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Relic from early Christianity surfaces on Abu Dhabi island

Aug 25, 2025, 7:42am EDT
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A Christian stone.
Courtesy of Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi

Long before it was home to the Arabian Wildlife Park — where today giraffes, oryx, and ostriches roam — Sir Bani Yas Island off the coast of Abu Dhabi was the site of a Christian monastery, whose relics are still being dug up from the sand.

The latest artifact is a cross, thought to be 1,400 years old, bearing similarities with others found in Iraq and Kuwait and linked to the Church of the East, which traces its origins to ancient Iraq, according to Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism. The find, made during the first major excavation on the island in more than 30 years, is being touted by the emirate’s tourism authority as evidence that peaceful coexistence among the faithful is not a new thing in the UAE. Indeed, it goes back centuries.

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