SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates — As a historically significant seaport on the Arabian peninsula in the Gulf, the city of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates gets busy every April with a large spring festivity that celebrates local heritage, displaying authentic rituals, music and arts.

The Sharjah Heritage Days has been held for 15 consecutive years, but what makes this year’s celebration exceptional is the number of foreign delegations that came from 31 countries from around the globe, with Malta being the guest of honor.

Traditional sea songs were another aspect that festival officials make sure to be included in their activities. Historically, Sharjah has a rich naval culture of which singing is an imperative element — something that the organizers would like to educate outsiders.

Known as the cultural capital of the UAE, Sharjah takes pride in that title by combining local traditions and new ideas to shed more light on the cultural life of ordinary folks. It is also the third-most populous city in the UAE.

“The beauty about Sharjah is that it is always the pioneer when it comes preserving the cultural identify of this country,” said Abdullah Hussein, a member of the press team that covers the festival.

In addition to educating the younger generation in the country, organizers say the main objective is to help change stereotypical attitudes many outside people may have about Sharjah, the UAE and other Gulf countries.

“Many people have distorted and wrong understanding of our culture,” said Dr. Abdulaziz Al Musallam, chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, the group that organizes the festival.

The Al-Qassimi family has ruled the emirate of Sharjah since the early 1700s.

“But after they come here, they change their mind and that’s exactly why we largely promote this occasion abroad,” he said.

Away from skyscrapers, glamorous restaurants and fancy malls, the festival also takes its visitors that the heart of Emirati authenticity – the Arabian Sahara. 

Located near the UAE-Oman borders, the township of al-Madam hosted a small event as part of the festival where it exhibited customs specific to that region such as Arabian coffee, milk-made puddings and oral storytelling.

Under the banner; “Heritage: Structure and Meaning”, the festival emphasizes on the significance of traditional architecture in inspiring and guiding modern lifestyle in the UAE.

“Our country has become a landmark for the trendiest architecture in the world, but it is through such cultural activities that we hope to keep our traditional nature as rich as it’s always been.” Dr. Al Musallam said.

Festival officials have been working to export their activities to other countries in the region, Europe and beyond. Their intent is to expand their cooperation with other international institutions that have similar interests in pushing mutual goals in preserving national heritages.

The trip to Sharjah is about three hours by plane from Erbil.