Items from the collection of the Miraj Islamic Art Centre in Dubai who are now in partnership with The Ritz-Carlton hotel in DIFC. Courtesy of Miraj Islamic Art Centre.
Items from the collection of the Miraj Islamic Art Centre in Dubai who are now in partnership with The Ritz-Carlton hotel in DIFC. Courtesy of Miraj Islamic Art Centre.

The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC offers tours of one of Dubai’s Islamic centres



The Ritz-Carlton has a really interesting and engaging art programme, from contemporary pieces of art owned by Opera Gallery inside the corridors and decorating the walls to organised tours of the gallery adjacent to them in Gate Village, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Now, thanks to a new partnership with the Miraj Islamic Art Centre in Jumeirah, all guests of the Ritz-Carlton suites and Club Level can now take advantage of complimentary transportation and a tour of the gallery as a way to showcase more of local culture to visitors to the city.

The collections range from Beauty and Divinity; a decorative range of artefacts adorned with calligraphy, Weaver of Dreams; an assortment of Persian rugs dating back to the 16th Century, depicting legendary and historic imagery, and Touched with Gold, a striking collection of papier-mâché pieces, heralding from the Himalayas, richly lacquered with gold, gilded, and encrusted with precious stones.

“Art and craftsmanship is an integral part of the experience at The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC,” says Lothar Quarz, the general managerof The Ritz-Carlton, DIFC. “From our own expanding art collection, to the craftsmanship of our talented culinary teams, we are proud to engage our guests on a level over and above a traditional hotel stay. Our new partnership with Miraj Art Centre beautifully complements our existing offering of mostly contemporary art pieces, by providing access to collections steeped in history, as well as an additional insight into the Arabian culture.”

* For more information visit www.ritzcarlton.com/DubaiIFC or call +971 4 372 2555.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group H

Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)

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Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

MATCH INFO

France 3
Umtiti (8'), Griezmann (29' pen), Dembele (63')

Italy 1
Bonucci (36')

TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Directed by: Michael Fimognari

Starring: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo

Two stars

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A