Landmarks · Era 1896
Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House
A short walk along the creek in Al Shindagha — an adjacent landmark outside the district proper — this 1896 house was the residence of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai from 1912 to 1958, and the childhood home of Sheikh Rashid. Its rooms now hold a remarkable archive of photographs, documents and coins showing the creek city before oil. The carved gypsum screens alone, casting lace-like shadows at noon, are worth the walk.
Sheikh Saeed House: The Ruler's Balcony Over the Creek
At the mouth of Dubai Creek in the Shindagha quarter — a short journey from the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, reachable on foot along the waterfront or by a traditional abra across the water — stands a great house of coral stone and gypsum, built around 1896, that served for decades as the residence of Dubai's rulers and the seat of the Al Maktoum family. Its most famous resident gave the house its name: Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, who ruled Dubai from 1912 until his death in 1958. In this house grew up the sons and grandsons who would lead Dubai's modern rise. The location was no indulgence: from balconies overlooking the creek's entrance, the ruler could watch with his own eyes the beating artery of his emirate — pearling fleets departing and returning, trading dhows arriving from India and Persia; the very commerce that built the fine Bastakiya houses of Al Fahidi on the opposite reach of the same creek. Today you can wander its courtyards and nine museum wings, filled with rare photographs of old Dubai, coins, stamps and historical documents, and admire its four wind towers, carved window screens and timber balconies. Then stand where the ruler once stood and look out over the water. From this very balcony, all of Dubai was once governed — back when the city was the sound of the sea, a sail on the horizon, and a house built of coral.