Living in UAE area where first Gulf flights landed

A view of the Al Mahatta Museum also known as Sharjah's first airport and Al Mahatta Park in Sharjah. - Photo by M. Sajjad

It was a cool, breezy afternoon and the neighbourhood at Al Mahatta Park in Sharjah's Al Qasimia district was buzzing with kids pedalling their bikes while some teens were playing football. Other children were running around as their parents were sweating it out in the exercise area. Some senior residents were walking back and forth or around the park for their regular evening stroll.
But many may not know, except for the residents, that this piece of land used to be the first 'airport' in the region. Back then, there was no UAE yet and all the emirates and neighbouring sheikhdoms were collectively called Trucial States.
Al Mahatta, which means 'the station' in English, was the first airport in the GCC.
It was at 4pm on October 5, 1932, when the first aircraft, Hanno - a British-made, four-propeller Handley Page HP42 biplane - landed in Sharjah from Gwadar (now part of Pakistan). The following day, the plane left for Bahrain.
The runway was a thin strip of tarmac - from what is now known as the King Abdul Aziz Street all the way down to the King Faisal Mosque - and the most visible landmark at that time was a three-storey watchtower, which has been renovated and now stands as the main building of Al Mahatta Flight Museum.
It was also in Al Mahatta where the first weather forecast centre was established back in 1934. The neighbourhood was also home to the region's first cinema, which was built in 1949 by the British Royal Air Force.
By 1960s, a new terminal was added and Al Mahatta airport was turned into a training base for pilots. It was operational until the new Sharjah International Airport opened in 1977.
The following years saw a construction boom of residential buildings around the area. Al Mahatta was abandoned but the place was restored in the late 1990s. Renamed Al Mahatta Flight Museum, it opened to the public in 2000 and became a centre where visitors could find old aeroplane models and a glimpse of history of flying in Sharjah and around the world. The watchtower was kept as it was.
Residents around Al Mahatta Park know this piece of UAE history by heart and they are proud of it.
Pakistani expat Naveed Abid, 36, who has been lving in Sharjah for 12 years now, told Khaleej Times: "We are proud to live in a place where the first aeroplanes - before the country was called the UAE - used to land and take off. Visitors can come to see the old planes people used to fly in."
Aside from being a historic place, the area is also "very conducive" to raising a family, Naveed said.
"The greenery provided by the park, along with its wide expanse, is very nice for everyone. My kids just have to cross the street and they can run or bike at the park. They spend a lot of time outside and I feel safe for them," he added.
Abid, who works as an information security programmer at Palm Jumeirah, also does not mind driving for more than an hour to and from Dubai every day, as he finds it more economical to reside in Sharjah's Al Qasimia district.
"For a two-bedroom flat with a huge hall and a maid's room, I pay only Dh33,000 annually. I get big savings as opposed to getting a flat of the same size anywhere in Dubai," said Abid. "I also save some more in my transport because I share a ride with a friend."
For another resident, Mahmood Ahmad, 41, who has been a living in a building across Al Mahatta Park for a decade now, the area offers a great deal of convenience, owing to its location and development.
Mahmood said: "This place is a town centre. We live a few metres away from Sharjah Megamall. There are many restaurants, shops and cafeterias. We have schools nearby, as well as two big mosques, including the King Faisal Mosque (opened in 1987 and can accommodate up to 17,000 people)."
Residents also love the thrift shops near their area, including the Two Dirhams Centre and Gift Palace. But if there's anything they would never run out of, it would be mobile phones. The community has been known to be a hub for mobile phone shops, so much so that people have colloquially renamed the Spinneys roundabout to 'mobile roundabout'.
Naveed's and Mahmood's kids are in love with Al Mahatta and they said there's no other place they would rather be.
"Here we can always play, run around, get on our bikes and have fun," said eight-year old Zainab.
Must know
1-Slice of history: Al Mahatta, which means 'the station' in English, was the first airport in the GCC. It was also home to the first weather forecast centre that was established in 1934 and the region's first cinema that was built in 1949 by the British Royal Air Force.
2-Affordable rent: A lot of residents, even those who work in Dubai, choose to live in Sharjah's Al Qasimia district because of the affordable rents in the area. One expat said he pays an annual rent of Dh33,000 for a two-bedroom flat with a huge hall and a maid's room.
3-Family living: Families, especially those with kids, enjoy the environment of the district. Children can run free and play safely at a huge park with lots of greenery. Schools, shops, mosques and cafeterias are also a stone's throw away.
angel@khaleejtimes.com