Al Madam () is an inland town of the
Emirate of Sharjah, in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. Located at the intersection of the
Dubai
Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
-Hatta (
E44) and
Mleiha-
Shwaib (E55) roads, its development has mainly centred around these road links and the road traffic through
Hatta to
Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
. The volume of traffic to Oman through Madam and Hatta has lessened since the closure of the 'soft' Omani
border
Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
at
Mahda in 2016,
although traffic volumes remain at some 5,000 travellers daily. The road from Madam to
Hatta is now only open to UAE or Omani nationals and permit holders.
Description
The strip development of Madam along the E44 towards the 'dune bashing' tourist centre of Badayer (with its celebrated 'Big Red' sand dune) has resulted in the town becoming elongated, and includes the 'first shopping mall' to open there. This is in addition to municipal facilities, a medical centre, a wedding hall and a large number of shops located along the main street of the town. Al Madam is home to an annual shopping festival.
In an area of desert to the south of Madam, a small and deserted development of houses and a mosque can be found, referred to locally as both Madam Old Town and Al Madam Ghost Town (
Sharjah Ghost Village) . As of 2020, those towns have been abandoned for a few decades due to desertification and
dune movement. The area around Al Madam is also home to a number of
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
archaeological sites, including those of
Al Thuqaibah and
Jebel Buhais, as well as ''
aflāj'' (indigenous water management systems) dating back to the
1st millennium BC
File:1st millennium BC.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Parthenon, a former temple in Athens, Greece; Aristotle, Greek philosopher; Gautama Buddha, a spiritual teacher and the founder of Buddhism; Wars of Alexander the Great last from ...
.
To the east of the town is the C19th
Fili Fort.
See also
*
Archaeology of the United Arab Emirates
*
History of the United Arab Emirates
*
List of Ancient Settlements in the UAE
*
Al Madam Buried Village
References
Archaeological sites in the United Arab Emirates
Al-Madam, Sharjah
Populated places in the Emirate of Sharjah
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