The plan, announced last month, to build a new mini-city called Mamoura located between Abu Dhabi and Dubai raised the question for a few historically minded people of what landline number prefix such a place might be assigned. Under the current system, which dates back more than 50 years, Abu Dhabi uses the 02 prefix for landlines, Al Ain has 03, for Dubai it is 04 and 05 is for mobile numbers. Three emirates further north use 06, and so on.
The missing number prior to this sequence, 01, was originally reserved for the planned construction of the city of Karama, a development between Dubai and Abu Dhabi envisaged in the early 1970s period of nation-building. But the Karama project never moved beyond the drawing board and 01 has been vacant ever since, putting the new, not-quite-midpoint city potentially in the frame for the designation.
Mamoura was described as a $15bn "full-scale small city" in the making by Mira Developments, who say the plan is to deliver more than 16,000 apartments and villas, as well as hotels, a mall, hospital, museums, schools and universities to a site that could almost be seen as a bridge between the two emirates. The developer told The National it was “the best location” in the whole of the UAE.
The 01 prefix question is best answered by saying "it doesn’t matter", because landlines are not the first thing that spring to mind when considering a city of the future and, more prosaically, by saying probably not. Given the geography, Mamoura (or inhabited land) is most likely to be assigned 02 as location maps place it well within Abu Dhabi emirate’s borders.
But the deeper point about what the idea of a city situated between Abu Dhabi and Dubai used to mean, and what it might signify now, is moot. In particular, because one day in the future there will be a near unbroken settlement along the length of the Abu Dhabi-Dubai road, a situation unimaginable in the past.
These days commuters move quickly between the two emirates on a multi-lane highway with plenty passing them by on the sides of the roads, but it wasn’t always so. The foundation years of the country were characterised by the transformation of that route from sand track to paved road. It wasn’t until the end of the 1980s that the single tarmac carriageway that bore transport between Abu Dhabi and Dubai was widened to two lanes. Formal rest stops, barriers and further carriageway improvements were to follow, making it into the vital arterial road we know today.
Even, 15 years ago, drivers may have mentally mapped the route by Shahama, outside Abu Dhabi, as the point beyond which sand, scrub and trees largely take over, but those old assumptions and, perhaps, false memories no longer hold.
Similarly, Dubai seems to stretch further south with every passing year. Where once Last Exit food truck park, soon to be 10 years old, felt like a particularly clever piece of nominative determinism signalling a far-flung outpost of the city, now it might be said to be a little more wistful in its naming convention and modern reality.
Population growth in the UAE demands these solutions
A lot of discussion about urban development has recently focused on the idea of the 20-minute city, where the majority of a resident’s daily needs – these might be offices, shops and amenities – are within easy reach and without the need for a car. Certainly, the concept supporting Mamoura as a full-scale small city sits within that framework. So too, does the "smart and sustainable city" plan in nearby Ghantoot, close to the border between the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and the works to transform the Expo 2020 site into a residential community.
Population growth in the UAE demands these solutions. Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi reported earlier this year that the emirate’s population is now more than four million and that the workforce had grown by 9 per cent in the past year. Dubai’s population has doubled in the past decade and a half and is now more than four million, too. Both numbers, as well as a strong economic outlook for the UAE, suggest a complex puzzle needs to be solved, with more and more people wanting to move to the country and seeing their long-term future within its borders. That requires more supply of housing, amenities and infrastructure.
A generation ago, the answer to the urgency of population growth might have been to conceptualise in terms of mega-projects - the construction equivalent of the Olympic "faster, higher, stronger" clarion call. Now, it may be in the smaller "full-scale" solutions or 20-minute cities.
Another generation back from that, a midway development between the two large emirates may have been the bridge to our collective future, now it is a series of smaller connected but discrete communities built with the possibility of AI powering solutions to create opportunities, cut red tape and deliver smarter living. Perhaps that future will also dial in some new telephone number prefixes to whatever the next-generation equivalent of a landline may be.
The natural agility of the UAE, combined with the forward-looking nature of policy making means solutions are always within touching distance and sometimes provides the most intriguing glimpse of the future.
This week, for instance, the joint declaration issued by President Sheikh Mohamed and Lee Jae Myung, South Korean president, during the latter’s state visit to the UAE, included details related to the “establishment of a UAE K-City” as a symbol of bilateral co-operation and a site that intends to fuse the best of culture, business and food. Now, that sounds like a city of today and tomorrow.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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.
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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The five pillars of Islam
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The%20specs
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Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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