The smell of gahwa is unmistakable. Coffee pots with long spouts like sea birds’ necks are sitting in a fire’s embers, the focus of a group of men relaxing on the soft sand. In front of them, a man and a woman, dressed in white and black, sit high on camels, accompanied by two men, singing and holding camel sticks. As scenes go, it’s less familiar than the men herding camels in camps near Al Wathba off the road to Al Ain, but the tableaux at the Qasr Al Hosn Festival have been staged to evoke impressions of the past.
There’s a smiling fisherman inviting children to haul in a traditional circular net (casting it is left to his expertise); men sit weaving fishing pots out of metal wire, others are mending fishing nets; but most impressive are the 60-somethings still able to shin up a palm tree barefoot to gather dates. Meanwhile, women in old Khaleeji dress keep shop in souqs, cluster together to weave baskets from khous and chat over their embroidery, as small boys kick a football outside.
The festival also has plenty of activities to spice up the scenic drama. Fancy a pony or camel ride? Both are hugely popular. Want to have a go at tying knots to rope together palm struts in an arish house? How about finding out more about the species of fish in the Gulf, or the migration routes of falcons? Want to have your photo taken in a gold Khaleeji burqa and shimmering shayla? Anything’s possible and there are plenty of Emiratis, expats and tourists enjoying the story being told about Abu Dhabi’s beginnings with a host of friendly ambassadors acting as narrators.
Sure, there’s a lot of artifice on display here. Dotting the site, posts loaded with speakers play lapping waves, calling seagulls, birdsong and a nearly howling wind in the desert, but the camels’ grumbles are real enough and the whiff of dung almost too authentic. “I remember these things from my grandmother’s house,” a woman browsing in a souq says to a couple of friends, all wearing abayas. Their iPhones underscore the age gap on either side of the shop counter. Before us there’s an impressive array of goods, from screw-top jars of Man hair cream to glass bottles of Otto de Rose Hair Oil, cooking oil and row upon row of jars of gahwa, ghee, chilli paste, curry spices and preserved fruit – all labelled with a mobile phone number, in case you’d like a refill. What’s on display at the souq has a global provenance: coffee cups, teapots, toy guns and kaffiyehs more likely made in China and India than here, but still in keeping with the way supplies were shipped along trading routes. Surveying the scene, I’m reminded of Guy Gravett’s black and white photographs of Abu Dhabi’s souq from 1962.
Just outside the main festival arena is the Qasr Al Hosn exhibition, new for this year’s festival. It tells the story of Abu Dhabi through the evolution of Qasr Al Hosn, from its early days as a watchtower guarding a watering hole, through 200 years as a fortress-cum-palace until its most recent role as the home of the National Archives.
What stands out most amid the old photographs, sketches, architectural drawings and diagrams is a black and white film of elderly Emiratis sharing their memories of early Abu Dhabi. They talk powerfully and movingly about a very different way of life in the 1950s, long before the settlement became a city and, as one puts it, started “growing every day”.
“These days were different,” Khadim Al Rumaithy says, smiling. “People used to love each other. A stranger would greet you as a friend would. People were frank with each other.” He is followed by Zalikha Al Sayed Al Hashimi, who remembers Friday visits to the majlis of Sheikh Shakhbut when Qasr Al Hosn’s guards would open its doors to local women. “We all used to go there to chat and drink coffee,” she says. “We would be offered in big baskets bread, flour, dates, coffee and cardamom. Each woman would take one home … Life was simple in the past.”
One speaker seems to vest particular importance in his recording. Dressed in a herringbone wool jacket and Omani turban, with kohl-rimmed eyes, Saeed Al Mansoori makes a striking historian: “This is where I grew up and what my eyes have seen and loved dearly,” he says, explaining how Sheikh Shakhbut used to leave the palace fortress to meet people, decades before a “sweet water” canal allowed Abu Dhabi to grow and grow fast.
Away from the hurly-burly around the fort outside, those old voices with their songs, stories and poems paint an equally vivid portrait of life before the glass towers that now ring the fort were even dreamt about.
Clare Dight is the editor of The Review.
cdight@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
- Parasite – 4
- 1917– 3
- Ford v Ferrari – 2
- Joker – 2
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood – 2
- American Factory – 1
- Bombshell – 1
- Hair Love – 1
- Jojo Rabbit – 1
- Judy – 1
- Little Women – 1
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl) – 1
- Marriage Story – 1
- Rocketman – 1
- The Neighbors' Window – 1
- Toy Story 4 – 1
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
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
More coverage from the Future Forum
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Company%20profile
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F1 line ups in 2018
Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
