Heart of Sharjah
Restored houses of coral stone and gypsum, wind towers and narrow sikkas, with the light coming down into them in strips. It is a lived-in district with residents and shopkeepers, so frames are composed around doorways and walls rather than people. Dress for the decency code: this is where it is most visible.
- Best time
- Early morning, before the shops open
- Permits
- Free to walk; the museums inside charge entry. Commercial shoots need approval from the heritage authority
Light through the year
- November–March
The lanes run roughly east–west; low morning sun reaches the ground for an hour, then the strips narrow to nothing.
- May–September
The shade in the lanes makes this one of the few places that works after eight in the morning, but only until about nine.
