Five things not to miss at the exhibition
Here are five things not to miss at the Emirates to the World: Postal History from 1909 to Unification exhibition:
In the Masterpieces section, dedicated to rarities, check out the colourful and creative Ras Al Khaimah 1,001 Arabian Nights stamp series of “wallpaper stamps”, which were issued especially for collectors and the philatelic market. Those on display are unusual because they contain double overprinting, where the first was too faint and so was repeated, resulting in a ghost effect.
Also in the Masterpieces section, check out one of the oldest objects in the collection, a cancelled letter dating from 1910. It is the earliest recoded cancel sent from Dubai to Bahrain, and features a stamp costing one “anna”, which was a unit of currency formerly used in India and Pakistan.
Take a moment to actually read some of the letters and postcards on display. One such postcard written to a Mrs M Danks in Scotland shows the “Great Mosque of Dubai” – a white and red minaret peeking out from behind traditional homes. “Hello darling, I am in the Trucial States in the Gulf. Very hot and I want to come home. Love and miss you, got you a present, letter following.” Signed Frank xxx.
In the “stamp salon”, visitors are given a special light and challenged to spot printing errors, unusual shapes and forgeries.
Don’t miss the UAE’s first definitive collection as one nation, issued in 1973. There were 12, featuring a map and the UAE’s falcon crest. Other designs represented landmarks from the seven emirates, including Abu Dhabi’s Al Maqta Bridge, Dubai’s the Clock Tower monument, the landscape of Khor Fakkan of Sharjah, Ruler’s Palace in Ajman, Khor Khuwair in Ras Al Khaimah, Bithna fort in Fujairah and Falaj Al Mualla in Umm Al Quwain.