Located south of Dubai Creek, The Al Fahidi Fort built in 1787 has survived through the years and is considered the oldest standing structure in Dubai. This fort was renovated and transformed into Dubai Museum, which is now a popular tourist attraction in Dubai. The Ruler of Dubai opened the museum in 1971 so that the traditional way of life in Dubai could be captured and preserved.
The museum's historic setting makes this a perfect place for a journey back in time when Dubai was merely a desert settlement. Dubai's simple and traditional life before the discovery of oil which brought its extravagant advance towards modernism can be witnessed here. In the museum, different wings are dedicated to various aspects of Dubai’s Bedouin era, with galleries that contain exhibits and life-size dioramas that illustrate daily life before the invention of technology and modernism in the emirate.
Several exhibits illuminate the trade route of Dubai by displaying local antiques and artifacts from countries that traded with Dubai. These exhibits illustrate how Dubai started out as a modest village settlement before it took the world by storm with its innovative and astonishing new-age attractions and architectural marvels that transformed it into a world-renowned tourist destination. The entrance fee to Dubai Museum is AED 3 for adults and AED 1 for children below the age of 6.
The historical centre of Briançon is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east.
The Savoyards made two raids into French territory in 1691 and 1692. As a result, Vauban was dispatched to inspect the frontier defences, which had been ill-equiped to deal with the attack from Savoy. He returned to the area in 1700 to check on the progress that had been made since his first visit. When Vauban visited Briançon, work on the defences had already started under a local engineer, Monsieur d"Angrogne in 1692.