• 'Artistic Characteristics – Elegant Calligraphy and Inspiring Features' is at the visitors' centre at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Victor Besa / The National.
    'Artistic Characteristics – Elegant Calligraphy and Inspiring Features' is at the visitors' centre at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Victor Besa / The National.
  • The Mosque of Cordoba.
    The Mosque of Cordoba.
  • The visitors' centre, or Dome One, at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
    The visitors' centre, or Dome One, at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
  • Examples of decorative art from Arabia.
    Examples of decorative art from Arabia.
  • Islamic architecture from Egypt and Palestine.
    Islamic architecture from Egypt and Palestine.
  • A photo of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque by a female student at the Higher Colleges of Technology who majored in media. Photo: Mouza Abdulsalam Alkhazraji.
    A photo of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque by a female student at the Higher Colleges of Technology who majored in media. Photo: Mouza Abdulsalam Alkhazraji.
  • Mosque du Sultan Hassan in Cairo.
    Mosque du Sultan Hassan in Cairo.
  • A visitor to the exhibition at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
    A visitor to the exhibition at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
  • An illustration of Cairo by Robert Hay, the Scottish explorer and early Egyptologist.
    An illustration of Cairo by Robert Hay, the Scottish explorer and early Egyptologist.
  • Artwork using muhaqqaq script by calligrapher Abbas Al-Baghdadi.
    Artwork using muhaqqaq script by calligrapher Abbas Al-Baghdadi.
  • Caligraphy artwork using the koufi script.
    Caligraphy artwork using the koufi script.
  • Mosque du Sultan Hassan in Cairo.
    Mosque du Sultan Hassan in Cairo.
  • Dome One, the visitors' centre at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
    Dome One, the visitors' centre at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
  • Decorative art from Arabia.
    Decorative art from Arabia.
  • Asian carpets.
    Asian carpets.
  • The Mosque of Cordoba.
    The Mosque of Cordoba.
  • From an illustrated catalogue showing the Alfred Chester Beatty collection of Indian miniatures.
    From an illustrated catalogue showing the Alfred Chester Beatty collection of Indian miniatures.

Artistic Characteristics exhibition at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - in pictures


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Jeddah circuit ready for Saudi Arabian Grand Prix - in pictures

Off-road enthusiasts kick off desert season in Dubai - in pictures

Broken dreams of desperate migrants fleeing Africa for the Arabian Peninsula - in pictures

Saudi girls dream big with launch of football league - in pictures

Joint military exercises in Kuwait - in pictures

Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi

“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”

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Profile box

Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)

Stats at a glance:

Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)

Number in service: 6

Complement 191 (space for up to 285)

Top speed: over 32 knots

Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles

Length 152.4 m

Displacement: 8,700 tonnes

Beam:   21.2 m

Draught: 7.4 m

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
What is graphene?

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.

It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.

But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties. 

 

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. 

Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

The Byblos iftar in numbers

29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month

50 staff members required to prepare an iftar

200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly

160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total

500 litres of soup is served during the holy month

200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes

350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes

5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
 

All about the Sevens

Cape Town Sevens on Saturday and Sunday: Pools A – South Africa, Kenya, France, Russia; B – New Zealand, Australia, Spain, United States; C – England, Scotland, Argentina, Uganda; D – Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Wales

HSBC World Sevens Series standing after first leg in Dubai 1 South Africa; 2 New Zealand; 3 England; 4 Fiji; 5 Australia; 6 Samoa; 7 Kenya; 8 Scotland; 9 France; 10 Spain; 11 Argentina; 12 Canada; 13 Wales; 14 Uganda; 15 United States; 16 Russia

Barings Bank

 Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal. 

Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson. 

Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.  

Updated: December 01, 2021, 11:47 AM