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The buried village in Sharjah


Barry

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Al Qasimi Palace

 

The Al Qasimi Palace in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) has a reputation for being a spooky old place.

And with good reason.

The mansion was reportedly abandoned more than 20 years ago by its inhabitants after being tormented by mysterious occurrences such as furniture being thrown around and faces appearing at windows.

Now, I am a sucker for ‘supernatural' experiences, so there was no way I would let an opportunity to visit this scary place go by. Even though I do not believe in ghosts, it was with great trepidation and a silent prayer on my lips that I set forth to visit this foreboding palace.

It is said about the palace that it will find you before you find it. As I drove into RAK at around 5am last Friday, all prepared to ask for directions in finding the place, to my surprise, IT found me.

I could see that years of neglect had taken a toll on the architectural marvel.

There was no guard or watchman at the entrance. I tried the gate; it was locked. A wooden door stood ajar beside it. It creaked loudly when I pushed it gingerly, revealing a room filled with dust-covered furniture.

Disappointed, I walked to the far end of the fence wall hoping to find a way through. It was then that I saw a hole under the wall, big enough to crawl through.

Just as I was contemplating my next move, I spotted three Asian men wandering about. They told me that the watchman had probably gone to offer prayers, and yes, they had heard stories about the place and even ‘occasional screams.' Would they be willing to accompany me inside? "No, no, uh, all right," but only as far as the main room of the building.

We crawled through the hole, walked over unkempt grounds past the fountain and to the main door that stood partially open.

We entered the palace expecting the worst. However, nothing jumped out at us. No scary sound, no sudden darkness. Instead we could see the dusty interiors of what was once a beautiful home. Chandeliers, brightly coloured murals on the walls, mosaics of women, birds and rivers imparted an eerie charm to the place.

We could see signs of intruders all around the place. Footsteps on dust-covered floors, shattered glass, broken statues of falcons and upturned furniture showed that despite its reputation, the palace had been attracting a fair share of people looking for some kicks.

Upper floors

Narrow stairs led us to the upper floor which seemed to be in a slightly better shape. The dust was heavy, but otherwise this part of the palace was intact. The upper storey was just as beautiful as the ground floor, with the exception of the skylights, adorned with menacing-looking Zodiac signs, the spookiest thing I had seen thus far. Portraits of stern-looking women stared down at us from the dark walls sending a shiver down our spines. We had this strange feeling that they were watching our every move.

The guys who had thus far been brave enough, turned fidgety when I suggested we go to the terrace. I proceeded up - with them following reluctantly - all the while wondering what I would do if I came across something terrifying.

The palace stands on a small hillock, dwarfing everything around it and offered a panoramic view of the surrounding area. It was peaceful. Even the guys began breathing again.

After a while, we descended and proceeded to the basement. Now, this was a different story altogether. Furniture lay in a heap and walls were covered in graffiti. We found the word… ‘Gooooooo' written in blood red on the walls.

We did just that. We walked towards the hole in the fence, happy to have survived. However, before I crawled through I could not help throw one last glance in the direction of the palace. I was glad to be getting out of that place.

Did you know?

The Al Qasimi Palace was reportedly built at a cost of Dh500 million nearly 22 years ago

According to rumours, on the first day after people moved in, strange happenings occurred - driving them away

Rumor has it that at night you can see faces of little children peering through the windows and sometimes calling out to people

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1 hour ago, Barry said:

So why do these places get abandoned? 

Many reasons from disputes to the desert encroaching. Hamra there was a dispute and entire village was resettled in Abu Dhabi

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I know of a few abandoned houses back home. Some the people died and had no family to leave theme to, some repossessed by the bank because they couldn't afford the mortgage payments, some the building just stopped because the people ran out of money. All were always reclaimed and had new life breathed into them. It seems crazy to me that whole villages just get abandoned here. When you look around and see 20 people crammed into 2 bedroom apartments with bunk beds everywhere it makes it all the more crazy.

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You are too new or too naive or both to understand the subtleties and nuances of this place and how it ticks.

Most of these towns and villages are out in remote areas and in most cases were given better and bigger housing at better locations with more and better facilities at govts cost. 

There are almost no abandoned buildings or villas in the cities. The Dubai govt will actually take back plots given if they see someone is just hoarding them and not actually making use of it after a period of two years and give them to someone else instead. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 7/1/2018 at 11:24 PM, desertdude said:

Al hamra ghost town to be precise

Last time i went there (about a month ago) they were renovating the place.. with new old stuff lol

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Yup45 minutes ago, hAwX said:

Last time i went there (about a month ago) they were renovating the place.. with new old stuff lol

Yup, they are trying to turn into Dubai heritage village kind of place, Although progress has been very very slow.

I was roaming around there last Friday also, have put up a fence around it, but still open to come and go, guessing soon it will closed off

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Kolmanskop.jpg.4b1b35b5921f92a38f45ef0a3614a012.jpg

Kolmanskop, an abandoned diamond mining town in the Namib Desert in  Namibia. Most houses in the town are now filled with sand. I mention this only because I was once bitten by a cobra in one such house during one of my expeditions. 

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