Sharjah

The story of Sharjah

Sharjah has had a settlement for more than 5,000 years. The Huwayla tribe of the Qawasim clan settled there around 1727 and declared the town independent, and the Al Qasimi family has ruled since the eighteenth century.

Al Hisn, the fort that served as the seat of government and the family residence, was built in 1823. Sheikh Sultan I signed the General Maritime Treaty with Britain in 1820. In 1829 James Silk Buckingham described a town of five to six hundred inhabitants.

Sharjah joined the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971. It was the Capital of Islamic Culture in 2014 and UNESCO named it World Book Capital for 2019. The 2022 census recorded 1.6 million people in the city.

Falconry in Sharjah

The Sharjah Falconers Club was inaugurated on 15 February 2025 by Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, in the Al Burair area.

Its headquarters include a lecture hall, a training centre for glider and drone simulation, a falconers' library, an exhibition of falconry tools and a clinic with a laboratory and CT scanner, which Gulf Today describes as the largest in the Arabian Gulf region.

The Al Muqayd shelter holds 500 birds and has air purification and temperature and humidity sensors. At the opening the Ruler approved a falcon breeding centre project developed with the University of Al Dhaid and designated the area around the club as a protected zone for falconry training.

He also presented the Distinguished Falconer Shield to falconers who had won local and international titles.