Delma Museum

Delma Museum is a small heritage museum on Delma Island, off the coast of Abu Dhabi in the Al Dhafra region, run by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. It is housed in Bait Al Muraikhi, a pearl merchant’s house, and is for visitors interested in the island’s pearling past and its old town.

The building

The house belonged to Mohammed bin Jasim Al Muraikhi, a pearl merchant, and was built between the late 1800s and early 1900s as a place where he did business and received guests. According to Abu Dhabi Culture, it is one of four surviving buildings in the centre of the island’s old town, with the Al Muraikhi, Al Dossari and Al Muhannadi mosques. DCT Abu Dhabi reopened the museum in November 2023 after a conservation programme that, among other work, added a waterproof membrane under the floors and walls to deal with rising damp.

What you can see

• Objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Delma was a centre of the pearl trade
• Finds from the excavation and restoration of the building
• Pearling equipment and stone anchors donated by Delma residents
• A restored midbasah, a store and press for dates used to make date syrup (dibs)
• A majlis (reception room) and a badkesh (windcatcher) that funnels the breeze into the majlis
• Material on the restoration of the old town’s four historic buildings

Opening hours

Good to know

• Delma is an island: plan your trip to the island before you go. The official pages do not give ferry or flight details.
• No admission fee is published on the official page.
• Contact by email: [email protected].
• Abu Dhabi Culture says Delma Island was first inhabited nearly 7,000 years ago.

Description written from official sources, checked 24 October 2026: abudhabiculture.ae. Confirm details with the business before you go.