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Ahmed Shahin Khalisdar
From Ras Al Khaimah. Based between RAK and Dubai. Born in Manhattan, raised in Queens.
Writer and operator. Ras Al Khaimah, the lower Gulf, and the family business of remembering it.
I'm an American-Emirati writer from Ras Al Khaimah, based between Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai. I write about Ras Al Khaimah, mostly. I'm working on a book about it called At The Tents Crown, and I'm currently producing the English localization of Suhail (2025 Edition) for Dr. Abdullah Ali Al Taboor (د. عبدالله علي الطابور), the Emirati historian and heritage researcher from Ras Al Khaimah. I also do freelance writing for the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah.
A lot of what I do is archival. My family holds a substantial private Emirati historical archive, and I work closely with archivists and local museums in Ras Al Khaimah and across the UAE. That access shapes how I write, and informs the Image Restoration Archive I maintain here.
Outside writing I run things. I help operate family commercial and real estate interests in Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai.
I work in Arabic and English. Most of what I do happens in Ras Al Khaimah.
A collection of restored historical maps, watercolours, and documents from Ras Al Khaimah, the United Arab Emirates, and the wider Gulf.
What I'm working on
- At The Tents Crown: A History of Ras Al Khaimah. Book in progress.
- English localization of Suhail (2025 Edition), for Dr. Abdullah Ali Al Taboor.
- Essay for RAK Modern, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.
What I write about
- Ras Al Khaimah and the lower Gulf.
- The making of the modern UAE.
- Cultural preservation in the Arabian Peninsula.
- Emirati folk literature, oral history, and heritage.
Research
- A private Emirati historical archive, family-held.
- Working relationships with archivists and museums in Ras Al Khaimah and across the UAE.
- Archival and primary-source research.
Elsewhere
- Freelance writing and translation, Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah.
- Family commercial and real estate, Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai.
- Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai.