New Museum Hub displays 200-year-old antiques

A majlis that was originally located at Qasr Al Bahar in Abu Dhabi, the residence of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is among the rare antiques worth over Dh100 million on display at a newly opened Museum Hub at Souk Al Marfa, the waterfront souk and marketplace on Deira Islands.

The items are from the private collection of Emirati Naser Sulaiman, who has been meticulously collecting this selection of artefacts and antiques for over 25 years.

"I aim to educate and inspire tourists, expats and younger generations to learn about the heritage of our country and the advancements it has made in the past 50 years," he said. Some of the items were handed down to him, and he bought others at various auctions around the world.

Naser Sulaiman is also proud of the vast collection of paintings he has of the sheikhs of the UAE. Most are hand-painted, and some of them are up for sale.

The Museum Hub is divided into 50 booths or 'museums', in line with the UAE completing 50 years of union, with each museum having a theme. Old coins and currency, a prolific agal and ghutra collection, a selection of yowlah sticks, military equipment, rare pieces of crockery and more can also be seen in the UAE 'museum'.

The collection also includes all the medical stamps ever used in the UAE, an electrocardiogram machine and several other medical equipment ever used in the country.

The museum houses a variety of old radios, tape records, telephones and other telecommunication instruments.