In Arabic, the eye is a measure of respect, allure and affection, as much as it can denote envy and disappointment.
Ain is the Arabic word for eye. To tell someone they are your eyes, enta/enti aiyooni, is a term of endearment. If you want to wish someone luck, you could say ain Allah aleik/aleiki.
Do you have a friend who’s going through an ill-starred streak? You could say he’s been struck by an envious eye or darbitak/darbitik ain al hasood.
See something you like at a store that you’re going to save up for? You could say you’ve set your eye on it or hateit aini aleih/aleiha. You could also say that about someone you’re planning on pursuing with romantic intent.
If you see something you like but can’t afford it, you could say al ain basira wel yad qasira.
If someone falls out of your eye or telea min aini, it means they’ve disappointed you or failed to meet your expectations. Conversely, if someone exceeds your expectations or does something worthy of praise, you could say they’ve become bigger in your eye or kiber/kibret bi aini.
In the blink of an eye is biramshet ain. An eye for an eye is al ain bilain. Yali bishoofni biain, bshoofo/bshoofa bi ainain is an expression that approximately translates to ‘if someone looks at me with one eye, I’ll look at them with two’, and signifies respect that is reciprocated.
Another popular expression is baeed aan alain, baeed aan elqalb, which has connotations similar to the English saying ‘out of sight, out of mind'.
Of course, ain does not only mean eye. The word can also translate to spring. That’s where the city in the eastern region of the UAE – Al Ain, also known as the Garden City – gets its name from, after the water sources in the area.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
if you go
The flights
Fly direct to Kutaisi with Flydubai from Dh925 return, including taxes. The flight takes 3.5 hours. From there, Svaneti is a four-hour drive. The driving time from Tbilisi is eight hours.
The trip
The cost of the Svaneti trip is US$2,000 (Dh7,345) for 10 days, including food, guiding, accommodation and transfers from and to Tbilisi or Kutaisi. This summer the TCT is also offering a 5-day hike in Armenia for $1,200 (Dh4,407) per person. For further information, visit www.transcaucasiantrail.org/en/hike/
