Dubai photographer transforms Mirdif villa into private museum documenting UAE history

A photographer and collector’s villa in Dubai’s Mirdif area has been transformed into a private museum, where more than 200,000 photographs and thousands of documents and vintage items narrate the transformation of the UAE over nearly six decades.

Shaukat Ali Rana, a 66-year-old photographer, began capturing images of the UAE during his childhood. He arrived in Dubai in 1968 at the age of eight and took his first photograph about two years later with a simple camera of Al Maqta Fort near Abu Dhabi; an image that remains one of the most valuable pieces in his collection.

Rana’s archive includes images of the construction of Port Rashid, Dubai International Airport, the city’s early tunnels, air shows, old neighborhoods, and buildings that are no longer part of Dubai’s skyline. He also documented the first public celebrations following the formation of the UAE in 1972.

The collection is not limited to photographs. Old newspapers, passports, travel permits between emirates prior to the country’s formation, driving licenses, coins, banknotes, stamps, telegrams, pagers, radios, mobile phones, and various vintage cameras are preserved in the home’s display cases.

One of the museum’s highlights is the permits issued for travel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi before the unification of the emirates. At that time, drivers had to obtain a Dubai exit permit and an Abu Dhabi entry permit at checkpoints.

Rana’s passion for photography later turned into a profession and business. In the 1970s, he converted part of his home into a darkroom, and in 1976, he began selling photography equipment and materials in Deira.

Rana says his goal in collecting these items is to preserve aspects of daily life and the history of the UAE for future generations—a country that, according to him, has provided him with all of life’s opportunities.

photo_2026-07-22_14-26-39 The first public celebrations of the UAE Union, Abu Dhabi, 1972. photo_2026-07-22_14-25-49 Dubai International Airport Terminal 1 photo_2026-07-22_14-26-42 One of the first Eid prayers in Deira photo_2026-07-22_14-26-36 Al Maqta Fort in Abu Dhabi photo_2026-07-22_14-26-44 A collection of vintage driving licenses and vehicle registration documents