European soldiers in the desert of Mesopotamia in 1917. Getty Images
European soldiers in the desert of Mesopotamia in 1917. Getty Images
European soldiers in the desert of Mesopotamia in 1917. Getty Images
European soldiers in the desert of Mesopotamia in 1917. Getty Images

When surviving the Gulf summer was a matter of life and death


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

Let’s be honest, unless you have to work outdoors, life in the summer months in the UAE and the Arabian Gulf region is not really that tough.

Temperatures may be well above 40ºC, but for most people air-conditioned homes, shopping malls, museums and cinemas, transport and even indoor theme parks take the edge off the heat in July and August.

The reality is that there is more danger from catching a chill in a cinema than going down with heat stroke.

Roll back the years, though, and it was a very different story.

For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of the Arabian Gulf and neighbouring countries had survived the scorching hot summers as best they could.

Some headed for the cool and less humid mountain areas, such as Al Ain, where the date palm groves and falaj irrigation channels provided some relief.

A traditional wind tower helps to keep buildings cool at Abu Dhabi Airport in this picture, believed to have been taken in the 1950s. Photo: Al Itihad
A traditional wind tower helps to keep buildings cool at Abu Dhabi Airport in this picture, believed to have been taken in the 1950s. Photo: Al Itihad

Others lived in houses equipped with a wind tower, a mechanism that pulled in air and reduced its temperature by a few crucial degrees.

When the first westerners began to arrive in numbers in the previous century, they took a very different view.

“Throughout Iraq, eye diseases are very common, infection being carried chiefly by flies and dust, and aggravated by the generally unsanitary conditions under which the people live,” a British military dispatch from 1920 noted.

“Epidemics of cholera, typhus and smallpox appear at intervals, and cases of bubonic plague have been known to occur.”

Effect on soldiers

The heat had an immediate effect on soldiers, most of them more accustomed to the rain and cold of a typical British summer.

Near the end of the First World War, the British and the Arab Allies were close to defeating the Ottoman Empire, but found the late summer temperatures as formidable a foes as the Turks.

“There were some ghastly losses from heat stroke among British troops when in September 1917 we launched an attack against the Turks in Southern Mesopotamia,” one officer said.

Another dispatch from the front records: “Our troops being held up in the open, began to suffer somewhat severely from heat stroke and heat exhaustion. The initiation of operations unfortunately coincided with a heat wave producing temperatures of over 120°F [48°C], and with a very hot wind blowing from the east.”

Records of the actual heat go back to the mid-19th century, thanks to the obsessive record-keeping by officials of the British Empire.

Scottish troops had to adapt to unfamiliar conditions when based in hot climates such as Aden in 1967. Getty Images
Scottish troops had to adapt to unfamiliar conditions when based in hot climates such as Aden in 1967. Getty Images

Details of the weather from the year 1881 show temperatures in the cities and towns on the Iranian shore of the Gulf.

In Borazjan, a few miles inland on the northern Gulf, they reached a high of 46.7°C in July, the peak heat. Shiraz, farther inland, recorded a high of 41°C in August 1881. For reference, Borazjan reached 48°C this week, and Shiraz 37°C.

Not all readings were as accurate. Writing in 1819, Claude Rich, a political agent in Turkish Arabia, made the improbable claim that rain was turning to steam as temperatures in Baghdad reached 188°F (87°C).

In 1880 the Second Afghan War ended with a decisive victory by British forces at the Battle of Kandahar in September.

The campaign leading up to the battle had involved a retreat to Kandahar by British and Indian troops after a mauling at the Battle of Maiwand in July,

For the relatives of the soldiers, newspaper reports of the terrible conditions in Afghanistan made harrowing reading.

One desperate mother was reduced to writing to Gen Lewis Pelly, a former commander in the region, but living in the UK at the time.

“As your words have weight and your influence has power with the powerful, I beseech you, Sir Lewis, to use it – ere it is too late [underlined],” Jane Yate wrote to Pelly on behalf of her “dear boy” serving in Afghanistan.

Mrs Yate urged the postponement of further action for at least two or three weeks “until the great heat is passed”, with the “extreme danger from cholera and heat stroke [with] troops retreating to India in the hottest month of the year”.

“God help them all”, she concluded, “as one so fearfully isolated as I am in this terrible war.”

Heat and exhaustion

The heat and dust continued to play havoc with military operations well into the 20th century.

In the 1950s, British troops were in action again, this time supporting the Sultan of Oman against a communist-led insurgency.

“Severe heat is having an effect on British troops and a number of cases of heat and exhaustion have occurred … very serious going for vehicles, heat been very difficult and vehicles and wireless have suffered breakdown from heat and terrain,” commanders urgently telegrammed in August 1957.

It was too late for one soldier in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, with this dispatch sent a month earlier: “Greatly regret inform you Corporal R W Lloyd reme attached 13/18 hussars died today at 1045 hours of heat exhaustion stop I am arranging for him to be buried at muscar this afternoon.”

By the 1960s, detailed advice was provided to survive the heat.

“Fit for the heat: A practical guide for acquiring and maintaining fitness on arrival in hot countries” was a pamphlet given to servicemen supporting the creation of the UAE army in 1972.

“Particular stress is laid upon graduated exposure, both to the sun and to the tempo of work, unlimited intake of water, addition of extra salt to food especially in the first few weeks, and training in recognition and first aid treatment of heat illness (heat stroke and heat exhaustion),” were among the recommendations.

While the climate was “particularly trying in the summer months from July to October, when temperatures of up to 46°C and humidity readings of up to 90 per cent to 98 per cent are frequently recorded”, with precautions “heat need have neither horrors nor hazards provided troops are prepared by indoctrination and training”.

Away from the army, a stiff upper lip was still required for expatriates in Gulf countries.

Dressing for dinner was expected, but modified to adapt for the heat by the “Gulf Rig”, discarding the formal black jacket but retaining a freshly laundered shirt, bow tie and cummerbund – the latter preferably in red.

For “the ladies”, the advice was to wear cotton dresses, avoiding “nylon and synthetics”.

It was, at least, some improvement on the past. The authorities were so appalled by the death toll resulting from the Arabian climate that in 1810 they suspended new appointments to Muscat.

“After the experience of such repeated instances of mortality from any continuous sojourn at that station,” an East India Company official wrote. “We could not but hesitate with the appointment of a successor in the person of any British subject where conditions are too obviously unequal to withstand the baleful effect of that climate.”

Rise of air conditioning in the UAE – in pictures

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The specs

Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm

Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)

On sale: Now

ETFs explained

Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.

ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Results:

6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Walking Thunder, Connor Beasley (jockey), Ahmad bin Harmash (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap (rated 72-87) Dh 165,000 1,600m.
Winner: Syncopation, George Buckell, Doug Watson.

7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,400m.
Winner: Big Brown Bear, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

8.15pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,200m.
Winner: Stunned, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

8.50pm: Handicap (85-105) Dh 210,000 2,000m.
Winner: New Trails, Connor Beasley, Ahmad bin Harmash.

9.25pm: Handicap (75-95) Dh 190,000 1,600m.
Winner: Pillar Of Society, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Health Valley

Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

THE BIO

Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.

Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.

Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Ticket prices
  • Golden circle - Dh995
  • Floor Standing - Dh495
  • Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
  • Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
  • Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
  • Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
  • Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
  • Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
RESULTS

6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.

7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.

8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.

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

Most wanted allegations
  • Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
  • Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
  • Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer. 
  • Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
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Three stars

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Established: 2008

Prize money:  $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.

Winning novels: 13

Shortlisted novels: 66

Longlisted novels: 111

Total number of novels submitted: 1,780

Novels translated internationally: 66

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Rating: 5/5

Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species

Camelpox

Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.

Falconpox

Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.

Houbarapox

Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.

BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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Racecard
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

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

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Tesalam Aleik

Abdullah Al Ruwaished

(Rotana)

Donating your hair

    •    Your hair should be least 30 cms long, as some of the hair is lost during manufacturing of the wigs.
    •    Clean, dry hair in good condition (no split ends) from any gender, and of any natural colour, is required.
    •    Straight, wavy, curly, permed or chemically straightened is permitted.
    •    Dyed hair must be of a natural colour
 

 

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

The specs

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm

Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: From Dh1 million

On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022 

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Updated: August 05, 2023, 5:23 AM`