"It was the perfect project while I was locked down for five months because of Covid-19," says Marisa Berenson, 73. Tucked away in her exquisite riad on the edge of Marrakech at the beginning of last year, the American model and actress set to work on Marrakech Flair, a beautiful photographic homage to the Moroccan city that has been her home for the past eight years.
A place of peace
The project was initiated around Christmas 2019, while she was staying with her friends, publishers Martine and Prosper Assouline. They asked if she would be interested in writing about the city that she had first visited as a model in the 1970s to do a fashion shoot for Vogue.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the Moroccan city was a place of peace and love, full of free spirits and creatives drawn in by its mystical aura. “It’s very spiritual here and there is a luminosity about it and a vibration that is very special,” Berenson says. “The lifestyle is nice and gentle, and there are lots of interesting people, wonderful artists, designers.”
It's very spiritual here and there is a luminosity about it and a vibration that is very special
So much so that she got carried away visiting all their studios during her research for the book. Artist Hassan Hajjaj is a particular case in point. “I am inspired by them and wanted to write about what is happening here now as a modern city with a movement that is socially, environmentally and politically conscious. I was so impressed by their creativity and awareness.”
In Marrakech Flair, Berenson immerses her reader in the culture and colour of the city, highlighting its inhabitants and visitors both past and present, including 19th-century painter Eugene Delacroix, writer Ernest Hemingway, fashion designer-turned-hotelier Jasper Conran, and Yves Saint Laurent, who arrived in the city in 1966 and fell in love with it, making it his second home. "A visit to Marrakech was a great shock to me," Saint Laurent once said. "This city taught me colour."
Henceforth, Saint Laurent designed all his haute couture collections from Villa Oasis and its famous La Majorelle Gardens, one of Berenson’s favourite haunts. “We were friends for years when I was very young in my early days in Paris,” the actress recalls of the famed couturier.
"But I wasn't [spending time] here in Marrakech in those days, although I did come to do a Vogue shoot at the original La Mamounia hotel when it was a simple colonial hotel, where Winston Churchill, Rita Hayworth and Charles de Gaulle have all stayed."
Churchill once said: “Marrakech is simply the nicest place on Earth to spend an afternoon.” Actress Anjelica Huston describes it as “one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I think the most romantic place I’ve been to in my life”.
In its heyday, the Moroccan city attracted a glamorous bohemian crowd that included A-listers such as Mick Jagger, the Beatles, Talitha and John Paul Getty Jr, and perfumier Serge Lutens. “What is fascinating is that it was a woman, Zaynab an-Nafzawiyyah, who actually created the city in the 11th century,” explains Berenson. “She was an incredibly beautiful, intelligent woman, who became queen and drew artists, philosophers, poets and architects from around the world.”
Africa's 'garden of Eden'
Dubbed the “red city” for the colour of its sandstone buildings, Marrakech quickly became a lively hub, buzzing with souqs and artisans in the Medina, and the energetic trading of sugar, tobacco, Sudanese elephants and giraffes. Beautiful gardens were created and these remain some of the actress’s favourite places to visit, including Le Jardin Secret in the heart of the city, the Cactus Thiemann Botanical Garden, La Majorelle, the gardens at La Mamounia and artist Andre Heller’s Anima garden, which features works by Auguste Rodin and Keith Haring and has been dubbed “Africa’s garden of Eden”. Another go-to is the extraordinary sculpture park created by French artist Jean-Francois Fourtou at Dar El Sadaka in the Palmeraie area of the city, a surreal 4.4-hectare garden and house to delight children and adults alike.
“It is magical, like Alice in Wonderland where Fourtou creates incredible worlds of giant insects and animals, an upside-down house and huge furniture inspired by his childhood,” Berenson explains. The site also functions as a spiritual retreat and visits can be arranged by appointment, while the residence is available for rental.
Some of Berenson’s favourite shops are in the city’s famed hotels, such as El Fenn boutique at El Fenn hotel, the boutiques at La Majorelle and the Musee Yves Saint Laurent, which she describes as “a jewel of a place”. Notably, Saint Laurent had dubbed the actress “the girl of the ‘70s”.
Despite stepping away from the limelight, Berenson has continued to have an interesting career. She moved to Marrakech eight years ago to create a cosmetics line that was launched in hotels and spas, but the venture is now in hiatus. “It was destiny, a new cycle in life,” she says of the move. She brought her mother, daughter of couturier Elsa Schiaparelli, to live with her, until she died four years ago.
A life in front of the camera
As a model and actress, Berenson has lived her life in front of the camera lens; even her christening portrait was published in Vogue. The green-eyed beauty was born into a world of style, with a grandmother known for her surrealist collaborations with artist Salvador Dali.
Her creative mother, Countess Maria Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor (known as Gogo) went on to marry a dashing American diplomat called Robert L Berenson. The actress was born in New York, and she and her younger sister, Berinthia (who as Berry Berenson-Perkins went on to become a photographer) had a peripatetic upbringing, moving to Paris when Marisa was 2.
In the 1960s, at the age of 16, Berenson was spotted by Diana Vreeland, the renowned Vogue editor who was a friend of her grandmother and parents. "She had known me as a child and then rediscovered me and said: 'Oh, we must photograph Marisa!' That was it, I immediately started working for American Vogue," Berenson recalls.
The indomitable Schiaparelli, however, was less than pleased: “She was a very courageous and strong woman and when she saw I had that same desire to go out in world and follow my dreams and be independent, she was afraid for me and wanted me to be settled down and get married,” admits Berenson. “But it was in my genes, inherited from her.”
As one of the most successful models of her time, Berenson worked with many of the great photographers, from Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon to David Bailey, Herb Ritts and Steven Meisel, bringing to life the fashions of the best designers on the printed page. “It was a time when there was so much artistic expression, freedom and individuality,” she recalls.
However, she was soon enticed into acting by the legendary filmmaker Luchino Visconti, whom she met in Ischia, where he and her grandmother owned houses. Visconti thought she would be perfect for a role in his evocative period movie Death in Venice in 1971. "He gave me my first chance and believed in me and that was very important when I started."
She was invited to London for the casting of Cabaret, in which she starred alongside Liza Minelli, who was to become a lifelong friend. She secured the role of the chic but naïve Natalia Landauer in the 1972 Bob Fosse film, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. "He was a real actors' director, demanding and challenging, but I learned a lot from him and because of that, I was chosen by Stanley Kubrick for Barry Lyndon. They were the best teachers in the world," she says of the two directors.
Berenson has also performed on Broadway in New York and in London’s West End, and continued making films (mostly European) over the years, despite taking a break when she married twice and had her daughter. But her life has been guided by her spiritual beliefs. “I was very existential as a child, wondering what is my purpose here? What is my life? Who is God? What am I doing? So, I started to search when very young for answers,” she says. This led her to India when she was about 18, she recalls, where she ended up in an ashram in Rishikesh with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the Beatles learning transcendental meditation.
Her spiritualism has seen her through two divorces and the tragic loss of her sister Berry, who was in the first plane to hit the World Trade Centre in 2001. “It guides my life and gives me purpose and strength, peace of mind and tranquillity,” she says. “I’ve always followed a holistic life in body, mind and soul, and built my life around living that way.”
Given the mystical magnetism of Marrakech, it feels almost inevitable that the city would become her spiritual home.
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Pakistan World Cup squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abid Ali, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Hafeez(subject to fitness), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain
Two additions for England ODIs: Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
More on animal trafficking
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
The five pillars of Islam
The%C2%A0specs%20
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
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
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
First-round leaderbaord
-5 C Conners (Can)
-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);
-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)
Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)
1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)
3 R McIlroy (NI)
4 D Johnson (US)
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amit%20Joshi%20and%20Aradhana%20Sah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECast%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shahid%20Kapoor%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%2C%20Dharmendra%2C%20Dimple%20Kapadia%2C%20Rakesh%20Bedi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
%3Cp%3EBy%202030%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%20aims%20to%20achieve%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2039.3%20million%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20nearly%2064%25%20up%20from%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20Dh90%20billion%20contribution%20to%20GDP%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20about%2084%25%20more%20than%20Dh49%20billion%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%20178%2C000%20new%20jobs%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20bringing%20the%20total%20to%20about%20366%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%2052%2C000%20hotel%20rooms%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20up%2053%25%20from%2034%2C000%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%207.2%20million%20international%20visitors%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20almost%2090%25%20higher%20compared%20to%202023's%203.8%20million%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%80%A2%203.9%20international%20overnight%20hotel%20stays%2C%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2022%25%20more%20from%203.2%20nights%20in%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
liverpool youngsters
Ki-Jana Hoever
The only one of this squad to have scored for Liverpool, the versatile Dutchman impressed on his debut at Wolves in January. He can play right-back, centre-back or in midfield.
Herbie Kane
Not the most prominent H Kane in English football but a 21-year-old Bristolian who had a fine season on loan at Doncaster last year. He is an all-action midfielder.
Luis Longstaff
Signed from Newcastle but no relation to United’s brothers Sean and Matty, Luis is a winger. An England Under-16 international, he helped Liverpool win the FA Youth Cup last season.
Yasser Larouci
An 18-year-old Algerian-born winger who can also play as a left-back, Larouci did well on Liverpool’s pre-season tour until an awful tackle by a Sevilla player injured him.
Adam Lewis
Steven Gerrard is a fan of his fellow Scouser, who has been on Liverpool’s books since he was in the Under-6s, Lewis was a midfielder, but has been converted into a left-back.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Race card:
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
