With the unveiling of the futuristic design of the Zayed National Museum, the mostly barren Saadiyat Island is gradually taking shape as a project intended to play a critical role in Abu Dhabi's transformation from an oil-based economy.
"Today we have the oil," said Mohammad Ahmad al Bowardi, the Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council. "Tomorrow we will not have the oil. We will have the mind of the people that will create alternatives … to ensure that the United Arab Emirates will continue to contribute to the world development."
The 27 sq km natural island is to become Abu Dhabi's cultural centre and play an important part in the emirate's economic vision. With branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums planned alongside the Zayed National Museum, the three institutions are expected to attract 1.5 million visitors a year. But the developers emphasise that the museums are not planned only as economic boosters for the capital.
"There are definitely economic benefits for these institutions," said Mubarak al Muhairi, the managing director of Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), which is the master developer of Saadiyat Island.
"The story has changed. If I talked to one of the directors now of these museums, they would tell you 30, 40 years ago it was a shame to say we are building a civic centre or a museum that can benefit commercially or economically. But now that has changed to 'if it doesn't really benefit the economy, it is difficult to sustain'.
"The reason behind it is not really the economic benefits. It's more the learning and the benefits of bringing knowledge to the younger generation. The decision makers never started looking at this. It was always how the thinking, the creativity will evolve. I think those are the real returns on investment."
But the tourism benefits are certainly vital to Abu Dhabi's economy as it diversifies beyond its dependence on oil. The emirate is aiming to attract 2.3 million hotel guests by 2012, up from 1.54 million last year and an expected 1.65 million guests this year. Other developments in the capital - such as Yas Island with the Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World theme park, as well as the flood of branded luxury hotels coming on to the market - are part of the strategy of putting Abu Dhabi on the international tourism map.
"For sure, tourism and other sectors will benefit from having such institutions in Abu Dhabi," Mr al Muhairi said.
Lord Foster of Foster and Partners has designed the Zayed National Museum, which is named in honour of Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE.
"All the great museums, which certainly do today around the world attract visitors and generate conversations about tourism, they never started off with the idea of being a tourism venue," Lord Foster said. "They were for their own sake. They were to celebrate a heritage and because they did it well they then became places that people wanted to go to."
The emirate has engaged some of the most renowned international architects for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry.
The whole Saadiyat Island development was originally projected to cost US$27 billion (Dh99.17bn). But that value is changing as construction costs fluctuate and changes are made as the project unfolds.
The Saadiyat Beach District, designed as a family holiday destination, will eventually have nine five-star hotels, including a Shangri-La and Mandarin Oriental. The Park Hyatt and St Regis resorts are rapidly progressing and are expected to open on the beach next year. The Saadiyat Beach Golf Club opened this year. The island is expected eventually to be home to some 145,000 residents. Progress on some of the elements has been slower than first anticipated. Completion of the last projects is expected by 2020.
"The development of Saadiyat Island within itself is built in a sustainable way to sustain the cultural district," said Mr al Bowardi.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
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The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
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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
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
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Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
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Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
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What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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England squads for Test and T20 series against New Zealand
Test squad: Joe Root (capt), Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes
T20 squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince
