Live updates: Follow the latest on Trump's Gulf trip
The dallah, a long-spouted coffee pot, holds a resonant place within the social and cultural fabric of the UAE, much like the aromatic brew it pours.
Its significance to the UAE was recognised when it was etched on to the one dirham coin, when it was first issued in 1973. It can be found everywhere – from airport lounges and hotel lobbies to souvenir shops.
More than a decorative item or cultural signifier, it is also a symbol of the UAE and the wider Gulf’s deep-rooted reverence for coffee - known as gahwa or qahwa – and the traditions surrounding it.
Brewed with cardamom and saffron and served in small, handle-less cups called finjans, gahwa is part of a ritual expressing the region’s celebrated history of hospitality, and the communal ties upheld through respect for family and elders.
With US President Donald Trump having taken part in a gahwa ceremony during his Gulf visit to Riyadh, the tradition once again played a meaningful role in solidifying diplomatic and social bonds. Here is what you need to know about the ceremony and how it takes place.
Why is it important?
If the Gulf, as we know, emerged through tribes uniting to form larger communities and eventually sovereign nations, then coffee helped weave those bonds together.
Not only a source of income, as an in-demand commodity exported from Yemeni ports, it was also a daily staple at home, offering moments of hospitality in an often unforgiving desert landscape.
What began as a humble gesture to welcome travellers and mark social occasions has evolved into a formal ritual, now central to diplomatic visits and cultural showcases at home and abroad. That enduring tradition led to gahwa being officially inscribed on Unesco’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015.
How is the coffee made?
The ceremony begins with the guest being shown the raw green coffee beans – a simple gesture, but rich with meaning. Offering the beans for inspection signals transparency and assures the guest of their quality. It also invites the guest to take part in the ceremony from the outset, offering a glimpse and whiff into Emirati and wider Gulf culture.
Once approved by the guest, the beans are roasted on a clay stove called al qawar – sometimes built into the majlis – until they turn golden brown or darker, depending on the desired roast. Once cooled on a flat plate, the beans are ground with a mortar and pestle, then combined with spices and added to the dallah, which already contains boiling water. The mixture is then left to gently simmer.
The coffee-making process ends with the silky liquid poured from the dallah into a smaller pot called al mazla, used to separate the grounds from the brew. The aroma of the coffee is sometimes wafted toward the guest for approval, alongside the scent of oud rising from the mabkhara, a traditional incense burner. The coffee is then ready to be served and typically accompanied by dates, dried fruits or sweets.
How is gahwa served?
Traditionally, the role of pouring is assigned to the youngest male of the family, known as the gahwaji. The dallah is held in the left hand while the coffee is poured into a finjan held in the right, then served clockwise around the gathering – typically beginning with the most honoured guest.
The first pour is known as sabbat al hashma – the “pour of respect” – and the quantity is deliberately small, typically up to a third of the cup – to ensure the coffee remains hot and to prevent any spilling.
The gahwaji remains standing throughout the ceremony, attentive to any request for a refill. Guests who want more simply extend their cup slightly, while those declining gently shake the finjan from side to side.
What is said during the ceremony?
Several phrases are traditionally exchanged during the coffee ceremony. Guests often use expressions such as daimah (“may it always endure”) and Allah yabarek (“may God bless it”) to praise the host and the quality of the brew. More general expressions such as sahtein (“to your health”) are also commonly used when serving or accepting the drink.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Major honours
ARSENAL
BARCELONA
- La Liga - 2013
- Copa del Rey - 2012
- Fifa Club World Cup - 2011
CHELSEA
- Premier League - 2015, 2017
- FA Cup - 2018
- League Cup - 2015
SPAIN
- World Cup - 2010
- European Championship - 2008, 2012
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
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Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
Sting & Shaggy
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(Interscope)
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The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
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Three stars
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
Barbie
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
