intimate moments as a loyal father and great friend.
The history of Shaikh Zayed is blended with the history of the UAE, so an exhibition of his photographs is an appropriate way to celebrate the 40th National Day, said a senior official who inaugurated the exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
"Shaikh Zayed's heart was broad enough to accommodate all of us together," said Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour.
He inaugurated the exhibition called ‘Late Shaikh Zayed's visit to Switzerland through the lens of Noor Ali Rashid, the Royal Photographer,' at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador to the UAE in Al Bahia on Wednesday evening.
The pictures, taken by the royal photographer, reveal Shaikh Zayed as a loyal father and great friend, said Shamsa Noor Ali Rashid, daughter of the late Noor Ali Rashid. Everybody knows Shaikh Zayed as a great leader and these pictures in Switzerland revealed other aspects also, she said.
Shaikh Zayed can be seen wearing a dishdasha in all the photos although he was in a foreign country. He is seen with his sons who are very young in most of the photographs, including President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan; General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region, are seen in their childhood sharing intimate moments with their father in Switzerland.
A gift to a father
Shamsa said it was the first such exhibition she attended after the demise of her father on August 18, 2010. "This is a gift to my beloved father," she said.
Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart, Swiss Ambassador to the UAE, highlighted the importance of 1971 to both countries. Switzerland was 680 years old when the UAE was formed in 1971 and it was the same year women were given the vote.
"My wife Joy and I are honoured and pleased to host this wonderful exhibition at the Swiss residence, hoping that this exhibition will be a part of the Shaikh Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi one day," Bruelhart said.
He said the exhibition was a contribution from the Emirati-Swiss Friendship Forum to the 40th National Day, to pay tribute to the leader responsible for uniting the seven emirates.
He thanked Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Aabar, a UAE company, for their sponsorship and support. He also thanked Shamsa and the Noor Ali Rashid family for the opportunity to display the special collection.
Information
- What: Shaikh Zayed's visit to Switzerland through the lens of Noor Ali Rashid
- When: November 2 to 16
- Where: Swiss Residence in Al Bahia
- Entry For appointment: contact 02 6274636
