As a truly international city, Dubai is home to many religions, beliefs and houses of worship. And for the 50,000 Sikh residents of Dubai, the Guru Nanak Darbar temple has been their spiritual and cultural temple since 2012.
This beautiful piece of architecture, built at a cost of $20,000, incorporates both modern and traditional elements. It symbolises the unity of peace, solace and hope. The construction was funded by people from different religions and nationalities as the year of the construction, 2008, had seen a severe economic crisis.[ The beige-coloured Guru Nanak Darbar is a multi-story facility surrounded by a 54m Parikarma (a pathway for circling the temple while engaged in prayer).
The temple has a built up area of 120,000 square feet, spread over a 25,400 square feet plot of land. The land was a gift from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Gurunanak Darbar Sikh Temple
The temple is covered with traditional grill work and built next to a pond – inspired by India’s famed Golden Temple. Located at Jebel Ali Village, Guru Nanak Darbar is open to the public. Visitors can admire the temple’s unique architecture while being respectful towards worshipers and mindful about the dress code.
Gurunanak Darbar Sikh Temple
Gurunanak Darbar Facilities
The Gurunanak Darbar community kitchen, or langar, which fed almost 1,500 people on a usual day and up to 50,000 on special days, has been stopped since the lock down in April 2020. The ground floor (21,000 square feet) includes the reception desk, the iemple’s office, a dining hall, a kitchen, a pantry, and store rooms. There are also convenience rooms, a headscarf stand, shoe storage areas, Jora Ghar facilities in several parts of the building. The staircase inside the temple can carry a huge traffic of people in both directions, and there are also elevators.
Gurunanak Darbar Prayer Hall
The Prayer Hall on the first floor has Italian marble on the walls and floor, chandeliers from Murano, Italy, and a purple carpet. It also features 24-carat gold canopies for the Guru Granth Sahib, and in the centre, there is a raised platform with carved gold-plated pillars and above it is a gold-plated lotus-shaped dome. The dome is lined with a piece of cloth that has gold lace at its edge.
Gurunanak Darbar Services
The Guru Nanak Darbar holds three-hour classes for children on Saturdays to teach them Punjabi, Kirtan, and Gurdara protocol. Services offered at the temple include Akhand Path sahib, Sehaj Path, Sukhmani Sahib Path, Kirtan, Langar, child-naming Ceremonies, child amrit ceremonies, engagements, Anand Karaj (wedding ceremonies), matrimonial services, house-warming prayers, birthday or anniversary prayers, and condolence or memorial prayers. The temple houses several facilities including a meditation room, a library, kirtan classes, and Gurbani Santhiya classes.[
Every year, the temple attracts more than a million visitors.
Saruq Al Hadid is an archaeological site in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Findings from the site are displayed in a museum with the same name in the city of Dubai. The site was originally discovered by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, while flying his helicopter across the desert. He noticed a large black deposit in the sands and he reported the site to Dubai Municipality.
The site proved to be a field of waste, or slag, from copper and iron smelting. It was noticed that the extensive slag field, measuring some 1.5 hectares, had stopped the sand from shifting and blowing and so had preserved the underlying excavation site.
Pottery Artifacts found in the site
The Saruq Al Hadid site is believed to have been a centre of constant human habitation, trade and metallurgy from the Umm Al Nar period (2600–2000 BCE) to the Iron Age (1,000 BCE). During the iron age this site was a major location for smelting bronze, copper and Iron.
Arguably its most important period of development as a metallurgical centre was in the Iron Age II period (1100–600 BCE). Thousands of finds were documented at the site. One of the finds was an ornate gold ring, which became the logo for Dubai’s Expo 2020.
Archaeological Findings
Over 12,000 unique objects, mostly consisting of pottery and metal artifacts, have been excavated at the site. Some of the findings indicate some form of snake worship prevalent at that time. The findings also indicate that this place was a hub for manufacturing and international trade.
The fossilized bones of fish found in the excavation site tell us the people of that time went far and across the oceans even though they lived in the desert. One can infer the valuable beads found were meant to be sold in India.
Gold Ring
Museum
Visitors to the museum can even carry out their own dig in a simulated archaeological excavation. Children have their own gallery trail which keeps them involved and encourages them to explore each room in turn. There is a 3D movie hall in the museum and informative videos are projected on the walls during your exploration journey.
The building that houses the museum has cultural and historical significance in Dubai. It once served as the residence of Sheikh Juma Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum back in 1928. It is one of the finest remaining examples of Dubai’s traditional architecture. It is made of local materials such as coral, gypsum, and Chandal wood. During the conversion of the building into a museum, the original structure was carefully preserved along with new additions.
