A significant donation by the Ruler of Sharjah has enabled a medieval monastery in Armenia to reopen.
Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi made a fortuitous visit to the Haghartsin Monastery several years ago at the invitation of the former president, Robert Kocharian.
“In 2005 His Royal Highness visited Armenia and generously offered to renovate the complex during a tour of various Armenian regions,” said Varouj Nerguizian, a Sharjah-based Armenian businessman who has advised Dr Sheikh Sultan.
Mr Nerguizian would not say how much was donated, but local media reports said it could be about US$1.7 million (Dh6.2m).
Now, after years of building work including a new road up to the monastery to help to boost visitor numbers, the refurbished structure was finally opened last month.
“I cannot recall anything similar to this happening in our history that an Arab Sheikh, a Muslim, helped to restore and rescue an Armenian Christian church,” the priest, Aristakes Aivazyan, said. “Without doubt it was God who brought the Sheikh to Haghartsin.”
Perched spectacularly amid thickly forested mountains about 100 kilometres north-east of Yerevan, Haghartsin Monastery is a masterpiece of medieval Armenian ecclesiastical architecture.
Founded in the 10th century, the monastery, which includes three churches and once housed about 250 monks, survived attacks from Arab and Ottoman invaders and anti-religious campaigns under Soviet rule during its turbulent history.
But after weathering those storms, decades of neglect meant the complex looked headed for collapse as plants twisted through walls and cracks threatened to send buildings tumbling.
“The monastery was in need of serious reconstruction but the repairs were always delayed by the lack of finances,” Father Aivazyan said.
The donation, said Mr Nerguizian, “falls within the natural context of His Royal Highness’s philanthropy as well as respect for other religions”.
Sharjah has a thriving Armenian community which has its own church.
For those working at the monastery, the surprise of seeing an Arab leader visiting the holy Christian site remains a vivid memory.
“He came with his entourage of about 10 people and looked around for quite a while at all the churches and stone crosses before asking to go into the main Church of Our Lady,” said Artak Sahakyan, who sells candles to visiting worshippers. “When he came out he said that he believed that the word of God was really heard here.”
Armenia is considered the oldest Christian country in the world and its Apostolic Church belongs to the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch.
The church is hugely influential in Armenia and two monasteries and its main cathedral are already listed on Unesco’s list of world heritage sites.
* Agence France-Presse
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Background: Chemical Weapons
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
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
The view from The National
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The biog
Prefers vegetables and fish to meat and would choose salad over pizza
Walks daily as part of regular exercise routine
France is her favourite country to visit
Has written books and manuals on women’s education, first aid and health for the family
Family: Husband, three sons and a daughter
Fathiya Nadhari's instructions to her children was to give back to the country
The children worked as young volunteers in social, education and health campaigns
Her motto is to never stop working for the country
