Before Tayseer Ahmed's family fled Yemen's civil war and arrived in Jordan three years ago, he used to go out on his skateboard every day in Aden with his friends.
To his good fortune, his parents found a new home in the Jordanian capital Amman, on a hill overlooking a skatepark.
Tayseer, 15, is one of dozens of young boys and girls who meet every Sunday and Wednesday for free skateboard lessons at the park in the centre of the city.
“We did not have one like this in Aden. We used to skate in the streets,” the teenager says, as he takes off on his skateboard.
We did not have one like this in Aden. We used to skate in the streets
Tayseer Ahmed,
refugee from Yemen
In a city with few green spaces or public squares, no cycling lanes and hardly any accessible centres for sports, the skatepark is a rare space in Amman for children of all nationalities to mingle.
Named 7Hills ― after the seven hills that the city is built on ― the park was started in 2014 with support from the US and Germany. Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, last month honoured its founder with the Sharjah International Award for Refugee Advocacy and Support, which carries a prize of Dh500,000.
Most of the children who come to the park are from modest neighbourhoods and attend government schools which, unlike private schools, are not co-educational.
Here, boys and girls hang out together, skate and share jokes, enjoying simply being teenagers.
The park management lends them skateboards at no charge, which they must return before leaving.
In one group, sitting together and sharing pastries from an Egyptian street vendor, are girls who have come by bus all the way from Bayader Wadi Al Seer, a district on the edge of Amman. Asked how they spend their time, one of the girls replies: “Home, school, and here.”
The park's head instructor is Abdul Hakim Barakat, whom every one calls Hakeem, which means "the wise one". Some of the junior instructors started off as his students.
One of the best skaters is Khaled, a Year 10 pupil, who lives in Jebel Al Hussein ― one of the original seven hills of Amman. But he will be leaving for Chicago by the end of the summer after his family received a Green Card, and plans to enrol at a high school there.
“I like Jebel Al Hussein. I like my friends there, and here at the park, but I think I am making the right move,” Khaled says.
“Chicago is better.”
Two girls sit chatting and watching the other skaters. One of them, Balqees, is holding a basketball. She says she likes both sports, although she spoke more passionately about basketball.
“She used to play basketball for a club,” her friend confides. “But she fought with the coach.”
By the end of the two-hour lesson, most of the children show noticeable improvements on the skateboard.
Sami, who is in the seventh year at school, has been trying to master a move known as "rock to fakie", which involves rolling up a bank and stopping with the front wheels locked on the edge, then raising them to roll back down again.
He still has problems shifting his weight on the skateboard.
“I am happy. It was my first time practising this move,” Sami says.
But executing the rock to fakie is not a problem for Jameel Koukas, 10, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo who is a natural on the skateboard.
"That move is very easy," he says.
Jameel appears to be a natural on a running track too, easily winning a race around the park despite competing with children who are older and taller.
It's another day of fun for the children at the park.
Kanye%20West
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Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
The specs: 2019 Lincoln MKC
Price, base / as tested: Dh169,995 / Dh192,045
Engine: Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 253hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 389Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.7L / 100km
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
Cricket World Cup League Two
Teams
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Namibia beat Oman by 52 runs
UAE beat Namibia by eight wickets
Fixtures
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Oman
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
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
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
The low down on MPS
What is myofascial pain syndrome?
Myofascial pain syndrome refers to pain and inflammation in the body’s soft tissue. MPS is a chronic condition that affects the fascia (connective tissue that covers the muscles, which develops knots, also known as trigger points).
What are trigger points?
Trigger points are irritable knots in the soft tissue that covers muscle tissue. Through injury or overuse, muscle fibres contract as a reactive and protective measure, creating tension in the form of hard and, palpable nodules. Overuse and sustained posture are the main culprits in developing trigger points.
What is myofascial or trigger-point release?
Releasing these nodules requires a hands-on technique that involves applying gentle sustained pressure to release muscular shortness and tightness. This eliminates restrictions in connective tissue in orderto restore motion and alleviate pain. Therapy balls have proven effective at causing enough commotion in the tissue, prompting the release of these hard knots.
Company%20Profile
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