Arabic calligraphy will soon fill the city of Jeddah through murals and street paintings.
Following the United Nations Arabic Language Day last week, the Jeddah municipality announced its initiative to install 50 Arabic calligraphy murals across the city as a way to enhance its public spaces. The artwork will cover main roads, sidewalks, flyovers, buildings and squares in the Saudi Arabian city.
Some of the works will be more than 70 metres long and 3 metres high.
Jeddah's mayor Saleh Al-Turki stated that the move also goes hand-in-hand with the Saudi Ministry of Culture's establishment of 2020 as the Year of Arabic Calligraphy and is in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
Anas Mohamed Serafi, the chairman of the Oyoun Jeddah Charitable Association (OJCA), a partner to the initiative, said the idea stemmed from a visual arts award for calligraphy, painting and photography held by the municipality last year. A number of winning works will be reprinted and displayed on the city walls.
Serafi told Arab News that the goal of the public art campaign is to "modernise, humanise and make our beautiful city more humane and civilised."
As part of the initiative, the Jeddah Corniche, a 30-kilometre stretch of coastal walkway along the Red Sea, has been transformed, with artworks on its sidewalks for pedestrians and cyclists to appreciate.
To produce the works of Arabic calligraphy, Tasami Creative Lab, a local platform for artists, has been brought on board by the municipality, while Adel Al Zahrani, a professor of architecture at King Abdul Aziz University, will oversee the Corniche of Colours project.
Jeddah has a history of showcasing artworks in public spaces. In the 1970s, mayor Mohammed Said Farsi set out to beautify the city with more than 400 sculptures, including those by Joan Miro and Alexander Calder. In the 2000s, Art Jameel and the city municipality set out to restore some of the sculptures, which had begun to deteriorate and rearranged them into an open-air sculpture museum.
The result was the Jeddah Sculpture Museum in 2013 – set along the Jeddah Corniche, 20 artworks are currently scattered in the seven-kilometre park in the area, known to locals as “Al Hamraa”. The museum includes works by Miro, Henry Moore, Victor Vasarely and Saudi artist Maha Malluh.
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
