This year's Liwa Date Festival, which finished earlier this week, attracted record numbers of visitors. According to the organisers, at least 75,000 people turned up, many of them tourists.
The popularity of the event is helped by the modern road that connects Liwa to both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. As this week's photograph shows, barely 40 years ago the journey to Liwa was not something to be undertaken lightly.
The image, taken from the archives of our sister paper, Al Ittihad, captures a camel train leaving an oasis under the shadow of massive dunes. Along with Al Ain, Liwa was a popular destination in the summer because it allowed people to escape the humidity of the coast. An added attraction was the date harvest, along with a plentiful supply of fresh water.
The journey from Abu Dhabi, though, could take anything from a week to 10 days. Even when the first cars arrived, most travellers chose to break their journey at least twice, first stopping at Tarif and then spending the second night at Madinat Zayed before the final push to Liwa.
For today's visitors, Liwa is an easy day out, rather than an expedition to the very edge of the Empty Quarter. The dates, though, are as popular as ever.
* The National
Time Frame is a series that opens a window into the nation's past. Each week it will feature an image from the archives of both prominent institutions and private collections. Readers are also invited to make their contribution and can submit ideas and photographs to yourpics@thenational.ae
SPECS
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Adele: The Stories Behind The Songs
Caroline Sullivan
Carlton Books
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
RESULTS
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Elvis
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan