A recent survey by the market-research company Ipsos MORI ranked Abu Dhabi as the world’s fourth favourite city, behind New York, London and Paris.
This well-deserved accolade is welcome news for us who live in Abu Dhabi, although my inner scientist is more than a little sceptical about the methodological rigour underpinning this bold conclusion.
Research critiques aside, however, the real problem with being awarded such a designation is the envy and vitriol it’s likely to generate.
Envy often gives rise to destructive behaviours such as slander and libel, and there is a rich history of envy directed towards the Arabian Peninsula.
Based on this region’s relative wealth, the ancient Romans referred to parts of the peninsula as Arabia Felix, meaning happy or blessed Arabia. Agatharchides, a Greek historian writing in the second century BC, describes Arabia Felix as a land of luxury, inexhaustible gold mines and gem-studded palaces. But wait for it: the indigenous inhabitants he describes as decadent, lazy and steeped in immorality. With a similarly envy- tinged tone Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian, complains that it is “Roman sesterces” (money) making the inhabitants of Arabia Felix the richest in the world.
The wealth of old Arabia Felix was largely based on the frankincense and myrrh of biblical renown. These aromatic resins were prized in the ancient world as ingredients in medicines and perfumes.
Geographically, Arabia Felix was the fertile part of southwestern Arabia where these plants grew, an area that in our day makes up part of Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
The poor arid part of the Arabian Peninsula – now the Gulf states – was known as Arabia Deserta, or deserted Arabia. Today, however, the Arabian Gulf states can lay a legitimate claim to the title previously bestowed upon their southern cousins. Arabia Deserta has become the new Arabia Felix.
The old Arabia Felix was a land of plenty, home to a hyper-abundance of valuable natural resources; the new version, in the Gulf states, is home to a sizeable percentage of the world’s oil and gas reserves.
Greco-Roman writers, often relying on dubious secondary sources, made old Arabia Felix the subject of much exaggeration and derision. Sadly, contemporary writers often do something similar when discussing the Gulf states. Recurring media themes and social media memes include a focus – to the point of obsession in some cases – on the “outrageous excesses” of the Gulf’s super-rich, or allegations of oppression and maltreatment of women and workers.
Like the Greco-Roman stereotypes, more recent and contemporary caricatures also tend to centre on ideas of wealth, sensuality and noble- savagery.
Rudolph Valentino’s portrayal of Sheikh Ahmed Ben Hassan in the 1921 silent film The Sheik is an obvious early celluloid example, but such images and ideas continue to be perpetuated both in film and, more recently, popular music.
The Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Common refers to Dubai in a lyric as an exemplar of ultimate wealth: “we’re on our paper [money] until we get it like Dubai.”
Another US recording artist, Busta Rhymes, ultimately apologised for Arab Money, one of his more controversial recordings. Both the lyrics and the video promote the idea of super wealth fuelling hedonistic lifestyles, with the song’s hook repetitively proclaiming: “we getting Arab money.” This track also mentions by name Dubai, the emirate that has to a large degree become a symbol for the whole region, and a synonym for wealth.
There have also been several outbreaks of “Dubai bashing”. This is often understood as journalists trying to cash in on Dubai’s fame by exposing the supposed dark side of the Gulf’s shiniest emirate. A 2009 piece by British journalist Johann Hari describes Dubai as an “adult Disneyland” built on “credit and ecocide, suppression and slavery”.
This new Arabia Felix, just like its ancient counterpart, attracts envy and vitriolic derision. The news that Abu Dhabi is ranked the world’s fourth favourite city will no doubt stimulate those who are quick to envy. I suspect we might even begin to see some Abu Dhabi defamation, accompanying the now-routine bouts of Dubai bashing.
Justin Thomas, an associate professor at Zayed University, is the author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States: The New Arabia Felix
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
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
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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.
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
The Internet
Hive Mind
four stars
Company%20profile
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
WISH
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
