In the town of Aknalich, the Yazidi people are marking the New Year, as their calendar turns to 6771.
That is the traditional date of the birth of the world in their belief, which hails from modern-day Iraq where about half of the world’s one million Yazidis live.
Aknalich has always been a centre of Armenia’s Yazidi people who, with a population of about 35,000, are the country’s largest ethnic minority.
But it took on new significance in 2019 when the largest Yazidi temple in the world was unveiled there.
“Before Christianity, everyone worshipped the sun, like we do,” says Jon Namoyan, 35, a resident of the Yazidi-populated village of Shamiram.
“When the sun peers through the clouds, it’s like God looking down on his children."
On the square behind him a variety of dance troupes, including one from Armenia’s Assyrian minority, go through their performances.
Cacophonous traditional music blasts continuously from a group on the stage.
The main temple, known as Quba Mere Diwane, towers off to one side.
A regular procession moves through it, removing their shoes at the entrance before entering to pray at the altar of Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel, who is the primary deity in the Yazidis’ unique cosmology.
Many also stop to pay respects at the grave of Mirza Sloyan, an Armenian Yazidi businessman who paid for the temple’s construction before dying just a month after its opening.
Behind the day’s upbeat artistic performances, though, there is a palpable melancholy.
Along with everyone else in the country, members of the Yazidi community fought in last year’s war between Armenia and its neighbour, Azerbaijan, over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 44 days, at least 16 local Yazidis were killed.
“It’s different this year,” says Amad Shaykh, 36. "Coronavirus prevented many of our foreign friends from visiting and many families are at home, in mourning.
“The speeches were dedicated to seven local families who lost their sons and husbands [in the war]."
The Yazidi people are no strangers to tragedy. Their histories hold that they have been the victims of 74 genocides, most recently at the hands of ISIS in 2014, in northern Iraq.
Of the survivors, a few made their way through Armenia. Some settled with distant relatives, but “only a handful", Mr Shaykh says.
Another of those genocides came at the same time as that of the Armenians, in 1915.
At the same time that Armenian villages in eastern Anatolia were being systematically killed by Ottoman troops, the nearby Yazidi populace was also suffering reprisals.
Many sought refuge in the lands that now form Armenia, laying the basis for much of today’s community.
The parallels between the two peoples are not lost on Mr Namoyan.
“When the Turks were slaughtering Armenians, they slaughtered us, too,” he says.
“They tried to force us to convert to Islam but we didn’t accept. Last year they tried it again."
For the Yazidis last year, there was no question as to whether they would stand beside their Armenian neighbours on the battlefield.
“Of course we served in the army,” says Vital Sloyan, 48, another Shamiram resident.
“Armenia is our country too and it was under attack. We were proud to stand with our Armenian brothers."
The Yazidi members of Armenia’s army and associated volunteer militias were well publicised during the war, and well organised.
Temur Khudoyan, 28, director of the Yazidi TV channel Lalish TV, says that local Yazidis fought in their own units and in the Armenian army.
“When the war started, Yazidi community leaders started to organise those who wished to fight,” Mr Khudoyan says.
That was partly co-ordinated by Rustam Bakoyan, an Armenian MP who holds the Parliament seat reserved for the minority.
In all, three Yazidi volunteer detachments served on the front lines in Karabakh. Many fought in areas hardest hit by the fighting, including those captured by Azerbaijan.
The losses have not affected the local community’s appreciation for their homeland.
“We are an ancient people but we don’t have a state,” Mr Shaykh says.
“In the 2014 genocide (in Iraq), over 100,000 Yazidis became refugees. It makes you appreciate safe places like Armenia.”
Mr Khudoyan agrees.
“This is the only country in the world where Yazidis are taught at school in their own language,” he says.
“All our rights are protected here. We can preserve our culture, our religion, our identity. We have a future in Armenia.
As the festivities wind down, Mr Namoyan delivers the most optimistic outlook yet.
“There’s a story about a prophet in Greece,” he says. “This prophet foresaw that Constantinople would one day be Christian again.
"Turkey will be divided into three or four parts. The Greeks will take one part, the Armenians another, and we Yazidis will take ours. Everything will be great.”
Scores
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Arsenal 1-0 Huddersfield Town
Burnley 1-0 Brighton
Manchester United 4-1 Fulham
West Ham 3-2 Crystal Palace
Saturday fixtures:
Chelsea v Manchester City, 9.30pm (UAE)
Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur, 11.45pm (UAE)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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AT%20A%20GLANCE
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JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The%20specs
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LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
CREW
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WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
1) Kepa Arrizabalaga, Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea (£72m)
2) Alisson, Roma to Liverpool (£67m)
3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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
How it works
A $10 hand-powered LED light and battery bank
Device is operated by hand cranking it at any time during the day or night
The charge is stored inside a battery
The ratio is that for every minute you crank, it provides 10 minutes light on the brightest mode
A full hand wound charge is of 16.5minutes
This gives 1.1 hours of light on high mode or 2.5 hours of light on low mode
When more light is needed, it can be recharged by winding again
The larger version costs between $18-20 and generates more than 15 hours of light with a 45-minute charge
No limit on how many times you can charge
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
