Forgive the cliche, but more often than not, beauty resides in simplicity. Proof can be found in one of Jordan's most iconic contemporary shops, Silsal. The name translates to "clay" in Arabic - a choice akin to labelling a bakery "cake" or a department store "fabric" - and purity of design is the focus at the ceramics and furniture shop.
Inside this atelier's gallery in Jabal Amman is the stunning collection of ceramic designs that gave the shop its name: vases, bowls, plates, trays, teacups, coffee mugs, lamps and more testify to the myriad ways in which clay can be shaped. There is also a new line of furniture and accessories.
At the rear of the gallery, Samar Habayeb, Silsal's director and chief designer, is inspecting a new batch of pieces. Producing each piece requires 25 people working in tandem during seven stages over two months. All work takes place on site, and whenever possible, all materials are local - even the glazes are homemade. Samar inspects every piece before it leaves the workshop, scrutinising the composition and the details of the design.
"Take these four but not this one - look at the crack there," she tells an assistant. "It's one of the worst parts about making ceramics by hand," she explains. "After we put the pieces into the kiln, there's nothing we can do if there's a mistake."
Samar's mother and aunt, Reem and Rula Atalla, started the business when Samar was barely five years old, and she's grown up with the shop.
"There was no workshop and no staff when we first opened, just my aunt Rula and mother using a small potter's wheel and kiln in my aunt's basement," she recalls. The sisters' goal of preserving traditional ceramic craft came hand in hand with developing the country and offering gainful employment. Soon, the handmade crafts became popular with both Ammanis and tourists visiting Jordan.
Eighteen years in, the business had earned Silsal a sterling reputation in Jordanian society, and had become the go-to gift shop for individuals, families, foreign embassies and corporations. But for the founding sisters, sustaining the business, serving customers, and dealing with all those chipped plates and imperfect glazes just became too much.
"My mother and my aunt told the rest of our family, 'It's been 18 years. We've had great success but we've never made a profit and both of us want to retire,'" explains Samar, who at the time was completing an architecture degree. "I had these plans in place, but when my mother offered the job, I couldn't resist the challenge." She quickly changed gears, enrolling in a ceramics programme at Cardiff University in the UK, and returned to Amman to take the helm of Silsal.
Four years later, the 27-year-old designer has already made a deep impression. Last winter, she took Silsal into the furnishings arena, designing a diverse line of tables, stools and chairs whose common thread is simplicity of form, experimentation with materials, and homage to Silsal's signature ceramic motifs. Samar printed Arabic calligraphy onto a steel tripod stool, for example, and set a pastiche of ceramic Arabic letters directly into the wood of a side table. "The point at which two materials meet is so very important," she says, before explaining that setting Arabic letters into wood requires tracing, then carving out the exact position for the piece. Some tables have as many as 100 letters. The commitment to quality and beauty, however, is the priority, and Silsal's reputation for this accounts for the high demand for custom tables, chairs and, of course, ceramics.
In ceramics, Silsal's bread and butter, Samar has also given the atelier new directions. She maintained the traditional motifs such as Kufi Arabic calligraphy and a circular design inspired by an 11th-century Samarkand plate, but the catalogue is wider and cooler. On the rims of bowls, plates and trays, she has encouraged experimentation with block calligraphy, with the edge carved to correspond with the curves and notches of the Arabic script. Many bowls, cups and vases also feature a retro floral print, evocative of 1960s wallpaper patterns, and the modernist influence is increasingly apparent.
The unique blend of Arabic and modern aesthetics in such a bespoke style is earning Silsal wider recognition - and demand - beyond Jordan. Last month, Samar began selling Silsal's furniture at Kuwait's BTZ Gallery, which also sells Silsal ceramics. Silsal will also be present at the next edition of Maison et Objet, the premier biannual design expo in Paris. In addition, the shop's online store is attracting customers from around the world.
While her vision for the company includes further global expansion, the integrity and craftsmanship at the heart of Silsal remain immovable. "When people think of modern Arabic ceramics and design, I want them to think of Silsal," she says. "But I also want them to think of Jordan and the people of Jordan who make each piece."
Silsal products can be shipped to the UAE (price includes insurance) via the online store at www.silsal.com
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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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
Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
You can find out more here
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
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.
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
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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
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Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Book%20Details
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
