Guide · Dubai
A 16th-century Kaaba curtain in Dubai’s Crossroads of Civilizations Museum
Visit the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Al Shindagha for a rare textile, historic coins and local jewellery. Find the entrance, hours and ticket price.
A curtain made for a doorway in Mecca gives this small Dubai museum a remarkable starting point. The Crossroads of Civilizations Museum identifies its embroidered sitarah as a curtain sent for the door of the Kaaba by Ottoman Sultan Suleiman in 1543. You can find the museum at Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum House in Al Shindagha, beside Dubai Creek. Museum collection catalogue
Fast facts
| Detail | Visitor information |
|---|---|
| Entrance | Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum House, Al Khaleej Road |
| Map reference | Makani 27703 95540 |
| Published hours | Daily, 9am to 8pm |
| Published admission | AED 25 per person, free for children under seven |
| Metro | Al Ghubaiba, then walk to the museum |
| Tours and group enquiries | +971 4 393 4440 |
The museum publishes these visitor details itself. Groups and anyone seeking a visit outside regular hours can contact the team in advance. Museum visitor information
Three objects to spend time with
Begin in the Local Gallery, where the museum introduces the movement of people and goods through the region. Find a piece of jewellery and look at how its maker joined the components. At a distance, a necklace can look like a single band of colour. Close up, the fastening, repeated rows and changes of material reveal the work that holds it together.
Beaded necklace in the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum local jewellery collection. Both photographs by Crossroads of Civilizations Museum.
Move on to the sitarah. Its original function gives it a human scale. Picture the doorway it was made to cover, then look again at how the bands of embroidery organise the surface. Read the label for the museum’s account of who sent it and where it was destined to hang. A textile can document diplomacy and religious patronage as clearly as a signed letter.
Finally, choose a coin. The museum describes Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic examples. A coin travelled in a pocket or purse and passed from hand to hand. Compare the authority named or pictured on it with the figure who commissioned the curtain. These two objects carried messages about power to very different audiences. Museum galleries and collections
How much of The Museum Group can you see?
The operator also describes nearby manuscript and armoury collections. At reception, ask which buildings your ticket covers that day, where to enter them and when the last admission is. For a short visit, spending 45 minutes on the local objects and textile is a reasonable plan. Leave extra time if you want to follow the group’s route around the corner.
The museum grew from a family collection developed by Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori. That origin helps explain why a single outing can bring together local jewellery, correspondence, religious textiles and coins. The thread connecting them is how objects and ideas travel between people. The museum’s history
Visitor information checked on 11 November 2026.