Urban antidote
When curator Giuseppe Moscatello wants to recharge his creative energy, he crosses the desert to Khorfakkan.
By Catherine Mazy
The UAE is known for its thrumming cosmopolitan metropolises. The fast-swirling currents of culture and of cultures contributed to Giuseppe Moscatello’s decision to move here from Rome in 2007 to work in the arts. He became a curator and later executive director of Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah, director of 1971 Design Space, headed exhibitions and public programmes for the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, and co-founded Evolve DXB and Foundry Downtown in Dubai.
But every few months, Moscatello heads to Khorfakkan to recharge.
“I love the ritual of driving through the desert,” he says. “It’s completely flat. You don’t see anything. It creates a calm. You feel everything becoming quiet. You feel that you are running away from the city. Then you see the mountains and you feel the energy of the history of Khorfakkan.”
For years, Moscatello heard stories about Khorfakkan’s brave battle to repel invaders, commemorated in the book Khorfakkan’s Resistance Against the Portuguese Invasion of September 1507 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah. A 2020 movie was based on the book.
“There’s a lot of respect in Sharjah for Khorfakkan because of its history and culture and its people,” he says. “There is a lot of soul there.”
Moscatello appreciates reconnecting regularly with friends in Khorfakkan. “I have more attachment to this city because of a close friend. He influences me with his love for this city. He takes me to his coffee shop, his favourite corner, the top of the mountain, to a new boutique hotel opening.” He enjoys visiting the old souk and the historic fort or taking in the view from Al Suhub Rest House or Al Rafisah Dam.
Next door in Fujairah, Europeans and Americans abound, drawn by beachside hotels. Khorfakkan though maintains its authenticity. Fewer tourists and expats means “it’s just the local community. They are more friendly and open to welcoming outsiders. It makes you feel nice. The way they look at you, the way they interact, it’s different than in Dubai. People ask where are you from, why are you here. It’s a curiosity that in Dubai is no longer there.”
Although Khorfakkan feels far away, “whenever Sharjah Art Foundation does an event—visual or contemporary art—they always try to activate Khorfakkan with performances or exhibitions,” he says.
Sometimes Moscatello visits the studios of two of the UAE’s most established contemporary artists—Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim and Abdullah Al Saadi—both near Khorfakkan. “It’s very interesting to discover from a creator’s point of view. How they practice art in that part of Sharjah is different from the western part. It’s more earthy. It has different energy.”
The setting inspires him, too. “Coming back to childhood in the countryside, exploring creativity through nature has always been part of my heritage,” he says. “The beach and the sea are important to me because I’m from the south of Italy and we are attached to the sea. I also come from a village where people know each other. I think Khorfakkan is close to me because there’s a personal attachment to my time in the south of Italy.”
The Gulf coast has beaches and sea, but, to Moscatello, the east coast is “completely different. There’s less development, it’s more authentic. The beach and sea on the east side of the UAE is what triggers my emotions.”
Khorfakkan offers another reminder of Moscatello’s childhood: oysters. “I love seafood, but oysters are my favourite,” he says. He highly recommends the oysters from Dibba Bay, in Fujairah.
A meal of oysters, a swim in the sea, a walk on the beach and a chat with locals add up to a mini vacation. “In Khorfakkan, there’s a shift in energy. When you spend two days there, you come back recharged.”
Photograph by siddharth siva
