WHAT I TRIED The Lounge in Abu Dhabi, reportedly the capital's only dedicated spa for men and a good suggestion for a Father's Day treat. It offers everything from basic grooming to Turkish and Moroccan baths, body bronzing (also known as the man tan), manicures/pedicures, henna tattoos, facials, laser hair removal and anything else positively metrosexual. You can pay more to be sheared in a private room and even more for the Royal Room - which is a barber station, bath and spa rolled into in one. The Lounge also provides in-home and in-office service. Really, it has everything the pampered man needs, except a list of excuses to inform more rugged friends about why a diamond-scrub facial was necessary. For my visit, I got a shave and a massage, which will be hereafter referred to as a "manssage".
WHAT I WANTED I actually only wanted a shave, but The Lounge's manager also arranged for the manssage. From the shave, which costs Dh50, I wanted service a few steps above the Dh10 treatments available at various saloons across the city. From the manssage, which cost Dh80 for a half-hour, I wanted, well, I'm not sure - I don't really like massages. I've only had one before: at the Wat Pho Buddhist temple in Bangkok, where Thai massage was invented. That was a good experience, but more painful than relaxing. So I decided with this one that I wanted to feel relaxed, which was appropriate because I was booked for The Lounge's Relaxing Massage.
WHAT HAPPENED I can't complain about the shave. Mohamed, the barber, took his time and switched to a new razor blade halfway through. Most saloons just use one for the whole face. He used something called Astro shaving gel, then topped it with standard Gillette foam. I was hoping for a heated lather, but when a man's holding a razor to your throat, you keep quiet. After the razor, he put baby powder on my face and used an electric razor to get the remaining hairs.
As it was 10.40 on a weekday morning, I wasn't really expecting a massage and wasn't really in the mindset for a rubdown. My masseur was a mansseur (the only one at The Lounge, for the record), who rubbed along to a soundtrack of soft-rock hits played on a flute. The manssage - full body - was firm and thorough without being painful and used just enough oil to avoid friction, meaning I could dress straight away and head into the office.
THE VERDICT While the electric razor took away from the romance of the old-fashioned single-blade shave, it's by far the smoothest one I've ever had. As for the massage, I didn't feel particularly tense going in to it, and I felt pretty much the same leaving. I fell asleep on at one point, though, so I must have been relaxed. I will definitely go back for a shave and maybe to check out the baths. Next up though, on the insistence of my colleagues, is the man tan.
John Mather
The Lounge, near the intersection of Khaleej al Arabi and Falah in Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi. Call 02 667 7377 or see @email:www.thelounge.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Company%20Profile
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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
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.
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,
She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.
