UAE traditional craft makes UNESCO list

UNESCO has gone and added the UAE’s traditional craft of ‘Al Talli’ to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list. 47 elements have been included from 60 countries on the list.

The UAE’s traditional embroidery skills is a handicraft most popular or in demand ahead of religious fesitvals, such as Eid, or marriage. 

It’s a time consuming craft handed down from mother to daughter, with the gathering of women in houses and neighbourhoods to braid Talli. 

Date palm, knowledge, skills, traditions and practices in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen and Alheda'a, oral traditions of calling camel flocks, were also inscribed to the UNESCO list. 

One third of the elements inscribed this year relate to nature and the important challenge of safeguarding biodiversity.