Six years ago, Egyptian engineer and entrepreneur Hussein Mesharafa was lounging on the beach near his home on Egypt’s north coast when Ahmed, a fisherman and lifeguard, approached holding a peculiarly shaped and very old amphora, a kind of ancient Greco-Roman jug.
“How much would one of these fetch, do you reckon?” Ahmed asked Mr Mesharafa, who joked that it would probably fetch him a few years in prison, as Egyptian citizens are not allowed to sell antiquities.
Ahmed had happened upon the first trace of an archaeological discovery announced by Egypt’s Antiquities Ministry this month – that of an ancient merchant ship believed to have been used to ferry wine between Egypt and Greece in the third century BC.
“Where did you find this?” Mr Mesharafa asked, after realising the amphora was most likely an ancient relic.
Ahmed said it had been caught in his fishing net “somewhere over there, pointing in the direction of Italy”, Mr Mesharafa told The National.
“My two sons and I decided to take our Zodiac [a kind of motorised inflatable boat] out to where he was pointing and do a quick sweep. It took us two years to find it."
"We started our search with basic equipment but when we failed to find it, we returned later with more heavy duty robotics and a sonar scanner."
Mr Mesharafa has spent decades working in undersea exploration, first for oil and gas companies in the Mediterranean before moving into underwater archaeological exploration with Seasplit, a robotics company he founded in 2020.
Using patented technology made by Egyptian engineers working for him, Mr Mesharafa and his sons first found the site of the sunken ship in 2020, less than three years after Ahmed emerged on the beach holding the amphora.
They lost the site again because they did not place the correct GPS markers to be able to relocate it.
“At that point we didn’t really take it seriously," he said. "It was a family adventure of sorts, but when I showed some photos I took of the site to an archaeological expert, who is a friend of mine, he said this was serious business and the government needed to be notified.”
Exploring for antiquities, whether by digging into the ground or diving under the sea, is prohibited by Egyptian law that allows only missions approved by the government to search for relics.
It would more than two years before Mr Mesharafa received a call from his sons Hassan and Moustafa while he was on a trip abroad, who told him they had finally found and marked the site.
It was then he decided to notify the Antiquities Ministry that he had found an ancient ship.
Mr Mesharafa is now awaiting a deal with the ministry in which he would provide equipment and technical expertise for undersea exploration on Egypt’s north coast. In exchange, he would be given permits to use his robotics on the coast.
“A big part of this is my passion for undersea exploration, another is a kind of patriotic sentiment to discover the country’s treasures." he said.
"But another aspect that excites me about the partnership is the chance to develop and showcase my company’s robotic vehicles and to explore more of the north coast with them."
A deal has been approved by the ministry, Mr Mesharafa said, with final approval to come from the Armed Forces, which has not yet announced its decision on the partnership.
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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.
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Opening weekend Premier League fixtures
Weekend of August 10-13
Arsenal v Manchester City
Bournemouth v Cardiff City
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield Town v Chelsea
Liverpool v West Ham United
Manchester United v Leicester City
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur
Southampton v Burnley
Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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.
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Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
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Torque: 320Nm
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