That's my father, AbdulRazzaq Yousuf Alkhaja, may Allah bless his soul around 1965. He is standing in his block factory at Port Saeed area (near the clock tower) Dubai.

In front of him is a block machine, which was used to produce a single block at a time. The machine in the bottom is the source of the vibration used to strengthen the block while casting it. One person used to work on this machine, manually lowering and raising the block frame using the large handle on the left.

The machine was manufactured in Lebanon. He used to import and distribute them as well. 

Each block was casted on a wooden pallet (carpentered at site). A worker used to transfer the block on the pallet and lay them on the ground in an open area in the factory, to be watered and Sun-Dried for several days before being manually loaded piece by piece on to a truck, delivered to a construction site and manually unloaded one by one.

Most of the buildings constructed in Dubai and Sharjah from 1960s up to the early 1980s only used these blocks that were made of salty sea sand, yet they are still perfectly standing as of now.

Rashid Hospital, the Trade Centre and the Zabeel Palace in Dubai are three of many projects that used AbdulRazzaq Yousuf Al-Khaja's blocks, as I remember my father proudly saying.

As the city of Dubai developed, the factory had to shift to the Cartoon area (near Manamah) and finally to Al Qusais area. Of course, with every shift, the factory improved, got larger and more automated. The last one in Al Qusais had its own Batching Plant, a Crane for moving material (sand & Concrete) and an Automatic Hatching Block machine that produced multiple blocks at a time. Of course, the Salty sea sand was also replaced with washed sand and the wooden pallet were replaced with a large, levelled and concreted floor. 

Sadly, and late 1980s, after 30 years of block production, my father had to close the factory as he couldn't meet the new standards and regulations imposed by the Dubai Municipality. He kept disputing the new rigorous testing and packaging regulations imposed by the younger generation. In response to Dubai Municipality inspector's question about the quality of the blocks, I remember my father sarcastically answering:

"Why don't you check the quality of Rashid Hospital's blocks made with salty sea sand? Go ahead and shoot those old blocks with a machine gun and you will know the quality of our blocks”!

I can't end this article without mentioning the joy of playing with Bobby, the loyal dog that safeguarded the factory from Camels and Cattle that used to enter the factory and step over the soft blocks left to dry.

I can't end this article without describing the joy of visiting the bakery shop near the factory (The Automatic Bakery). My father didn't have to ask to know that my younger brother (Dr. Anwar) and I desperately desired the smell of their freshly baked breads and the taste of their delicious sandwiches.

Rest in peace father, your signature blocks are firmly standing all around Dubai.

May Allah bless the souls of those who worked in that block factory. Until we meet, stay beautiful as usual.