Each morning at 5am, Ali Al Sharqawy, 30, heads out to a small warehouse near his home, fastens his horse to a wooden cart and roams Tanta, the largest city in Egypt’s Gharbia province, in search of scrap metal or plastic bottles that he can sell.
To make a living, Ali spends his days working as a rubbish collector. At night, he is a professional bodybuilder with big dreams.
“On some days, I make 200 pounds, on another I get lucky and collect enough rubbish to make three or four hundred, and then some days, I make nothing at all," he tells The National.
"But it doesn’t matter to me so much, it’s all just passing time until I go to the gym in the evening, that’s where my life mostly happens.”
Ali's living room wall is covered with certificates from many of the national competitions he has taken part in.
He hopes to reach the heights achieved by other Egyptian bodybuilders such as Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay and Mahmoud Al Dorra, two of his most important role models.
But he has little other prospects that could lift him out of the abject poverty he lives in, he says.
Amid a sharp rise in the cost of living for many Egyptians, Ali feels his dream is slipping further and further away.
He dropped out of high school, leaving him lacking the basic educational requirements for employment opportunities beyond manual labour.
Ali, who comes from a family of rubbish collectors, says he has not tried any other professions.
He hopes to reach the heights achieved by other Egyptian bodybuilders, such as Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay and Mahmoud Al Dorra, two of his most important role models.
But he has little other prospects that could lift him out of the abject poverty he lives in, he says.
Amid a sharp rise in the cost of living for many Egyptians, Ali feels his dream is slipping further and further away.
He dropped out of high school, leaving him lacking the basic educational requirements for employment opportunities beyond manual labour.
Ali, who comes from a family of rubbish collectors, says he has not tried any other professions.
“I need between ten and twelve thousand pounds a month ($323-388) to be able to train at a professional level, half of it would cover the seven meals a day I need and the other half for my supplements. Today, if I make four or five thousand a month. I feel lucky," says Ali, who married in July.
“Before marriage, every penny I made went to my food, my supplements and my training. Now I have a home and a wife to take care of.
“What I am hoping for is a sponsor who can fund my bodybuilding journey.”
Most professional Egyptian bodybuilders need sponsors that fund their training, extensive eating regiments and supplements, before they are prepared to compete on a national level, Ali explains.
Some are chosen for the Egyptian bodybuilding national team and are given benefits to continue their training.
Ali is yet to be chosen for the national team.
Last year, he was visited by a businessman and bodybuilding enthusiast, a fellow Tanta native, who agreed to fund some of Ali’s training needs.
While many have advised Ali to leave bodybuilding behind because of the high costs of competing, Ali refuses.
“The first time I picked up a dumbbell, I was 12 years old at a small gym on our street," he said. "I had been spending a lot of time at an internet cafe in our neighbourhood where I watched a film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, I remember seeing his chest and my jaw dropped."
At the heart of Ali’s bodybuilding dreams is to finally being given the respect he says he has been denied for most of his life.
But his commitment has also left Ali with few friends outside the gym and a strained relationship with family members who want him to quit.
“When I started lifting weights and getting bigger, people treated me differently. I wasn’t pushed around as much any more and I began to be noticed,” he says.
“It’s all I have really. I have to succeed at it. All I need to do is enter a world championship and I have faith that I could win. But that all depends on the funds I can bring in until then.”
In recent years, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have become an important tool for aspiring bodybuilders to show off their progress and their training regimens. Many others also provide online training for beginners to make more money on the side.
Ali joined TikTok two months ago and is slowly growing his online presence in the hopes of finding a sponsor who can help him turn his misfortunes into success.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
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Indika
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
The%20specs
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
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UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0DJemma%20Eley%2C%20Maria%20Michailidou%2C%20Molly%20Fuller%2C%20Chloe%20Andrews%20(of%20Dubai%20College)%2C%20Eliza%20Petricola%2C%20Holly%20Guerin%2C%20Yasmin%20Craig%2C%20Caitlin%20Gowdy%20(Dubai%20English%20Speaking%20College)%2C%20Claire%20Janssen%2C%20Cristiana%20Morall%20(Jumeirah%20English%20Speaking%20School)%2C%20Tessa%20Mies%20(Jebel%20Ali%20School)%2C%20Mila%20Morgan%20(Cranleigh%20Abu%20Dhabi).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.