Sharjah's long-awaited Hanging Gardens of Kalba have opened to the public following an official ceremony on Friday.
Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah inaugurated the new tourism spot on the Kalba-Sharjah road.
The gardens have a total area of almost 15 hectares and more than 100,000 trees.
Sheikh Dr Sultan toured the gardens on Friday and witnessed a singing performance presented by local children.
He also visited the main restaurant in the middle of the park, which can accommodate 215 people.
The gardens also have recreational areas designated for children, divided into three sections according to age.
Paths designated for mountain climbing are separated into three different levels, with sights including agricultural land, waterfalls, dense trees and flowers.
There is a track designated for an excursion train, which can accommodate 55 people and is 820m long.
It passes through four stations, one of which is by the upper cafeteria, while three are within the park.
The park also includes a 760m running track and 262 car parking spaces.
The project is part of a plan announced in 2022, to boost tourism and culture and enhance the economy of Kalba.
Authorities aim to turn the area into one of the leading tourist and entertainment attractions.
This year the emirate's ruler approved a Dh40.83 billion ($11.12 billion) budget for 2024, the largest in its history.
The new budget will support government departments to implement various infrastructure and science projects, boost business and tourism, and achieve food security.
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.
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Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
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The candidates
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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.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
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Dust and sand storms compared
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- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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