DUBAI // Jumping from a building is usually reserved for only the most experienced skydivers, but with a new technology being brought to Dubai, anyone brave enough can seek the thrill of freefall from one of the emirate’s tallest towers.
A purpose-built eight-metre platform has been set up at the top of Princess Tower in Dubai Marina, 400 metres up, from which adrenaline junkies at Skydive Dubai can take on the Dream Jump from April 13 to 19.
The jump system has been patented by Polish company Dream World, which has tested the equipment on 20,000 jumps across six European countries since 2009. It uses a braking system that gives a longer free-fall experience than bungee jumping.
Zarir Saifuddin, a partner at Never Before Events, invited the Polish team to display the Dream Jump system for the chairman of Skydive Dubai, Nasser Al Neyadi, at the Middle East Extreme Sports Expo last year.
They formed a partnership with a core team of 40 people from six companies. Skydive Dubai is hosting the event.
Thomas Zielinski, a former high-altitude worker on construction sites and experienced skydiver, designed and patented the system.
“Bungee is just one rope. This has two, so it is safer and more comfortable,” he said.
“If you use bungee, the experience can be like giving birth. This is more like eating an ice cream. It is a very different experience.”
He said the system is “100 per cent safe”, but it is only possible to jump in good weather with no wind.
A permanent fixture has been established in Poland and a second jump platform is planned to open on the Spanish island of Mallorca later this year.
The jump system uses multiple ziplines and allows the diver full freedom of movement, despite being attached to a safety harness and more than 10km of alpine-grade ropes.
Mobility in freefall offers experienced skydivers the chance to perform mid-air acrobatics before landing gracefully on the ground, similar to a parachute jump.
Anyone wishing to experience a Dream Jump can qualify for a slot on one of the jump days by posting an Instagram video of themselves with a message to Skydive Dubai with their name and saying, “I love to fly and I love Dubai”. The winners will be announced on Skydive Dubai’s Instagram page.
Mr Saifuddin said the experience was “like swimming in the heavens” and could soon overtake bungee jumping in popularity.
“This is a totally new approach to the sport of jumping,” he said.
“By using climbing ropes in this way it is even safer than bungee, with less stress on the body as there is no recoil.”
He added that the company has not “done anything like this”.
“It is a first, and it is happening in Dubai,” he said.
Mr Al Neyadi said: “Our athletes have consistently broken records because of their adventurous and thrill-seeking spirit. That is why we are extremely thrilled to host the largest edition of Dream Jump in Dubai.”
“If it is a success and popular, we would like to see it become permanent here.”
nwebster@thenational.ae
Video - Dream Jumpers jump off the roof of the Worclaw stadium in Poland:
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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
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