One of the first places in the UAE that Alexander McNabb lived in was a suburb of Sharjah. To someone else, it was just a place to stay, but for the British national, it was a chance to travel through history.
In the suburb of Al Heera there were flickers of the past all around, from remnants of an ancient pearling past to its history as a base for the Trucial Oman Scouts.
"It is like peeling back an onion,” said Mr McNabb. “The more you find out, the more you get fascinated.”
His time in Al Heera led to an enduring interest in the UAE’s rich and complex history, leading him to pen Children of the Seven Sands. More than 400 lively, detailed and anecdote-filled pages take readers on a 130,000-year journey from ancient times to modern-day UAE.
It is a powerful tale of rebellion, intrigue, colonial power and a colourful cast of characters from ancient traders to Danish archaeologists.
Mr McNabb, a well-known media figure in the UAE, has worked as a journalist, editor, publisher, blogger (he was behind Fake Plastic Souks), author of thrillers and now in government communications. But history has also been a passion.
He moved to the UAE from the UK in the 1990s – a more freewheeling time in the UAE, and that is what intrigued him. His work took him around the Emirates where he stumbled across old forts, settlements and buildings with hidden histories.
“In those days, it was a frontier country,” he said. “It was beyond colourful.”
Turning back the pages of time
People will have to pick up a copy to read the whole story. But the publication is rich with detail.
For example, Mr McNabb examines the British bombardment of Ras Al Khaimah in 1819 (it followed another attack in 1809), that led to the beginning of a new era of British control that only ended in 1971 when the UAE was formed.
The author moves to the pearl trade. The advent of the Japanese cultured pearl and the Great Depression have long been considered the main reasons for the end of the trade from the late 1920s on. But Mr McNabb claims its decline started much earlier. British archives, he writes, state from as early as 1911 it was facing difficulties because of overfishing. The First World War also cut demand.
He ascribes the emphasis on the effect of the cultured pearl and Great Depression to a couple of British archive reports in the late 1920s and early 1930s without proper analysis of the earlier factors. "It's not the start of the story," he says. "It's pretty much towards the end."
Tales of archaeology, those who excavated the country and commitment by the UAE's rulers to preserve the past, is evident in the book. For example, acclaimed Danish archaeologist Peter Glob came to Abu Dhabi with his assistant Geoffrey Bibby in the 1950s to work at Umm Al Nar island on the invitation of then ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbout.
Mr Glob previously worked in Bahrain where he excavated the ruins of the ancient Dilmun civilisation.
Scholars believe Dilmun inspired Garden of Eden but it was also a trading empire connecting the Indus Valley in northern India and Pakistan to Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq.
At Umm Al Nar, the team discovered a Bronze Age culture that thrived from 2600 to 2000BC. While in Abu Dhabi, he was visited by then Ruler in the Eastern Region and future President, Sheikh Zayed, who told them about “hundreds of mounds” in Al Ain close to Jebel Hafeet.
“He swept a hand across the landscape as an astonished Glob peered at a collection of some 200 burial mounds. Glob and Bibby were staggered,” he writes.
What they found here is now known as the Hafeet period, dating to between 3200 to 2900BC, he writes.
Treasures unearthed by Glob and Bibby in Al Ain led Sheikh Zayed to establish Al Ain Museum. The tombs form part of the Unesco World Heritage Site in Al Ain.
Today, archaeological works across the UAE continue to unveil a rich picture of a history that continues to surprise. For example, works on Sinniyah Island in Umm Al Quwain over the past few years have revealed an ancient pearling town and Christian monastery.
Other publications on the UAE’s history have also been emerging with more frequency, such as one of Fujairah’s rich past to modern architecture in Sharjah.
Mr McNabb, who paid tribute to the late Peter Hellyer, who was consulting editor for the book, hopes his work will help build a greater appreciation of UAE history and how far the country has come.
“I’ve just a very sincere wish that this makes its way into schools and that it acts as a resource for people to start saying: 'do you know what, we can actually teach this, we can actually celebrate this and for other people to go: I want to write my own book'."
“I don't think mine will last that long. I think it'll be eclipsed,” he said. “There's a lot yet untold.”
Children of the Seven Sands is published by Motivate Media Group and available at bookshops and online. Mr McNabb will discuss the book at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on February 1.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Norway
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Canada
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Fixture and table
UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
- 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
- 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership – final standings
- Dubai Exiles
- Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Jebel Ali Dragons
- Dubai Hurricanes
- Dubai Sports City Eagles
- Abu Dhabi Saracens
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
More on Quran memorisation:
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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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
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Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
UAE finals day
Friday, April 13
Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
GREATEST ROYAL RUMBLE CARD
The line-up as it stands for the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia on April 27
50-man Royal Rumble
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns
Casket match
The Undertaker v Rusev
Intercontinental Championship
Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Bludgeon Brothers v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship
Sheamus and Cesaro v Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy
United States Championship
Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
Singles match
Triple H v John Cena
To be confirmed
AJ Styles will defend his WWE World Heavyweight title and Cedric Alexander his Cruiserweight Championship, but matches have yet to be announced
The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press
Read more about the coronavirus
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
