The day has begun at al Rams harbour before the first call to prayer has drifted across the water.
Fishermen have been hard at work for hours when the first streaks of sunlight hit the mountains over the north coast village. Yet at no point is the harbour empty. It has been the heart of the fishing village and its connection to the outside world for centuries.
"Every morning, every afternoon, every day we are here," says Ali Obaid, 36, a fisherman. "I feel it's very fantastic, very beautiful, very relaxing."
This, he says, is more than a place for boats. Cousins, brothers and grandfathers meet daily at the shacks that hug the harbour. Inside most are sitting rooms, decorated with portraits of sheikhs and pictures of horses and camels, while others are used as lodgings by Indian fishermen.
Ali sits outside with friends, surrounded by blue and green nets and circular cement weights drying in the shade. The sense of camaraderie grows as the morning passes and men return from the sea.
"This is culture and tradition," says Abdulla Ali, a 19-year-old student known to his friends as Chickpea. He can be found at the harbour most days, even though he has not fished for more than three years.
"Here, we are refreshed and relaxed," he says. "Sometimes we even sleep here."
For Nasser Ali al Tenaiji, a 40-year-old fisherman, things are not quite so rosy. He is quick to grumble about rising fuel costs - petrol prices can vary from Dh400 to Dh1,000 a day, he says - and the hardships of the sea.
"Fish come by chance," he says.
Still, the thrill of working on the water can be irresistible. Nasser admits he is such a keen fisherman that he was once arrested for chasing fish too far into Omani territory.
"He will kill himself for the fish," Ali teases. "When I see the fish there, I go," Nasser replies.
Fishing is a world of rules and regulations and Rams is no exception. Boats in the harbour will be given specific mooring spaces in coming weeks, another intrusion on the workforce.
For now, though, the harbour retains its feel of happy chaos, with about 250 white boats with crooked red numbers painted on their sides. Stray dhows, greying in the sun, line the opposite beach, a reminder of the great wooden ships that once plied these waters.
The harbour contains other traces of UAE history. Mangroves and camel farms mark the north end, and on the water's surface Bangladeshi fisherman harvest tens of thousands of crusty oysters from the depths for the Emirates and Japan Pearl Cultivation and Trading Company, the UAE's only cultured pearl farm.
The harbour is about recreation as much as survival. On Fridays, families load up boats for sea bound picnics and barbecues as they remake familiar surroundings.
"All people in Rams are fisherman," Abdulla says. "Some children, some men ... maybe even some women are fisherwomen. Maybe a man will go with his wife and make a journey with his family."
Flipping through the glossy pages of a jet-ski magazine, Saled Obaid assures those nearby that fishing is not always profitable: some fishermen are forced to take loans during poor seasons.
"But I will not stop fishing," he says. "What can I do?"
Most fishermen seem content despite the vagaries of their profession. At about 10am, they receive a delivery of drinks from the corner store - a cue that it is time to set out to sea and haul in the nets.
Fantas in hand, they pile into Nasser's 40ft fishing boat. From the water, the harbour is an idyllic scene of palms, creamy minarets and tattered UAE flags.
Boats begin to gather on the sandy shore later in the day as camels plod along the beach. The nets are hauled ashore with their catch of shimmering pink and green fish, still luminous from the sea. Fishermen begin to unhook stingrays' tails from their nets and hurl each one into the water like a discus. Curious cormorants, sleek and greedy, paddle in for a peek.
By noon, the day's work is almost over and the harbour is at comparative rest. Fishermen from south India stand barefoot by their boats, coiling the nets for tomorrow. Many have worked here for decades.
"It's not an easy job, in India or here," says Adhi Easwaran, 28, a barrel-chested and balding man from Chennai. "In all the countries it's hard. But I am a fisherman. I don't know another job."
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
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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
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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The Bio
Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees (oats with chicken) is one of them
Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.
Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results
During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks
Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy
Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
