To a visitor to Abu Dhabi's Corniche, its rows of towers gleaming against the Gulf, or to the Emirates Palace by night, bathed in its shifting rainbow lights, the UAE's capital must seem as jewel-like as any city on Earth.
Jo Tatchell, the author of a new memoir-cum-history titled A Diamond in the Desert, remembers it a different way. She arrived in Abu Dhabi in 1974, the three-year-old daughter of the British manager of Spinneys. In those days, she writes, "the desert still had the upper hand". All the same, "an almost palpable sense of chaos and opportunity hung about the place. It was like California's Sierra Nevada in the days of the gold rush". This is racy, evocative stuff, and one can only assume Tatchell must have been an observant child: she was just 10 when she went back to England to start boarding school, though she continued to visit the region throughout the next decade as her parents moved around the Gulf.
It was after she had finished university that she began her second long stint in Abu Dhabi. Lured by "clear skies, fun and the promise of my first job", she started work as the subscriptions manager at the Marina Club. The work was varied and the living easy but she couldn't stand it for long. "It wasn't that I hadn't enjoyed myself there," she writes; "far from it. I had spent some of the happiest moments of my life in Abu Dhabi." But she "always ended up feeling guilty at taking advantage of a system in which people were valued differently, by race as well as profession". Tatchell ended up going back to London, where she took a typing course and carved out a niche for herself as a freelance journalist writing about the Middle East. Abu Dhabi never left her, though; it had "bewitched a part of me", she writes.
In a sense, her new book is an attempt to tease out the ambiguities of her relationship with the city. In doing so, it provides a condensed history of the Emirates and a snapshot of Abu Dhabi today, when, as she says, the people of the UAE "are only just beginning to address the question of who they are".
"For all the physical construction and development that's been under way in some way or another for the last 30 to 40 years," Tatchell tells me from a temporary bolthole in Wales, "there's now a kind of parallel cultural aim. And that's a new threshold... It felt like it was the right time now to say something."
Abu Dhabi has been a changeable place for as long has she has known it. Her book includes a telling story in which her father crashed his boat into the newly created Lulu island; cursing, he admits that he'd forgotten it was there. Yet the process of transformation has, in Tatchell's view, become more self-aware in recent years. "This time the change feels very strategic," she says. "After Zayed died and the plans for the future became more clear, I realised that actually my own experience, both in the Seventies and also in the Nineties, was probably going to be like ancient history. And that actually I needed to come back and see it."
That return trip forms the central narrative thread, the present-tense action, in her book. In a sense it's a detective story, albeit one in which all the evidence is packed away in a possibly mythical depot while the sleuth is bounced from functionary to functionary without ever approaching her goal. Tatchell's efforts to gain entry to a national clippings archive becomes an organising motif amid a sea of more miscellaneous impressions and reminiscences, her frustrated researches broken by reunions and interviews. It's an effective device, one that allows her to range over the history of the region while discreetly checking the nation's pulse.
As far as that goes, Tatchell finds evidence of several disorders. The two great bugbears are a lack of transparency and equality, and harrowing anecdotes from the family archive are brought out to buttress the bleaker diagnoses: stories of abductions hushed up and fatal accidents swept under the carpet. "The Abu Dhabi I once knew was a secretive place," she writes. "Plenty happened, but you never heard about it - at least, not through the media or official channels." Fortunately, she isn't too proud to pass on the rumours. And there's a luridness to some of this material which, if it does little to increase the moral authority of her case, at least makes for an exciting read.
Some of her quoted dialogue has a certain down-market zest, too: "Damn this place, but I love it," one of her old friends announces: "It's for dreamers and people stupid enough to be seduced." These Jackie Collins interludes are a welcome distraction. For the most part the tone is careful. Tatchell is meticulous in attending to the subtleties of Abu Dhabi's historical context, and she offers, in the end, a guardedly optimistic prognosis. "There is an intention," she tells me, "to create or allow a more just, more even-handed system to come through - a more representative system." It would, she believes, be reasonable to reserve judgement for a decade - "possibly a little less or a little more" - before writing off the great experiment that is life in the Emirates. "We don't have a utopian society on Earth yet," she says. Abu Dhabi is a young place. It should be allowed, as she calls it, "a grace period".
Besides, there are signs that intellectual as well as architectural developments may be afoot. The thing that sparked her return to Abu Dhabi was the announcement of the Guggenheim for Saadiyat Island. She notes the extraordinary expansion in university uptake, and the fact that Abu Dhabi has achieved one of the highest percentages of female graduates in the world. "Now it's not just the physical planning that's being thought through," she says. "It's the cultural planning and the meaning and identity of the city... In those first few years people were just busy being and doing, and making changes like setting up businesses and learning about them. With more time, I suppose, comes reflection. And you begin to ask the question: what do you want to be?"
This is not a decision that Abu Dhabi is free to make in a vacuum, however. "It's in a sensitive geographical place," Tatchell says. "It may have intentions, but it has so many relationships that it must uphold, whether they're trade relationships or relationships related to geography or faith... all those layers make it possibly more of a challenge than in a lot of other places." But there are reasons for optimism.
"The things that are possibly the most unpalatable," Tatchell tells me, "the aspects that threaten to derail the sense of achievement and future intention, could easily be addressed. Because you have a country that's rich... it has funds to implement changes, and it's also small, which means it could in theory mobilise that change really quickly." The rewards would be great. Abu Dhabi is, Tatchell suggests, poised to take its place at the world's top table. "The question is, how much does it want to be a part of a kind of global world?" she says. "Where is the axis of its power? Is it just among its own people, or is it more about creating a place for itself in a wider world?"
I ask Tatchell what stake she personally has in Abu Dhabi's future. She did, after all, grow up here. "I would not say I was invested," she answers hesitantly. "I have no formal role. But I do understand that it is a small country and it's making a place for itself, and it has had to tread a path of necessity, and now it's trying to carve out something that's longer-term... It's on a journey, and you can't judge the end by the beginning." Still, if you want to know more about how that beginning began, Tatchell's book is a good place to start.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
RESULTS
6.30pm: Longines Conquest Classic Dh150,000 Maiden 1,200m.
Winner: Halima Hatun, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer).
7.05pm: Longines Gents La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,200m.
Winner: Moosir, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Longines Equestrian Collection Dh150,000 Maiden 1,600m.
Winner: Mazeed, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
8.15pm: Longines Gents Master Collection Dh175,000 Handicap.
Winner: Thegreatcollection, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Longines Ladies Master Collection Dh225,000 Conditions 1,600m.
Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm: Longines Ladies La Grande Classique Dh155,000 Handicap 1,600m.
Winner: Secret Trade, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
10pm: Longines Moon Phase Master Collection Dh170,000 Handicap 2,000m.
Winner:
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The five pillars of Islam
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The%20specs
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Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Habib El Qalb
Assi Al Hallani
(Rotana)
SPECS
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