Al Madam Ghost Town

Yesterday we went on a road trip with the truck to explore a few things I have had on my bucket list for a while. We started by aiming for the Al Madam Ghost Town, about two hours from Abu Dhabi out in the desert of Sharjah. We put the truck to good use driving across the sand dunes to get there, saw a few friends on the way:

This is an abandoned and buried village that has been taken over completely by the sand dunes.

Not much is known about its history but it is believed to have been constructed in the 1970s or 1980s.  According to one theory this village was part of the Sha'bi housing project which was initiated to provide the Bedouins with a permanent settlement, and inhabited by the Al Kutbi tribe. Somehow, it didn't go to plan here, and the inhabitants abandoned their houses, maybe because of the lack of infrastructure and electricity.

It was quite an eerie place to visit, the silence is striking. I wouldn't go as far as to say it was scary, but certainly rather spooky and with a very special atmosphere.

Some locals believe that the reason the village got abandoned was that it was haunted by 'jinns', a supernatural creature that Muslims believe exist in a parallel world to ours, not visible to humans.

Others seem to believe there is something special with the sand in this area. The desert has certainly pushed through and consumed much of the houses, every building is filled with sand, some have even been engulfed completely.

The houses have stayed just as they were back then, some with beautiful decorative details and some even had pieces of furniture left in them. Unfortunately many are now covered in more modern graffiti, as this place has become a popular spot to visit.