Erth Dubai Award 2026
Best Dubai Resident Story. Honoured by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the Museum of the Future.
Ten books!
A private archive of the Emirates — in print, by appointment.
Tip — drag the shelf sideways
Certificate of Appreciation 2025
From the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, Government of Dubai — for preserving and documenting the national heritage.
Dubai 1960–1993Published
A collection of historical photographs and documents
Legacy of Abu Dhabi
A collection of rare historical photographs
Al Ain — Echoes of the Oasis
A visual journey through heritage, architecture and nature
Desert Echoes
Life and legacy of old UAE
Echoes of Tradition
UAE's cultural masterpieces
Time in Paper
UAE's historical archives
Winds of Heritage
The transformation of UAE wind towers
The Evolving Art
Voices of Dubai
Graffiti & Glamour
Dubai's urban art
An Ambience of the Past
Part II
Shaukat Muhammad Rafi is a photographer, independent archivist and preserver of the United Arab Emirates' cultural heritage. What began as a childhood passion for photography in the late 1960s became a lifelong mission: capturing, preserving and safeguarding the fading memories of the Emirates.
Over six decades he has built an archive of rare photographs, historical documents and memorabilia tracing the country's journey from a modest coastal settlement to a modern global city — held today in a private museum in Dubai.
Photographer & archivist based in Dubai, UAE.
Awards & recognition
Best Dubai Resident Story
Erth Dubai Awards, April 2026 — one of the largest cultural and social documentation initiatives established to preserve Dubai's living memory. Recognised again by the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, July 2025.
Clock tower, Dubai
From the archive · cover of Dubai 1960–1993
Abu Dhabi
From the archive · cover of Legacy of Abu Dhabi
Fort, Al Ain
From the archive · cover of Al Ain — Echoes of the Oasis
Heritage doorway
From the archive · cover of Echoes of Tradition
Palms
From the archive · cover of An Ambience of the Past, Part II
Erth Dubai Awards
Museum of the Future · 30 April 2026
In the press
Media
A Dubai home turned private museum, preserving the UAE's history in photographs and documents.
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Dubai since the 1960s — inside a Pakistani family's museum of old bills, rental papers and memories.
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Coverage of the collection and its founder.
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Arabic-language cultural coverage of the collection.
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Mohammed bin Rashid honours the winners of the Erth Dubai Awards.
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Mohammed bin Rashid honours winners of the Erth Dubai Awards.
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