Culture

The people of the UAE, like those of the rest of the peninsula, are of Arab stock. Their forefathers formed part of successive waves of migration 2,000-3,000 years ago that spread eastwards across Arabia, bringing with them their culture, their language and their skills at surviving in what was becoming an increasingly harsh climate.

As they arrived, they mingled and then merged with the people already living in the region now known as the UAE, people who, like them, were of Semitic stock. Inscriptions in now-extinct Semitic languages found on archaeological sites at Mileiha, in Sharjah, and at al-Dur, in Umm al-Qaiwain, testify to the presence of these early inhabitants, but in the centuries that followed, the population coalesced into a homogeneous whole, united by a common heritage, and, since the coming of Islam in the seventh century AD, by a common faith.

The people of the UAE have seen dramatic change in the few short years since the state was established, change that has provided them with all the benefits of a modern, developed society. At the same time, however, both government and people are determined that their heritage shall be preserved, in line with Sheikh Zayed's belief that a people that knows not its past can have neither a present nor a future.

In the past, life in the UAE was hard and it took extraordinary skill to be able to survive in the harsh terrain and arid climate. Today, things are easier, but by holding on to their heritage the people are able to draw upon their confidence in their past to tackle and overcome the challenges of the present and future.