“Arkheopolis”: The Phantom Fort (ICA Congress – Episode I, October 9, 2023)

Today, on this pre-conference day, various workshops being held there, as well as meetings of the International Council on Archives (ICA), a unique visit was organized, 2 and a half hours drive away, in Al-Ain (العين = "the Source"): Al Murabba Fort or more precisely, ultimately, the Abu Dhabi Police Museum, all in an exceptional atmosphere!

Al Murabba Fort

Al Murabba Fort was built in 1948 under the leadership of the father of the nation (December 2, 1971), the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان) (May 6, 1918 – November 2, 2004), the "Wise of the Arabs" (حكيم العرب), then ruling the Eastern region and wanting a watchtower to maintain security in Al-Ain, this fortified rectangular structure of 2 floors plus a roof (used for surveillance and for observation) made of mud bricks initially housing the local administration of Al-Ain. In November 1959, the fort became a police station, known locally as Murabbat Zayed and comprising 20 personnel affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Police and Public Security Department, specializing in security matters, with the fort being surrounded, since 1968, by a wall forming a large open rectangular courtyard. To the east of the old police station, the new Al Murabba police station currently located there, was the old Al-Ain central prison.

Al Murabba Fort is an authentic historic building displaying many traditional United Arab Emirates (UAE) (الإمارات العربية المتحدة) building materials and techniques, the historic Mutaredh falaj irrigation system, marked by a line of access wells (thuqab) individuals, extending widely from east to west to the north of the fort. Together they constitute an important part of the historic cultural landscape of Al Ain, with Al Murabba Fort lying immediately to the north-east of the Al Ain Oasis and forming part of the cultural sites of Al -Aïn, classified as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) since 2011.

We therefore only saw the facade of the fort, which was indeed very interesting, with numerous works taking place in the interior courtyard.

The Police Museum

The police museum was therefore the highlight of this excursion, with a reception worthy of a State visit, a real delegation of police officers in full uniform, accompanied by 2 photographers, welcoming us in an extremely warm manner. Note also that the museum is usually open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., so we were especially welcomed in the middle of the afternoon...

When we entered the museum itself, a guard of honor awaited us, as well as a snack (coffee, very good it seems to me, but since I never drink it I can hardly say, and traditional pastries, as well as small chocolates), all this to the sound of sweet traditional oriental music as I like it...

In addition, young children in traditional costumes offered us a rose... several for the luckiest, obtaining no less than 4 for me, always from the same littel girl (they will decorate my hotel room until the end of my stay, regretting not being able to bring them back to France), don't ask me why such charm, not even wearing Donald Duck that day (yes, I sometimes don't wear one)...

On May 3, 1994, Sheikh Zayed (of omnipresent memory in the museum) announced the conversion of the former Al-Ain Police Department building, "Fort Al Murabba", into a permanent police museum, however being impossible to transform the fort into a museum. As a result, they chose the neighboring building to house the exhibition, with the museum curators keen to transfer the palm tree trunks recovered from the tower during its restoration to decorate the ceiling of the museum hall, inaugurated on February 23, 2019, during the Al Murabba heritage festival, on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first promotion, the "1st Squadron Zayed", of the Abu Dhabi Police Academy, created in 1957, some of these former graduates participating in ceremony.

The Al Murabba Museum became a cultural icon, housing an exhibition tracing the history of security and policing from the earliest ages of ancient Egypt and the Umayyad Caliphate (الخلافة الأموية) (661-750) and in all regions of the world, 2 panels evoking France in medieval times and with the first lieutenant general of police of Paris (1667-1697), Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie (May 25, 1625-June 14, 1709), detailing the history of the Abu Dhabi Police through different phases, the museum including old photographs, collectibles (number plates, badges and weapons)...

... uniforms...

... equipment (motorcycles and cars) and devices (road radars) documenting the history of the police...

The first floor concerns the library, with the oldest works devoted to the Abu Dhabi police, as well as the remarkably developed educational service. We ended the visit here, with a snack, or almost, and a last little gift of a bottle of fruit juice (mango being my choice)... one last surprise, shortly after getting back in our bus, waiting for us: a small stop with our police companions in the souk, very authentic, with tons of dates and unlimited fruits and vegetables, without forgetting the sweet smell of spices...

A long visit therefore by its route, but which we did not see pass, so eagerly did the police display to please us and to show us the pride of their work (we also signed their guestbook). Thank you again for this wonderful welcome, ladies and gentlemen, we will not soon forget it!