‘Just like the city of Dubai, our Chinese pagoda home is constantly changing’
▶ Unique house has stood since the 1960s on land bought for the equivalent of less than one fils
It is not as tall as Burj Khalifa or as luxurious as Burj Al Arab – but a quirky house in Dubai is almost as striking as those landmarks and older than both of them combined.
In the early 1960s, long before Dubai grew into a city of gleaming towers and large malls, the pagoda-inspired house began to take shape in Al Bada’a, at the end of Al Wasl Road.
The five-storey, six-bedroom home stood out so much that it was used as a navigational landmark for ships. Today, nestled among villas built in a traditional style, it remains the subject of much curiosity.
“There were many stories and rumours circulating about this house,” said Ranya Doleh, 51, daughter of the owner.
“Some said the house was haunted and others said that a Chinese man had built it in memory of his dead wife. Others thought it was an embassy.”
But the distinctive red house is owned by Emirati businessman Zakaria Doleh, 95.
He bought the land it stands on for the equivalent of less than one fils in 1965, originally intending to build an English bungalow on stilts.
“There is no one place that I like or hate,” he said. “I like everything that is beautiful and take what I like and leave what I don’t. This house was built by trial and error.”
He chose the 400,000 square foot plot because it had palm trees.
Mr Doleh is originally from Palestine and worked in Kuwait for 17 years.
When he arrived in Dubai in the early 1960s, he met the late ruler Sheikh Rashid and was later granted citizenship.
“I couldn’t own land in Kuwait and when I arrived in Dubai I realised that I could buy land here and I saw this plot of land which I wanted because it had palm trees,” he said.
The land was previously owned by a member of the royal family, Mr Doleh said.
“After I bought the land, I got a Pakistani worker named Raouf and he didn’t speak any Arabic or English, so we communicated through sign language,” he said. “Whenever I saw anything I liked in my travels, I didn’t copy it but I would come up with something new. This is how the house evolved.
“I would travel and see something I liked and then tell Raouf and we would build it. There are no maps or designs for this house. It is all my imagination.”
Mr Doleh’s insatiable curiosity led him to travel for much of his life. He first saw a picture of a pagoda in a travel agency brochure.
“For seven years running, for two to three months, my father would travel in his car from Kuwait to Europe,” his son Rany Doleh, 54, said.
“He would buy a brand-new car and sell it by the time he finished his travels and got on a plane and headed back.”
The house has a lily pond and a vast outdoor swimming pool. It is filled with plants, artwork and pictures of his three children. The pagoda is a labour of love and remains a work in progress.
It took Mr Doleh 15 years to complete the initial building. Construction started in the 1960s, and he moved in with his wife and three children in 1981.
Despite receiving numerous offers for their home, the family refuses to sell it. “There are so many aspects of our personality in this house. It is a treasure trove of memories,” son Rashid Doleh, 49, said. “For me, my imagination ran wild in this house and our garden.”
Much of the material used to build the property was sourced locally. The walls are made of stones from Hatta.
“The mica is from the back side of Jebel Ali. I remember picking it up and putting it on the truck,” Rashid said.
“We were constantly adding to the house. That prepared us for life, because we understood that our environment was constantly changing, which is exactly how Dubai is. So instead of being secure in only the things you know, you welcome new things.”
Zakaria Doleh says he remains curious and swims in the sea every morning, although he doesn’t get as far as he used to.
“The jet skis have ruined his life,” his daughter Ranya jokes. “They now have the border patrols and he gets told off. He used to swim for hours.
“My friends would joke and say, ‘Your dad has gone off to Iran for shawarma again’ and my mom would be calling the lifeguards and coastguards asking if he was back.”
I would travel and see something I liked and we’d build it. There are no maps or designs. It is all my imagination ZAKARIA DOLEH
‘Pagoda house’ owner