For UAE dwellers, spending Saturday morning trekking the country's mountains might be a now-and-again event. Especially when the weather's right, and they've had enough sleep to brave the early start.
But that's not the case for friends Jameela Ahli, Al Anood Mubarak and Huda Bin Redha, as they spend almost every weekend challenging themselves to take on a new adventure across the Emirates.
“We primarily did road trips before starting hiking – we liked to explore the UAE. We'd open Google Maps and think, 'This place looks beautiful,' and just go there,” Ahli, 34, tells The National.
While their friendship deepened during their initial drives – which started just shy of a decade ago – it wasn't until after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that hiking became the driving force for their weekend excursions.
“When we are in nature, we automatically feel relaxed. Personally, it's my kind of meditation,” explains Bin Redha, 31.
The more they spent time exploring on two feet rather than four wheels, the greater well-being benefits they reaped. From family life to friendship dynamics, the Emirati hikers discuss how the active hobby has had an impact on their lives.
Soothed by nature
Spending the weekdays at work, each friend expresses how a change of scenery is a big draw of hiking. “For me, it's a stress reliever to be in nature,” says Bin Redha. “It's true that hiking can be tiring, but at the same time, it's a fun experience. It's an achievement to me that I do this consistently.”
Ahli enjoys the variety her weekend adventures in the great outdoors provide – during the week, she spends her free time in the city, socialising with friends and family in cafes and restaurants.
“Maybe in the future I'll devote my life to nature, but for now, it's a good mix,” she says.
Likewise, the change in environment evokes a sense of balance for Mubarak, 32. “For me, I realised that the more I am out in nature, I genuinely feel it heals, and it's nice to be away from city noise.
“You stay in a nice quiet area, all you can hear is the wind,” adds Mubarak.
Striking a balance
While nature has provided Mubarak with a sense of balance within, ensuring she has enough time to spend with her loved ones has been more of a challenge.
“[Hiking] did affect my dynamics with other friends and family,” she says. “There was no balance back then, but I really enjoyed it and needed to disconnect for a while in order to reconnect again.”
Nowadays, Mubarak dedicates time to better planning, so she can enjoy being outdoors without compromising relationships with friends who don't share her passion. Learning to balance life at home and life in nature, she now dedicates Fridays to family, leaving her the rest of the weekend to indulge in her hobbies and wind down from the week.
“Having a full-time job exhausts me during the week, but I still try to make plans with my friends who don't enjoy hiking,” she explains.
Capturing the experience
Taking on new heights, Mubarak details how she makes an effort not to post any pictures or videos on social media that might scare her friends and family. With 15.6k followers on the social platform at the time of writing, it seems plenty of people are interested in catching a glimpse of her journeys into the wild.
Capturing their hikes is clearly a crucial part of the experience. “When you see the pictures, you relive the same feeling and experience,” says Ahli, who often posts to her 19.1k Instagram followers. “I can't go and not take pictures, it's to document the beauty of the place and not just the area, even the stuff that happens between us.”
Bin Redha, likewise, shares stunning scenic imagery with her 31.9K Instagram followers, but keeps some just for her. “To capture the moment, we take a lot of pictures, but we only share a fragment of these,” she notes.
From meditation to mindset
While everything in life comes with highs and lows, it seems the benefit of taking up hiking as a hobby has been a net positive for these three friends.
Alongside the meditative experience out on the trails, the experience has moved mountains for their mindset in everyday life, too.
Bin Redha summarises how hiking brings her a sense of achievement, explaining that she's developed a new mentality. Just as on a particularly arduous hike, “if you want something and you set your mind to it, you can actually do it, no matter how hard it is”.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Favourite book: ‘The Art of Learning’ by Josh Waitzkin
Favourite film: Marvel movies
Favourite parkour spot in Dubai: Residence towers in Jumeirah Beach Residence
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
