You may have seen it all over Instagram, the Raining Street of Dubai. A quaint European-style pedestrian road, lined with red and white polka dot awnings, where (unlike the rest of the UAE) it rains all year round.
The perennially drizzly street is now open to the public, in the Cote d’Azur Monaco hotel in the World Islands’ Heart of Europe by the Kleindienst Group.
The climate-controlled kilometre-long street maintains a constant temperature of 27°C, with humidity set to 60 per cent and winds of 5kph.
A representative for the hotel confirmed to The National that it will also snow on the street in the future.
There are two ways to access the Raining Street, either as a guest at the hotel or with a day-pass which costs Dh300 ($81). Passes can be organised by calling the hotel on 800 387 673.
The developers hope it "will bring the European ambience closer to the heart of Dubai, especially during the heated summer months".
“The technology ensures that as soon as the temperature goes above 27°C on the island, cold water in the form of rain will fall from the top of the buildings through concealed pipes,” Kleindienst Group chairman Josef Kleindienst said.
According to the group, measures have been taken to ensure the installation is in line with its sustainability goals. A Kleindienst Group representative told The National last year: "The Raining Street is solar-powered and developed in co-operation with the Fraunhofer Institute, one of Europe’s leading research organisations.
"The climate-control feature signals The Heart of Europe’s commitment in designing environmentally friendly structures as well as employing state-of-the-art technology to reduce energy consumption, all while reflecting the new challenges faced by responsible and forward-thinking developers."
Rain in the UAE
The Rain Room in Sharjah is another place people can visit for a fix of wet weather in the UAE.
The art project is on permanent display at the Sharjah Art Foundation. Unlike the Raining Street, the Rain Room has motion sensors that detect bodily movement, so that as you move through the site, the rain stops.
The installation is made by Random International, a studio set up by two Royal College of Arts graduates in 2005, Florian Ortkrass and Hannes Koch.
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
