NEW YORK // For Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf, the historical significance of al Diriyah is difficult to exaggerate.
The town, 15km north-west of Riyadh, was the original home of the Saudi royal family, and its mud-brick palaces, ramparts and mosques served as the majestic 18th-century capital of the first Saudi dynasty.
Now, one of the world's leading advocates for preservation is poised to recognise that significance. The United Nations cultural and education agency, Unesco, will begin this weekend deciding whether to recognise al Diriyah's Turaif district as a World Heritage site.
Experts are meeting in Brazil to consider 39 nominations from 33 countries for inclusion on the list of sites, which currently features 890 natural and man-made monuments determined to offer "outstanding universal value". They range from India's Taj Mahal to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
The Turaif district of al Diriyah is the only Arab site being considered at this year's meeting, a process run by the UN's culture and education agency, Unesco.
Al Diriyah was established as the capital of the first Saudi state in 1744, and in the ensuing decades exerted enormous religious, architectural, political and cultural influence across the peninsula under the stewardship of the royal house of Saud.
Saudi officials praise Turaif's towers and adobe-and-rock buildings as a "unique model of Najdi architecture" and the "blueprint model for Islamic cities in the Arab peninsula". Highlights include Salwa Palace, Imam Mohammed bin Saud Mosque and Turaif Bath House.
Archaeologists are hopeful that Turaif will win over committee members, and describe recent improvements to heritage protection in Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
"A lot of importance is attached to these submissions and they offer a sense of national pride," said Richard Cuttler, an archaeologist at the University of Birmingham in England. "All the GCC countries are more aware of their heritage and are keen to stress their individual and collective heritage.
"The capacity for museums, heritage protection and an increased interest in cultural management across the whole region has changed dramatically in the past 10 years."
Saudi Arabia's Unesco envoy, Ziad al Drees, is in the Brazilian capital Brasilia mustering support for the submission, which will be debated this weekend. Saudi officials won their first inscription in 2008, when the Nabatean tomb complex at Al Hijr joined Unesco's list.
Besides once having been home to the royal family, Turaif became the Islamic spiritual centre of Sheikh Muhammed bin Abdal Wahhab, the father of Wahhabism.
Despite fortifications, walls and wind towers, the so-called "cradle of the kingdom" was left in ruins after a heavy bombardment from an invading army under the Ottoman leadership of Ibrahim Pasha in 1818.
Saudi officials have nominated the historical area of Jeddah for consideration at next year's meeting of the World Heritage Committee, which will take place in Bahrain.
The archaeology of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a popular resurgence, with an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, showcasing artefacts, many of which have never left the desert Kingdom before.
The show, Roads of Arabia: Archaeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, opened this month and features about 320 pieces, of which two-thirds predate the birth of Islam in the early seventh century.
Véronique Dauge, who heads the Arab section for Unesco, described the Arabian Gulf region as "largely underrepresented on the list" compared with other parts of the world.
She said the region lacked natural sites on the list, particularly after the Arabian oryx sanctuary was de-listed in 2007 following a decision by the Omani government to reduce the size of the protected area by 90 per cent.
The UAE's first nomination - the oases, ruins and desert landscapes of Al Ain - will be assessed at next year's meeting. Other mooted sites in the Emirates include the Bastakiya wind towers of Bur Dubai and the archaeological site of Ed-Dur, in Umm al Qaiwain, which dates from 3000BC.
During the 10-day meeting in Brazil, experts will debate the 39 nominated sites - eight of which are natural, 29 are cultural and two are mixed - as well as a further 36 that could be de-listed because they do not receive enough protection.
@Email:jreinl@thenational.ae
Credit Score explained
What is a credit score?
In the UAE your credit score is a number generated by the Al Etihad Credit Bureau (AECB), which represents your credit worthiness – in other words, your risk of defaulting on any debt repayments. In this country, the number is between 300 and 900. A low score indicates a higher risk of default, while a high score indicates you are a lower risk.
Why is it important?
Financial institutions will use it to decide whether or not you are a credit risk. Those with better scores may also receive preferential interest rates or terms on products such as loans, credit cards and mortgages.
How is it calculated?
The AECB collects information on your payment behaviour from banks as well as utilitiy and telecoms providers.
How can I improve my score?
By paying your bills on time and not missing any repayments, particularly your loan, credit card and mortgage payments. It is also wise to limit the number of credit card and loan applications you make and to reduce your outstanding balances.
How do I know if my score is low or high?
By checking it. Visit one of AECB’s Customer Happiness Centres with an original and valid Emirates ID, passport copy and valid email address. Liv. customers can also access the score directly from the banking app.
How much does it cost?
A credit report costs Dh100 while a report with the score included costs Dh150. Those only wanting the credit score pay Dh60. VAT is payable on top.
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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
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)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
