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* Dubai Municipality opens reconstructed structure of major defence landmark

Dubai Municipality has officially inaugurated on Sunday Murabba'at Umm Rayool or Umm Rayool Square , which was regarded as one of the major defence edifices of the emirate that dates back to 1939. It is a square-shaped, seven-pillar arsenal, used as a weapon store, where security guards used to receive their weapons upon the start of their duty. The building had also been used as a check-point where incoming and outgoing vehicles were being inspected.

In 2002, Dubai Municipality reconstructed the building, which was originally located in Deira, close to the present DM headquarters on the Baniyas Street . The renewed model was built at the Union Square , near Deira Taxi Stand.

The Historical Buildings Section of Dubai Municipality has undertaken the reconstruction project in a bid to give the emirate's residents and visitors some glimpses of its glorious past.

Qassim Sultan, Director General of Dubai Municipality , who formally opened the square in the presence of senior government officials and prominent personalities, said: “These square-shaped defence edifices were common in that era not only in Dubai but in other emirates as well. They give us an idea on how our forefathers built the country brick by brick. We want such structures to be seen in the backdrop of the modern towers and sky-scrapers to prove that the country's success in achieving comprehensive development is through striking a harmonious balance between the past and the present.”

During the ceremony, one of the oldest security guards at the tower, Mr. Eid Juma Al Falasi who served at the tower in 40s, was honoured along with engineers and other staff who contributed to the project's successful completion.

The Umm Rayool building assumes its name from the seven pillars upon which it stands. (Rijel in Arabic means leg, Rajool or Rayool is locally used as plural of Rijel) It was used as a weapons store where the guard gets his weapons from inside the building and hangs them up on the lengthy pillars, each of them is nearly four metres high. There is a distance of around 1.5 metres between each pillar. The total height of the building is nine metres and it has only one room and a medium-size traditionally-built entrance. The room's flooring is made of a special local wood, covered with a layer of gypsum. The building has several provisions on top that enable the guards to shoot at any intruder.

There are also square-shaped openings that help monitor the advent of vehicles as well as individuals into the area. It has also got traditional wooden drainage lines. There is an exit underneath the roof of the building which will help the guards to climb up the rooftop from the north-western side. On the rooftop, there are two sections: one is facing the Creek and is shaded with the palm leaves to protect the guards from sun. The side walls of this section are one-metre high.

The second part is relatively lower and its side-walls are just half-a-metre high. “This design is characteristic of these types of buildings and this denotes to the innovative and beautiful designs of the defence structures at that time of the history,” said Eng. Rashad Bukhash, Director of the General Projects Department, under which comes the Historic Buildings Section.

He said reconstruction of the building was done in accordance with a flawless plan prepared by the Section. “As part of this plan, we had first conducted preliminary historic and social researches on the subject. Then, came the phase of a keen surveying of the buildings major elements. In this phase, we analysed various architectural elements and pinpointed the necessary specifications of the building materials that are used in the construction of such buildings,” he noted.

“In reconstructing this edifice, we used the same materials that were used in the original structure in order to preserve the heritage value of it. We also followed the internationally approved conservation policies not only in this project, but in all other renovation projects of the Historic Buildings Section,” Mr.Bukhash pointed out

(Source: www.dubaiphotomedia.com )