DUBAI // The intricate flowing designs are familiar to anyone who has walked the historic streets of Al Bastakiya and marvelled at its walls of gypsum, dried coral, limestone and sand.
But far less familiar is the painstaking work that goes into making them.
Huda Mohammed, an Emirati, was one of many who found out just how tricky the traditional Emirati craft is at one of the many gypsum-carving workshops being held as part of this week's Dubai Heritage Festival.
"We have this design above our windows in our traditional homes," said Ms Mohammed, 24, as she dug into a square-shaped piece of rock with a carving knife at Etihad Mall. "But I never knew it took so much effort for it to be created."
The workshops offer visitors two options in making their own, personalised slabs of gypsum. In the first, chosen by Ms Mohammed, the workshop artisans draw designs on to a slab of gypsum and the participant tries to carve along the lines of the design.
For those less sure of their carving skills, the artisans use red rubber moulds to produce slabs with ready-made floral designs, some with Arabic calligraphy, and these can then be personalised by painting.
The workshops are being held daily until Saturday.
Similar activities and other heritage-themed events are taking place throughout the week in Al Bastakiya, the Dubai and Ibn Battuta malls, Dubai Municipality in Deira, Dubai Public Library, Hatta National Arts and Cultural Association and Dubai International Airport.
The white-grey slabs of gypsum, or sulphate carbonate, are part of the Gulf's history and can found in almost every historic home and building across the UAE.
"You see this gypsum? We got it from Jebel Ali mountain," said the Emirati architect Rashad Bukhash as he held up one particularly chunky stone. Its shades of yellow and grey tinged with crystal gave it an appearance similar to quartz.
Mr Bukhash is the director of the Architectural Heritage Department at Dubai Municipality, which is organising the festival with Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and other partners.
To make the gypsum ready for use, slabs are piled up around the outside of a circular oven before being heated for three days.
"This technique allows for 75 per cent of the water in the stone to evaporate, making it softer before it is crushed into powder to be used as mortar or cement in construction of buildings and homes," said Mr Bukhash.
"You then add water and sometimes limestone for strength, and have about an hour before it hardens, within which time you can do what you want with the gypsum.
"This material and technique should not be forgotten as it is a core element of all our traditional and heritage buildings."
Because humidity can wear the gypsum down, traditional homes need maintenance every three to four years.
Mr Bukhash is also a member of the FNC, having won a seat for Dubai in last September's election.
When he is not working on council matters, he spends his time on restoration projects and lecturing at architecture festivals.
"It is my passion. I work with every bit of a building," he said. "I like the feel of this gypsum and every raw material used in a historical structure."
Over the past two decades, Mr Bukhash has renovated at least 150 historic sites and buildings in Dubai.
But the heritage week involves more than members of the public leaving their fingerprints on traditional building blocks.
A Heritage Footprint initiative will ask Emiratis to sign a pledge to speak Arabic, wear traditional dress and visit heritage sites, among other promises, in an effort to protect national identity.
Mr Bukhash said the pledge would be circulated on social media such as Twitter and Facebook in an effort to get 50,000 Emiratis to sign up. He said the effort was aimed particularly at the nation's youth, but was unwilling to divulge more ahead of today's launch.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Education, the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority will host a range of activities at Al Hudaibiah Primary School for nursery pupils, Al Kuwait Primary School and the Sakina bint Al Hussain School for secondary students.
The theme of the activities is Dubai: Live our Heritage.
"This year we are focused on promoting heritage week through a range of educational activities, which are mainly aimed at instilling the customs of our region in our youth from an early age," said Salem Belyouha, the authority's projects and events director.
"Understanding one's past is important, as it serves as a reservoir of strength into future growth and development."
Next month, the former house of the Emirati poet Mubarak Al Oqaili will open as a museum in Deira. All of his possessions, including his pens, books and carpets, will be on display to the public as a celebration of his life and work.
And a heritage train will chug through Dubai Creek Park tomorrow, carrying 60 passengers at a time. The park is located between the Garhoud and Maktoum bridges.
rghazal@thenational.ae
* For detailed information on the Heritage Week activities, call 04 800 4003.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
