PICTURES: Inside Dubai’s new Quranic Park

Within the first week of its opening, the UAE’s Quranic Park has attracted more than 100,000 visitors, as reported by the Dubai Municipality. Yet this beautiful, 64-hectare green space remains something of a hidden gem in the emirate.

Admittedly, it’s a little out of the way. Located in Al Khawaneej, close to Mushrif Park, it’s not something you’d pass on your daily commute. Thankfully, Google Maps makes it easy to get to, and it’s well worth the visit.

Here are some of the park’s highlights.

1. ITS IMPRESSIVE DESIGN

Said to have been developed at a cost of AED 200 million, the park is designed with one main goal: to encourage cross-cultural dialogue between visitors and residents.

“Dubai Municipality has developed this park to promote Islamic cultural and civilizational roles, as the park contains cultural elements that bring closer the interaction between different cultures,” said Dawoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality.

That’s not the only objective, of course. The beautiful park is also meant to increase “the green area in the emirate and the diversity of different landmarks.”

2. THE MIRACLES CAVE

The Miracles Cave is the first attraction you encounter after entering the park. Through video displays, seven exhibits narrate the story of seven miracles mentioned in the Holy Quran. It begins with the tale of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) witnessing the revival of dead birds, followed by the story of the Prophet Sulaiman (AS) and the hoopoe bird. There’s also a segment on Prophet Issa (AS) and how he resurrected the dead. The exhibit concludes with the miracle of the splitting of the moon by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as outlined in Surat Al Qamar in the Quran.

The exhibits are engaging and educational. The only downside is that, so far, all the stories are told in Arabic only. Headsets are expected to be installed later this month for audio in English and Urdu.

3. THERE’S A VERY ‘INSTAGRAMMABLE’ WALKWAY

As you leave the cave, you’re guided towards the rest of the park, and you’ll come across two lakes with a walkway between them. During our visit, there were quite a few visitors posing in the middle of it and taking pics. The lakes have fountains too, so it’s a great way to cool off if you don’t mind getting wet.

4. THE GLASS HOUSE

Healthy living didn’t start recently. The Quran and Sunnah mention a multitude of plants, fruits and vegetables, and it’s mindboggling how we take this information for granted. The Glass House, the park’s second exhibit, serves as a great reminder.

The Glass House is home to 29 plants mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah, including corn, the olive tree, lemongrass, banana, ginger, lentil and saffron. When we paid our visit, some of the patches had clearly just been planted with seeds or small plants, so there wasn’t much to see at the time, but we imagine it will look much fuller by the end of summer.

5. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO VISIT

The Quranic Park is open daily from 8am to 10pm, and entry is free.

However, you’ll need a Nol card (you know, the ones you get for the metro) to access the Miracles Cave and the Glass House. Entry to those is AED 5 each.

(Writing by Rachel McArthur; Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

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