Eid Al Fitr is, in many cultures, a time for gift giving. Regionally, perfume is a popular choice. Walk through any mall in the UAE in the run-up to Eid, and you will witness the perfume houses offering elaborate box sets. At the same time, sales staff will be busy spraying passersby with timeless fragrances and handing out sweet-smelling samples. Around this time of year, Dubai Mall is the biggest and possibly also the best-smelling mall in the world.
The Google search data back this up. No region generates as many perfume-related Google searches as the Gulf. Based on data going back to 2004, we can use Google Trends to rank nations by the relative frequency they search "perfume" as a topic. The global top 5 are all Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Qatar.
This fondness for fragrance is nothing new either. "They will spend the night hungry to buy perfumes with the price of their food...When one of these women goes away, the odour of the perfume clings to the place," wrote Ibn Battuta, the great explorer, over seven centuries ago.
Beyond consumption, the region also has a long tradition of perfume production. For example, Taif, a city in Western Saudi Arabia, is famous for exquisite rose oil known as Taif rose (ward Taifi). To distil just one fluid ounce (28 grams) requires tens of thousands of handpicked flowers. Unsurprisingly this prized Arabian fragrance finds its way into many luxury perfume brands, from Givenchy to Jimi Choo. Even the most miniature bottle (12 grams) of Taif rose can cost hundreds of dollars.
Perfume, however, is rarely viewed as a wasteful, self-indulgent extravagance. On the contrary, regional attitudes towards perfume are profoundly shaped by a tradition of generosity. After all, other people benefit when we wear expensive fragrances. Some people even argue that wearing good perfume is a "sadaqah", an act of charity.
But what is the future of this rich regional tradition? We have digitised sound and digitised images; will fragrance eventually succumb to the forces of digital disruption? What will the metaverse smell like? Will our future smartphones be capable of detecting and diffusing odours?
In April 2013, Google announced a revolutionary new addition to its product family: Google Nose Beta. Google Nose, it was claimed, would allow users to search for smells. For example, type in the word roses, and the application would use "photons with infrasound waves" to emulate and deliver that smell to the nose of the user.
I was wowed by the news of Google Nose. But, unfortunately, it was not true, not one word of it. The whole idea of a scent-based search engine was an elaborate April Fool's Day prank engineered by Google. The dream of smell-o-vision and scent-based search engines remains just that – a dream.
However, in recent years, rapid progress has been made in our quest to bring fragrance into the information age. As a result, our sense of smell, known as olfaction, has started to attract the attention of tech startups. These companies tend to focus on two main branches of digital olfaction technology. The first one looks at the digital detection and analysis of odours, while the second focuses on the digital re-creation and transmission of smells. These emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionise the way we produce, choose, and consume perfume. Additionally, they could also make significant contributions to environmental safety and the health care sector.
Our sense of smell has started to attract the attention of tech startups
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then our nostrils are a superhighway to the brain. Specifically, the structures related to emotion and memory. Aromatherapy is increasingly being used to treat depression and anxiety, and the evidence supporting such interventions is growing. Could digitally transmitted fragrance-based antidepressants be a thing of the future?
The world of art is waking up to the importance of fragrance too. The Prado Museum in Madrid recently teamed up with the perfumers at the fashion and fragrance house Puig. The result is a painting you can smell. Specifically, the exhibit allows visitors to smell selected fragrances from the painting The Sense of Smell by Jan Brueghel and Peter Rubens. Visitors select scents depicted in the image (like jasmine, rose, orange blossom and more) via a touch screen, thereby releasing carefully calibrated perfumes into the room.
For this Eid, perfumes will be used the same way they have been for millennia. There are, however, changes on the horizon. Whatever the future of fragrance, the UAE is well poised to play a crucial role. The regional love of perfume and incense provides an ideal grounding for exploring the emerging world of digital olfaction technology.
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
More from UAE Human Development Report:
RESULT
Manchester City 5 Swansea City 0
Man City: D Silva (12'), Sterling (16'), De Bruyne (54' ), B Silva (64' minutes), Jesus (88')
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
More on Quran memorisation:
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
more from Janine di Giovanni
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
Company%20Profile
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Company%20profile
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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
Kill%20
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THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
