Tucked between the Hajar Mountains and the Gulf of Oman, Qidfa is one of the UAE’s oldest villages, with historian Dr Amna noting that much of its story remains largely unexplored.
To understand the ancient coastal village of Qidfa, one must first consider its geography. Nestled between the towering Hajar Mountains to the west and the warm waters of the Gulf of Oman to the east, it is a place where the UAE’s ancient history is still reflected in its landscape.
“We are confined between the mountain and the sea,” explains Dr Amna Ahmed Saber, an Emirati historian, author, and researcher born and raised in Qidfa. “But it is this very geography that provided our ancestors with everything they needed to survive and thrive for millennia.”
Long before the formation of the modern UAE, Qidfa was a thriving agricultural and trading centre, enriched by fertile land and abundant freshwater. The village bears witness to layers of history, from Bronze Age settlements to the early years of the Union, maintaining a continuous link to its ancient past.
Qidfa’s history carved in stone and soil
According to Dr Amna, the historical importance of Qidfa is profound. The village contains four major archaeological sites documenting human settlement dating back to around 3,500 BC.
“People don’t realise how old this place is,” she notes. “There are collective tombs and burial sites from the Bronze and Iron Ages. We also have remains of pre-Islamic settlements and continuous habitation through the Islamic period.”
One of the most remarkable features was an ancient walled city that once stood in the village. “I lived to see parts of it,” Dr Amna recalls. “It had a fort, watchtowers, and four large gates for protection. It also contained one of the oldest mosques in Fujairah, built even before the well-known Al Badiyah Mosque.”
The mystery behind the name Qidfa
The origin of the name Qidfa is surrounded by local folklore, with the most widely accepted account linked to the village’s agricultural heritage.
“The most common story is that Qidfa was known for cotton cultivation,” Dr Amna explains. “A merchant once travelled to India and, when asked about the cotton harvest back home, replied ‘Qad faa’ in Arabic, meaning the cotton flower had bloomed. The phrase stayed, and the village became known as Qidfa.”
Another legend traces the name to powerful natural springs, from the word yndafa’, meaning to gush or burst forth. “Our elders said water would erupt from the ground,” she adds. “The late Ruler of Fujairah, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, even referred to Qidfa as ‘The Second Basra’ because of its dense palm groves.”
The rhythm of the seasons
Life in old Qidfa followed a distinct seasonal cycle, split between winter homes near the coast and summer areesh (palm-frond) dwellings in the date palm farms.
The village was largely self-sufficient. Men worked the land during the summer and went fishing in winter, while women formed the backbone of daily life.
“The women would wake before dawn,” Dr Amna recalls. “By sunrise, they had already prepared coffee, baked bread, and tended to livestock. Twice a week, groups of 10 to 15 women would hike into the mountains before sunrise to collect firewood, carefully cutting only dry branches of the Samr trees to preserve the environment.”
Community ties were exceptionally close, with homes built in clusters linked by family and marriage. “If someone was in trouble, the neighbour heard it immediately,” she says. “There was no such thing as a closed door.”
A crossroads of trade
Unlike many coastal settlements that depended solely on pearl diving, Qidfa’s prosperity came from its diverse resources. Villagers cultivated wheat, barley, citrus fruits, and produced date syrup (dibs).
This agricultural abundance made Qidfa an important stop along ancient trade routes. “The main road connecting the northern regions to Dubai and Sharjah passed right through our village,” Dr Amna says. “Nomads from the mountains of Oman and caravans heading to Dubai’s markets would stop here to rest and trade.”
Locals transported goods such as dried fish, citrus, and dates by camel, undertaking long journeys to Dubai in exchange for sugar, rice, and fabrics.
The Union
The announcement of the UAE’s formation in 1971 brought a profound sense of relief and hope to Qidfa. Dr Amna, then about eight years old, vividly remembers the moment the news reached the village.
“A man named Abdullah bin Bakhit came and said, ‘There is no more conflict. The army is one, the country is one, and Sheikh Zayed is our ruler,’” she recalls. “The feeling was indescribable.”
Change soon followed. By 1974, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited Fujairah and inaugurated the first water desalination and power plant in Qidfa.
“I remember standing on the street as a child, waving palm fronds as Sheikh Zayed’s car passed,” Dr Amna says. “We saw the laying of water pipes and the installation of electricity poles. In 1972, the first television arrived, and the whole village would gather in one courtyard to watch it together at night.”
A legacy preserved
Today, while modern villas have replaced the old stone and mud houses, the spirit of Qidfa remains unchanged. Unlike other agricultural regions that were gradually abandoned during rapid modernisation, the people of Qidfa chose to stay rooted in their land.
“My father is nearly 98 years old, and if you visit his farm today, you will still find him walking among his palm trees, checking the water and the dates,” Dr Amna says. “When the groundwater became salty, families did not give up. They laid pipes from their homes to bring desalinated water to their farms just to keep the trees alive.”
For Dr Amna and generations raised between the mountains and the sea, Qidfa is far more than a place on the map.
“It is a place of memory,” she concludes. “Our roots run deep in this soil, and no matter how much the world changes, the people of Qidfa will always hold on to their land.”
