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In a desert area there is a small, abandoned settlement built in 1970 with houses and a mosque, which is locally referred to as Ghost Town. The settlement consists of twelve houses and a mosque. Just over 10 years after it was built, the settlement was suddenly abandoned by its residents and the buildings were left to the desert. The former residents believe that ghosts live here.
After the residents moved away, it didn't take long for rumors of paranormal activity to spread. Some say that jinns drove out the residents. These are spirits of the Arab world. In particular, a female jinn with cat eyes and blades for hands is blamed for Al Madam's abandonment. Her name: Umm Al Duwais. It plays an important role in the lore of the Emirates.
In 2018, the Sharjah Art Foundation tried to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the abandoned ghost village. Although the results of the research were never made directly public, they were incorporated into the 2019 film The Landing.
Locals in the area say the settlement was built on a former Bedouin campsite with the aim of settling nomadic groups. Nobody can say with certainty why exactly the residents at the time left their homes. Most of them are said to have settled in other districts of XXXXX between 1982 and 1985.
The most plausible explanation for the sudden departure of residents is the numerous and particularly violent sandstorms that rage in the region. "When there is a sandstorm, it hits the area extremely hard," a man told the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2018. His wife's family lived in what is now the ghost village. "When we left, scrap collectors came at night and stole the doors and whatever metal they could find. They even gutted the mosque."
The buildings are increasingly disappearing under the desert sand, which is constantly moving here, and it is only a matter of time before the settlement is completely swallowed up by the desert.
We didn't see anyone else apart from a few camels.
After the residents moved away, it didn't take long for rumors of paranormal activity to spread. Some say that jinns drove out the residents. These are spirits of the Arab world. In particular, a female jinn with cat eyes and blades for hands is blamed for Al Madam's abandonment. Her name: Umm Al Duwais. It plays an important role in the lore of the Emirates.
In 2018, the Sharjah Art Foundation tried to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding the abandoned ghost village. Although the results of the research were never made directly public, they were incorporated into the 2019 film The Landing.
Locals in the area say the settlement was built on a former Bedouin campsite with the aim of settling nomadic groups. Nobody can say with certainty why exactly the residents at the time left their homes. Most of them are said to have settled in other districts of XXXXX between 1982 and 1985.
The most plausible explanation for the sudden departure of residents is the numerous and particularly violent sandstorms that rage in the region. "When there is a sandstorm, it hits the area extremely hard," a man told the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2018. His wife's family lived in what is now the ghost village. "When we left, scrap collectors came at night and stole the doors and whatever metal they could find. They even gutted the mosque."
The buildings are increasingly disappearing under the desert sand, which is constantly moving here, and it is only a matter of time before the settlement is completely swallowed up by the desert.
We didn't see anyone else apart from a few camels.
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