The six-year construction of Dubai's bookstand-shaped Mohammed bin Rashid Library has had many moving parts.
Alongside the deft engineering and landscaping of this architectural marvel, content teams travelled the world scouring institutions for rare novels, documents, manuscripts and writing tools to showcase at the library.
And, when it opens to the public on Thursday in Al Jaddaf, they are available for all to see.
Scroll through the gallery above to see what's inside the library
The results of these expeditions lie on the seventh floor as part of the Treasures of the Library, a sprawling and permanent feature of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library.
Visitors are invited to stroll around this museum-like space and marvel at some of the classic international and regional works, all encased in stands.
“Collecting these works took two years,” board member Jamal Al Shehhi tells The National.
“We had teams going around the world searching for them and even acquiring them at charity auctions. We were determined to get the best titles that we can find.”
Here we take a closer look at six rare literary publications you can see at the Treasures of the Library exhibition.
1. 'Description de L'Egypte'
The original series of publications appeared first in 1809 and catalogued various aspects of ancient and modern Egypt; they were written by scholars and academics who accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte on his expedition to the country in 1798.
2. 'Don Quixote' by Miguel De Cervantes
The library boasts a first edition of the two-part novel, which was published in 1605 and 1615.
Viewed as one of the foundations of western literature and as the first modern novel, Don Quixote is one of the most translated books in the world.
Following the adventures of Alonso Quijano, the novel went on to influence Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers (1844) and Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884).
3. A 17th-century Quran from Golconda
Written in black ink and on gold paper, this 17th-century Quran is distinguished by its unique style.
This is on account of the many Persian calligraphers employed by the Qutb Shahi rulers of Golconda, in what is modern-day Hyderabad, India.
4. 'The Ramayana' by Valmiki
The library has a beautifully preserved 1817 copy of the epic ancient Indian poem, ascribed to the writer Valmiki, believed to have lived around 500 BC.
One of the great works of Indian poetry, this edition of The Ramayana (meaning Rama's Journey) comes with detailed illustrations complementing the narratives and philosophical teachings imbued within the piece.
5. 'Akhbar Dubai Magazine'
The library has the ninth issue of the first magazine printed in Dubai, which was published on March 3, 1979. The magazine first began in 1965.
Akhar Dubai covered local UAE news and political and cultural issues related to the Mena region, before ceasing publication in 1980.
6. 'Al Massa' (The Evening Newspaper)
A framed copy of a 1931 edition of Egypt’s first nightly newspaper.
In addition to covering local, international and economic news, the paper was fiercely nationalistic.
The front cover of the edition displayed in the library has a story, complete with editorial caricature, imploring Egyptians to stop purchasing British garments and go local instead.
Mohammed bin Rashid Library is located in Al Jaddaf, Dubai. Operating hours are 9am-9pm from Monday to Saturday. More information is available on the official Twitter account.
Scroll through the gallery below to see more of Mohammed bin Rashid Library
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
