Emaar Hospitality Group has signed a deal with Jabal Omar Development to operate a new Address Hotels + Resorts project in Mecca, close to the Grand Mosque.
The Jabal Omar Address Makkah property will have 1,490 hotel rooms and suites – some of which will be available for freehold purchase. It is scheduled to open in 2019.
Jabal Omar is a listed developer of a master planned series of tower clusters within walking distance of the Grand Mosque that will contain more than 2 million square metres of four and five-star hotels. The first phase is already complete, and contains Hilton and Marriott Hotels.
Thus far, the site has been developed over four phases, but in March this year Jabal Omar announced that it had been granted permission from the Makkah Region Development Authority to increase the size of its project site by 42 per cent to 167 hectares. It said the increase would allow it to build fifth, sixth and seventh phases.
Emaar Hospitality said that the project would be the first Address Hotels and Resorts site in Saudi Arabia, although Emaar’s Saudi subsidiary, Emaar Middle East, had previously developed 316 serviced apartments within the nearby Makkah Clock Tower development, but these are operated by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. They were completed in 2013.
“We are honoured to mark the expansion of Address Hotels + Resorts, the premium luxury hotel brand under Emaar Hospitality Group, to Saudi Arabia with the signing of this important management contract with Jabal Omar Development Company,” said Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Properties.
“As an iconic development situated near the Grand Mosque, Jabal Omar Address Makkah will appeal to visitors from across the world.”
Yasser Faisal Al Sharif, the Jabal Omar chief executive, said: “By choosing a brand that has its roots in the region, we are confident of delivering a hospitality choice that will support the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to promote religious and cultural experiences.”
Figures published by the hospitality consultancy STR yesterday confirmed that Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing hospitality market in the region, with 40,145 rooms under development across 95 projects.
According to property consultancy Colliers International, the supply of hotel rooms in the holy city is expected to grow by 150 per cent by the end of 2019. The number of rooms stood at 14,675 by the end of the first quarter of this year, but this is predicted to grow to 36,758 by the end of 2019.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club:
1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16
UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Overall standings
1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,
2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.
3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.
4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.
5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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Breast cancer in men: the facts
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1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
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7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
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If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
