UAE memorabilia: A blast from the past
DID YOU KNOW UAE PASSPORT WAS ONCE VALID FOR ONE YEAR ONLY?
The UAE passport — now ranked the world’s most powerful — has come a long way since Emiratis first had the document nearly five decades ago, a retired Emirati, who has been collecting old documents through the years, said.
The UAE passport was ranked the world’s most powerful on the eve of 47th National Day on December 1. Emiratis can now travel without a visa, or get visaon-arrival, in 167 countries.
Back in the day, before the UAE became a Union of seven emirates, then called Trucial States, passports were issued as a document to residents, said Mohammad Al Hadi, a former banker and manager of the then Currency Board.
“I collect passports issued in the emirates before the federation. I have one of the first passports issued in Dubai. It was more of a ‘permission’ to travel issued by the government,” Al Hadi, 75, told Gulf News.
One-time use
“It was a document issued by Dubai which allowed you to travel to Saudi Arabia, but to that country only. Once used, it expired. They called it a travel document, but it was only for one-time use. There were no visas.”
An avid collector of UAE memorabilia, Al Hadi still has the old pre-union document along with other passports that came later. “The second passport was valid for one year. The third was valid for 10 years. I collected all that.”
Al Hadi kept all the documents, along with Dubai’s announcement when oil was discovered in the land that eventually paved the way for its development.
In his study are 20 full albums of currencies, mostly old currencies and rare ones, and old photos. This passion, he said, began when he was 12 and later became a profession.
But his prized possessions are the letters he received from the country’s leaders. “Nowadays you greet people through your phones. Before it was cable and it would take three days to be sent and another three days to receive a reply. It was not easy,” he said.
“During Eid, I would send greetings to all the Rulers like Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum. They replied to me by mail as well. Whatever I sent, I got a reply, not only from the shaikhs, but also from ministers and bank managers.”
Browsing through his collections transports him to decades past, which is his favourite past time now.
“I can enjoy the past better than now. Now everything is so fast, if I want to go back 60 to 70 years in Dubai, I can go back — I have the circular, I have all these mementos. These things make me happy.”
Al Hadi is building a new house where a special area will be dedicated to the exhibition of his collections. He also plans to exhibit his personal collection in museums in Dubai.
“The young generation did not see the past. The UAE is only 47 years old. They did not see the kind of Dubai we had. When the young generation was born, everything was ready. But the old generation like my father and grandfather had to think about these things — electricity and water.”
“My message to the youth who did not get to see the past is to plan your future. Have a vision [by learning from the past].”
It was a document issued by Dubai which allowed you to travel to Saudi Arabia, but to that country only. Once used, it expired. They called it a travel document, but it was only for one-time use. There were no visas.”
Mohammad Al Hadi | 75-year-old Emirati collector