How this Emirati transformed his 100-year-old mountain home into UAE’s most charming Airbnb

How this Emirati transformed his 100-year-old mountain home into UAE’s most charming Airbnb

Waleed Khamis Al Abdouli's labour of love offers authentic Emirati experience in the unfailing company of nature

Published: Thu 16 Jun 2022, 4:18 PM Last updated: Thu 16 Jun 2022, 5:02 PM

Waleed Khamis Al Abdouli moved out of his ancestral home in 2015. But he couldn’t really move on. His thoughts kept wandering back to his 100-year-old mud-walled house in Tayibbah village set amidst the rugged Hajjar mountains of Fujairah.

This is where he grew up and spent most of his adult life. “I remember how our place would resonate with laughter. It pained me to see it suddenly go quiet and languish in obscurity,” the Emirati recalled. “I had two choices — wallow in the memories of the house or do something to preserve it.”

The father of three, who works with the UAE’s armed forces, chose the latter. He dipped into his life’s savings to transform the two-storied accommodation into a charming mountain abode now known as the Al Qala Lodge.

Opened just four years ago, the unpretentious retreat is already a big hit among tourists and staycationers thirsting for an authentic Emirati experience in the unfailing company of nature. It’s hard to miss the place as you drive past Fujairah’s Masafi