Abu Omar Al Itani is a brawny fisherman who talks and walks briskly under Lebanon’s relentless sun.
He points a deeply bronzed hand to Beirut’s famous Raouche Rocks, then gestures broadly to the rocky beach adjacent.
“We’ve been in this area for over 120 years,” he announces proudly. “Since my great grandfather was alive.”
He points to a jungle of concrete waterbreakers next to the beach.
“He had a farm here. He had cows and had even built a freshwater well.”
The small beach — Dalieh, as it is commonly called — is mostly an outcropping of rock upon which fishermen fish, children swim and families picnic.
It is one of the only remaining beachfronts on Beirut’s sparkling Mediterranean coastline that remain accessible for free use by the public. That makes it a popular locale for Beirut residents from all socio-economic backgrounds, placing the Dalieh beach at odds with its surroundings.
Decades of development have transformed the once-coastal farmlands of the Raouche area into an upmarket commercial and residential area. Polished cafes and luxurious hotels now line the expanse of the area’s corniche.
Some of Abu Omar’s relatives rest in the shade of a wooden shack, taking a brief respite from the day’s work. At another makeshift station nearby, employees sell refreshments to parched tourists.
Others promote boat tours to tourists under the sweltering sun — for $8 a head. In Lebanon’s current economic climate, not many Lebanese take them up on the offer.
“Just Lebanese diaspora visiting for the summer who can afford to,” Abu Omar says. Otherwise it’s mostly a clientele of Arab tourists and foreigners.
On the face of it, it looks like a tourism business. But the presence of the Itani clan in Dalieh goes beyond the monetary.
The Itanis are commonly recognised as one of the original "seven families of Beirut", from which all Beiruti family branches are said to be descended. Their roots stretch as far back as the 14th century Mamluk period.
According to folklore, the seven families signed an accord with a Mamluk governor in the 1350s to defend the city and its shores from invaders.
In the present day, the Dalieh branch of the Itani family has taken deeply to their role as protectors.
Abu Omar and his relatives guard the coast vigilantly. Having essentially grown up on the rugged beach, they know all its nooks and crevices, every cave. They know the swell of the riptides.
They and their sons — some as young as 6 — can dive deftly from the iconic offshore Raouche rock formations, expertly avoiding underwater rocks by memorising their placement.
Fishermen by trade, the family operates on Dalieh as tour guides, lifeguards and sentinels of the communal beach.
“We know everything that happens here,” Abu Omar says. “We were born in this sea.”
He voices a staunch opposition to the Lebanese state, which he asserts has intentionally neglected the beachfront in recent years to advance a project to privatise the beach — making it indistinct from the remainder of Beirut’s seafront, lined with restaurants, hotels and resorts.
Stalls and cafes owned by the Itanis once lined the concrete jungle where Abu Omar’s grandfather’s farm once was, catering to communal beachgoers and tourists.
But in summer 2014, those stalls were demolished and the fishermen evicted, replaced by the rows of cement breakwater blocks which now populate the majority of the beach area. A fence was erected which largely obstructs the view of the beach from passers-by.
A civil society campaign has so far managed to thwart the plan by private developers, backed by the state, to fully privatise the remainder of the sands and build a private beach resort.
Abu Omar’s cousin, Mosbah, attributes it to the vocal opposition of civil society activists, and the determination of his family to protect the coast and their livelihoods.
The family of fishermen has instead stepped in, administering to the area to make up for the lack of government services.
Their constant presence in Dalieh gives them a clear view of "Suicide Rock", a cliff on the shore overlooking the Raouche rocks which has been the site of many deaths, both intentional and accidental.
The Itanis often dive in to save ambitious cliff-divers and clumsy tourists.
Without their intimate knowledge of Dalieh’s waters, Abu Omar says, civil defence teams would never know how to recover the bodies. He himself has saved many lives. He’s also combed the waters for hours at a time in his boat, searching for the bodies of the fallen.
“When the sea is too strong, the state doesn’t allocate guards to warn people away from the ledge,” he explains bitterly. The de facto responsibility — a point of pride for him and his relatives — has also taken a psychological toll, he tells The National.
“If we weren't here, people would die. We’re responsible for guarding the whole area.”
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Lady Parma, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m
Winner: Tabernas, Connor Beasley, Ahmed bin Harmash.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m
Winner: Night Castle, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m
Winner: Mystique Moon, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Mutawakked, Szczepan Mazur, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner: Tafaakhor, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner: Cranesbill, Fabrice Veron, Erwan Charpy.
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Zayed Sustainability Prize
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
WRESTLING HIGHLIGHTS
In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
More on Quran memorisation:
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The stats: 2017 Jaguar XJ
Price, base / as tested Dh326,700 / Dh342,700
Engine 3.0L V6
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 340hp @ 6,000pm
Torque 450Nm @ 3,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.1L / 100km
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