Al Nasla
For most of the year, the houses are empty. Forty modern structures stand in a wadi below the village of Rafaq in Ras Al Khaimah, built on the orders of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum -- the man who transformed Dubai from a creek-side trading post into a modern city. But Al Nasla is not Dubai. It is a mountain settlement in Wadi Qor, deep in the Hajar range, and the young people who once lived here have long since left for the coast. The houses wait for Eid.
A Ruler's Gift
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who ruled Dubai from 1958 until his death in 1990, was known for his infrastructure projects -- the creek dredging, the port, the airport, the bridge that connected Deira to Bur Dubai. His attention extended beyond the city that made him famous. In Al Nasla, deep in the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah emirate, he ordered the construction of 40 houses and a mosque. The gesture was characteristic of a ruler who understood that loyalty is built through provision. But the houses could not hold the people against the pull of the coast.
Eid Homecoming
Al Nasla's calendar has two seasons: the long quiet and the brief return. During Eid -- the Islamic holidays that bring families together across the UAE -- families who have scattered to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, and the other coastal cities come back to the village. The mosque fills. The houses open their doors. Children run through streets that stood silent for months. For a few days, Al Nasla is a village again rather than a collection of structures. Then Eid ends, the cars pull away on the mountain road, and the quiet returns.
The Fort on the Hill
An Islamic-era fort, dating to the 19th century, has recently been restored at Al Nasla. The fortification reflects the strategic value this wadi once held -- Wadi Qor is a natural corridor through the Hajar Mountains, and controlling it meant controlling movement between the coast and the interior. The fort's restoration is part of the UAE's broader effort to preserve heritage sites in remote areas, even as the populations that gave those places meaning continue to drift away.
Mountain Visit
In 2008, Sheikh Rashid's son, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum -- by then the ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE -- visited Al Nasla during a tour of the mountain areas. The visit connected two generations of rulers to the same remote settlement. What the elder Rashid built, the younger Mohammed came to see. Al Nasla endures as a quiet monument to the tension at the heart of the Emirates: a country that builds cities at breathtaking speed while the mountain villages that preceded them slowly empty.
From the Air
Located at 24.87N, 56.26E in the Hajar Mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The village sits in Wadi Qor, a mountain valley. The terrain is rugged and mountainous. Nearest airport is Ras Al Khaimah International (OMRK). Best viewed at low altitude following the wadi system.