Perhaps more than any other emirate, Ras Al Khaimah’s urban and rural environments convey the aura of authenticity sought by many visitors to the region. The emirate contains numerous sites of cultural and archaeological interest, many of which are underutilized and underdeveloped. Current efforts to revitalize these sites are in their planning stages and as the emirate grows as a tourist destination, it will have to balance the desire to attract tourists with the need to retain the authentic atmosphere that attracts visitors in the first place. This paper proposes a broader temporal and spatial heritage concept than is usually found in the Gulf, and emphasizes continuities between heritage and contemporary Ras Al Khaimah. The paper then makes recommendations for how Ras Al Khaimah, as well as specific sites, can be made more accessible to visitors interested in the emirate’s history and culture.
