Al Fahidi Fort 1970s is Oldest building in Dubai
Built in 1787 as a Defensive Fort and Ruler's Residence
Later used as a prison and to store artillery
Re-purposed as a Museum in 1971
Located on Al Fahidi Street
We arrived in Dubai in March 1971.
Our first home was an apartment in Al Owais Building in Al Fahidi Street. The building was new. One of the first "Hi Rise" buildings on Dubaiside. We were one of five European families living on Al Fahidi Street.
Dubai's first set of traffic lights was outside Al Owais building. On the ground floor was V V and Sons where everyone bought their Hi Fi Equipment.
Al Fahidi Street still had sand "pavements". Only the road was tarmacadam.
A short walk took us to KM Brothers' grocery store (no supermarkets back then).
A bread van arrived each evening, parked on a sand area by Dubai Creek to sell fresh bread from the back of the van - no bakery nearby.
Traditional buildings surrounded the Al Owais Building, many housing foreign labourers. Building had no car park. Parking meant leaving the car on the sand next to the building.We had two small children. The Landlord kindly fitted extra high handrails on the balconies for the children's safety, You can see these in the photo below.
We lived happily on Al Fahidi Street for several months before moving to Jumeirah.
Before moving, I took a series of photographs from each of the apartment's windows.
Len Chapman
