AL AIN // Sheikhs, ministers and other dignitaries attended the official opening of Qasr Al Muwaiji Museum on Sunday night, at the site of President Sheikh Khalifa’s birth place.
The museum features permanent exhibitions and a programme exploring the life and achievements of Sheikh Khalifa.
It opened under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
Sheikh Mohammed also wrote a traditional poem in honour of his brother, the President, which is inscribed on one of the walls.
The exhibitions are housed in a glass-walled space within the courtyard of the historic fort.
Ricardo Benn, director of projects at Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, said the museum had been designed to make full use of the fort’s spaces.
“We used a raft foundation, which allows the building to float above the site. It’s important that we don’t disturb any of the archaeological findings and work being done here,” Mr Benn said.
“The museum was designed so that no matter which part of the exhibits you’re viewing, you never lose sight of the fort walls and towers. It’s a very high-tech way to approach design.”
The exhibition is divided into two parts. The first, the Sheikhs’ Palace, tells the story of the Rulers who lived at the fort.
A glass floor looks down to a well used by residents, and interactive displays give in-depth information on the site’s archaeological, social and political history.
The second part of the exhibit celebrates Sheikh Khalifa’s rise to leadership and his achievements as President. Each stop features a quote, historical photos or footage and text explaining a significant event or period.
Qasr al Muwaiji was built in the early 1900s by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Khalifa, and several generations of the Al Nahyan family have called it home.
Sheikh Zayed, the founding President, made the fort his family home and official diwan when appointed Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region.
Visitors to the fort can explore inside the north-west Tower, where Sheikh Khalifa was raised. He learnt to hunt at Qasr Al Muwaiji, and some of his falconry equipment is displayed there.
The rooms’ walls and ceilings have been kept as close to their original state as possible. Videos and quotes by Sheikh Khalifa are featured in some of them.
“We use the wall as the actual projection space, so as to be minimally invasive,” Mr Benn said.
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WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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
