ABU DHABI // If things go the way she'd like, next year Namira Salim will be one of a select group on board an exclusive craft heading into space.
The 35-year-old Pakistani is a member of the Virgin Galactic Club, which aims to offer suborbital space flights.
Ms Salim, who moved with her parents to the UAE 30 years ago, was one of the first to be accepted into a club that now has hundreds of members - the first 100 of whom were each required to pay a $200,000 (Dh734,600) fee.
She has already journeyed to the North and South poles and skydived from the top of Mount Everest. With space as her next frontier she is hoping to be one of the first tourists from a GCC country to make the trip.
In 2009 Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Group - the parent company of Virgin Galactic - unveiled the spaceship. Speaking before the launch of a three-day exhibition at the Westin Hotel that chronicles her adventures so far and gives a preview of her plans for the space flight, Ms Salim said the project had moved into the testing phase.
"Once those test flights are cleared, we will hopefully get the licence to begin taking people into space commercially," she said. "However, nobody can predict the timeline, because we are doing this for the first time."
Her exhibition, Beyond the Poles, features photographs and 13 minutes of documentary footage shot during Ms Salim's various journeys to the Artic in 2007, Antarctica the following year and her Himalayan expedition. The exhibit includes photos of Ms Salim hoisting the UAE and Pakistani national flags at both the North and South Poles, and photos of her trekking in the Himalayas and skydiving.
Although it has been several years since she made these trips, recent recognition in the form of a Medal of Excellence from the president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, inspired her to provide others with a glimpse into the far-off places she has seen.
"Getting the award, in March, encouraged me to engage the younger generation and to share my experiences," she said.
Next, Ms Salim hopes to tackle Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the highest peak in Africa, and achieve a long-held goal: obtaining the pilot's licence she has been working towards since her student days. And then, hopefully, a space flight.
Being part of something so groundbreaking would help to push future generations to greater achievements, she said.
"This is not just about joy rides or fun rides," she said. "It's not about being somebody that has the money to do it, no. We're doing it because it'll help the world, and it will create an opportunity over the years to reduce the price of space flight itself.
"The whole point is that eventually the price will come down. This is a contribution to the development of the future."
Until she gets there, Ms Salim enjoys seeing the impact of her passion for exploration on others.
"No matter who I meet, and no matter what age group, people - women especially - get so inspired," she said. "It comes as a surprise to me. I never expected to get such a response from people, so it is a big deal."
She emphasises that while her journeys are self-funded, those with more limited means shouldn't be discouraged from striving to achieve their own dreams and goals.
"Basically, when you meet inspirational people, you draw from their personal experiences and apply them to your own life," she said.
After an invitation-only launch tomorrow, Between the Poles will be open to the public on Friday and Saturday from 10am-10pm. Entry is free.
zalhassani@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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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
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
FIXTURES
New Zealand v France, second Test
Saturday, 12.35pm (UAE)
Auckland, New Zealand
South Africa v Wales
Sunday, 12.40am (UAE), San Juan, Argentina
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
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Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.