There's plenty to do in Ammochostos, Cyprus

We're planning to visit Ammochostos in Cyprus for a week during the summer. We're going on a proper beach holiday, but would like to take in the cultural sights of the area. What do you suggest?

We're planning to visit Ammochostos in Cyprus for a week during the summer. We're going on a proper beach holiday, but would like to take in the cultural sights of the area. What do you suggest? If it's golden sandy beaches you are after, then Cyprus's east coast region is the perfect choice. But the area also has more than its fair share of interesting monuments, including monasteries, museums, centres of culture and churches.

The ancient buildings of the Agia Napa Monastery, in Sepheris Square, stand in the middle of a high-wall enclosure, insulated from the party town outside its walls. The 16th century church lies partially underground, carved into the bedrock. The monastery also has a guesthouse. Don't forget to check out the sycamore tree that stands guard at the gates - it is believed to be more than 600 years old.

Thalassa Marine Museum (00 357 2381 6366; entrance fee Dh7) showcases Cyprus's marine heritage, from prehistoric times to the present. One of the most famous exhibits is a functioning life-size replica of a 4th century BC Greek trading vessel (the original was discovered off the coast of Keryneia). The Deryneia Folk Art Museum (00 357 2374 0353; entrance fee Dh5), situated in a beautiful restored house, has a fine collection that dates back several hundred years. Its beautiful architecture makes it very popular as a venue for civil marriages.

The Cultural Centre (00 357 2374 0860; free entrance) hosts regular presentations, photographic exhibitions and a handicraft shop selling traditional items. If you want to stretch your legs and enjoy the region's stunning landscape, go on a trek in Cape Gkreko National Park, which offers majestic cliff formations, more than 36 species of orchid and plenty of nature trails, one of which links the area with the Aphrodite Cultural Route - legend has it that a temple dedicated to Aphrodite once existed in this area.

Make it a point to visit the small township of Paralimni (www.paralimni.org.cy) for its many old and interesting churches, the most famous of which is the church of Agios Georgios, dating to the 17th century. The nearby village of Sotira is home to five Byzantine-era churches, known for their architecture, murals and art. The Ecclesiastical Museum (00 357 2382 3932; free entrance) was once an old chapel. It is now home to a modest collection of ecclesiastical artefacts and sculptures.

Return flights on Etihad Airways (www.etihadairways.com) to Larnaca cost from US$513 (Dh1,885) including taxes. Do you have travel questions or queries? If so, e-mail them to us at travel@thenational.ae

The biog

Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico​

START-UPS IN BATCH 4 OF SANABIL 500'S ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME

Saudi Arabia

Joy: Delivers car services with affordable prices

Karaz: Helps diabetics with gamification, IoT and real-time data

Medicarri: Medical marketplace that connects clinics with suppliers

Mod5r: Makes automated and recurring investments to grow wealth

Stuck: Live, on-demand language support to boost writing

Walzay: Helps in recruitment while reducing hiring time

UAE

Eighty6: Marketplace for restaurant and supplier procurements

FarmUnboxed: Helps digitise international food supply chain

NutriCal: Helps F&B businesses and governments with nutritional analysis

Wellxai: Provides insurance that enables and rewards user habits

Egypt

Amwal: A Shariah-compliant crowd-lending platform

Deben: Helps CFOs manage cash efficiently

Egab: Connects media outlets to journalists in hard-to-reach areas for exclusives

Neqabty: Digitises financial and medical services of labour unions

Oman

Monak: Provides financial inclusion and life services to migrants

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.”

Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

SPECS

Engine: 2-litre direct injection turbo
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
Power: 261hp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: From Dh134,999