Car battery replacement in Al Qasimia

Al Qasimia is one of Sharjah's older central districts, named after the ruling Al Qasimi family and reached from King Faisal Street, King Abdul Aziz Street and Al Estiqlal Street. It takes in Al Nud and Al Mahatta, home of Al Mahatta Museum and Al Mahatta Park. Housing is mostly mid-rise apartment blocks over shops, many of them long established and rented by families who have stayed in the same flat for years. King Faisal Mosque and Ittihad Square Park are its best-known landmarks.

Older blocks mean fewer bays than cars, so a lot of Al Qasimia vehicles live on the street or on open plots, in direct sun, with no shade through the long summer. Heat under the bonnet is what wears a battery out, and a car parked outside all day gets far more of it than one in a basement. The cars themselves are often older too, with ageing alternators and corroded earth straps that undercharge the battery until it fails on a hot afternoon.

Kerbside bays in Al Qasimia are Sharjah paid parking and are taken early. By evening cars are parked tight on both sides of the inner streets. The technician stops as close as he can and brings the battery and tester on foot. If your building has a basement, mention how tight the ramp is and whether a visitor can drive in. A building name and the nearest shop sign find you faster than a street number.

The technician takes Al Ittihad Road and Al Wahda Street to King Faisal Street, then turns into Al Qasimia by King Abdul Aziz Street or Al Estiqlal Street. The King Faisal Street junctions and the crowded inner lanes are where the time goes.