If a staycation set in the rugged desert landscapes of Mleiha is on your to-do list this winter, you’re in luck: luxury resort Mysk Moon Retreat in Sharjah is now open and welcoming guests.
The new eco-friendly resort offers a luxury glamping experience. It has 10 domes with private pools, four family tents with private pools and two single-bed tents. Each unit is self-sufficient and fitted with all the amenities, which includes a private barbecue area, lobby and common area.
The property, developed by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), will also feature a restaurant and cafe, and give visitors a chance to enjoy a range of outdoor experiences such as trekking and dune bashing. Prices start at Dh1,770 ($482) in November.
The Mysk Moon Retreat is part of Shurooq’s Sharjah Collection brand, managed by Mysk Hotels by Shaza, which includes the Mysk Kingfisher Retreat in Kalba, Mysk Al Faya Retreat in Sharjah and Mysk Al Badayer Retreat in the heart of the Al Badayer desert.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty to look forward to in the emirate as Shurooq has also unveiled four new luxury hospitality projects, coming up in Sharjah’s central and eastern regions:
Al Jabal Resort
The property is located between Khor Fakkan Beach and Luluya Beach, overlooking the waters of Soueifa Beach. It will comprise 45 eco-friendly units with the choice of one, two and three bedrooms, as well as a private royal suite with a swimming pool. It will also feature a restaurant, gym, kids' play zone, reception and lobby. The resort is scheduled to be completed by March 2022.
Al Bridi Resort and Petting Zoo
Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, executive chairman of Shurooq, said this project is expected to start at the end of the year. It is being developed in partnership with the Environment & Protected Areas Authority, as part of the Sharjah Safari project, the largest safari in the world outside Africa. Shurooq has also started developing Al Dhaid Farm, the city’s first petting zoo experience, near the Flag Square in Al Dhaid, which will feature a wide range of entertainment activities and experiences for families and children.
Five-star luxury hotel and water park in Khor Fakkan
A new hospitality project is also in the works in Khor Fakkan, opposite the Khor Fakkan Port. The project will feature 75 luxurious units, UAE’s first water park in the east coast, a shopping complex, restaurant, gym, spa, marina and residential units.
Five-star hotel in the city of Kalba
A 12,500-square-metre hotel will open in Kalba, in the vicinity of the region’s renowned diving locations. It will have 80 rooms, and two restaurants including a cafe in the lobby, a gym, spa, swimming pool and meeting halls.
Expansion of Mysk Kingfisher Retreat and Mysk Al Badayer Retreat
Finally, Shurooq has announced expansion operations for both Mysk Kingfisher Retreat and Mysk Al Badayer Retreat, in response to the growing demand.
Mysk Kingfisher Retreat will house 20 new luxury tents, varying between four-bedroom and two-bedroom units, and Mysk Al Badayer Retreat will house 15 new tents in addition to an outdoor swimming pool.
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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
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Group B
Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)
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
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
THREE
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
The five pillars of Islam
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
