FUJAIRAH// Tales of sea wonders, abandoned ships and remote islands were the only source of entertainment after an iftar meal decades ago, says Ali Al Samahi.
The Emirati fisherman, 75, used to sit in the majlis after iftar with his friends, family and neighbours and listen to the stories of the older fishermen.
Most of the tales were made up but they were riveting to listen to, says Mr Al Samahi.
“It was like watching the television nowadays. Each day they used to tell us new stories and sometimes one of them repeats the same story but with different events,” he says of the 1940s and 1950s.
“We knew that most of the stories were unreal, yet we still enjoyed it a lot.
One such story was about catching a huge fish that no one had seen before and having to return it to the water because they could not bring it to the shore because of its size.
“There was another story about how one fisherman found a remote island with unique fruit and landscape, but he couldn’t get any closer because it was guarded by a haunted abandoned ship,” says Mr Al Samahi.
“When I remember those stories now I laugh at myself, as we used to dream about them. But they gave us something to look forward to, helped us to expand our imagination and love what we do as fishermen.”
To Mr Al Samahi, Ramadan brings people closer to God and to each other.
“We used to share the iftar meal with our neighbours as we gathered every day and shared food, prayers and talk – all six families of the neighbourhood,” says the father of eight and grandfather of 15.
“We had strong ties with everyone but, unfortunately, nothing stays the same.”
He laments that online communication has replaced face-to-face dialogue while television has supplanted imaginary tales.
“Still, we gather as family members around the table for iftar, but only for a few minutes before they all get busy with their own lives,” says Mr Al Samahi.
Today, he still works as a fisherman and owns two boats.
“In the past, we used to break our fast after sunset with dates and water until we reached our homes and ate together,” says Mr Al Samahi.
“The weather and lack of air conditioning used to make our fasting difficult. But nowadays, air conditioning is a blessing that the youth should appreciate like we do.
“Now during Ramadan, we start fishing after sunrise and, depending on the catch, either we stay till 11pm or until sunset. If we do stay till sunset, I order food and have iftar with the rest of the workers.
“Ramadan is not only about fasting, it’s about worshipping, bonding and sharing. It’s my favourite time of the year.”
rhaza@thenational.ae
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Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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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