As you walk along the sea front in the old Greek city of Rhodes, the Turkish coast emerges from the haze on the horizon. The sea at this time of year is deep blue, the same blue that you see on the Greek flags that are everywhere.
Rhodes islanders are celebrating a historic Greek national day (more of which later). I’m visiting relatives and taking a break from the awful news headlines from Palestine. I wanted to visit the ancient Greek, Byzantine and Ottoman sites. All these civilisations were at home here in this Eastern Mediterranean crossroads between Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
What I most wanted to see was the Rhodes museum. The old pottery, about 2,600 years old, has been beautifully restored. The cracked pots and decorated vessels send a message that resonates through the centuries as a testament to our shared heritage. They show that human beings have always loved beauty and design as well as functionality. The pots and vessels commemorate ancient heroes, warriors and legends or animals, from lions to livestock, with gorgeous geometric designs.
Unfortunately warfare really is an extension of politics by other means
Part of the museum has rooms where the Ottomans rested in the heat of the day. Their couches look so welcoming it is as if the inhabitants just left for a stroll on the beach. One of the large and beautiful rooms is full of memorials to the Christian crusaders who came here from all over western Europe.
Rhodes was a convenient base from which to launch their invasions of what all three Abrahamic religions agree is the Holy Land, the place where those religions have their roots. But as well as reminding us what we have in common, the crusader memorials are obviously also a testament to historic intolerance.
Despite the common teachings of kindness, friendship and learning, religious differences very obviously continue to divide many people violently eight centuries after the last Crusade was abandoned.
Yet history is instructive. The crusaders were motivated by ideas of faith but also by conquest, loot, land and property. For some, it was an adventure. Presumably leaving England, France, Italy, Germany and elsewhere to conquer others in the name of religion must have seemed to them a good idea at the time.
But what happened next is telling. The Crusades continued through the Middle Ages from 1095 until 1291, although armed conflict in each of the eight Crusades lasted two or three years each time and ultimately fizzled out.
Estimates of the damage are difficult to assess but historians accept that disease and lack of hygiene meant only about one in 20 crusaders actually reached the Holy Land. Some estimates conclude that just short of two million people were killed in total, at a time when the world population was merely 300 million. And for what?
As I stand looking at the tombstone of one long dead English crusader from 800 years ago, what strikes me is the constant human ability to allow hope to triumph over experience. It took eight Crusades and three centuries for the Christian nobility of Western Europe to cease organising invasions based on the idea that only one faith can be a true faith.
What began as a visit to a Greek museum to escape the news headlines from Gaza and Israel turned into something else. I thought of our common human ability to cause trouble for others and ourselves by failing to recognise what we have in common far exceeds that which divides us.
It took the Christian crusaders centuries to understand the old wisdom that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. They got there in the end, I suppose. But I also wondered how long it will take for those unleashing rockets, tanks and bombs right now to recognise that the slabs commemorating the deaths of those in the Rhodes museum also have a message for the 21st century.
Long before the Crusades, the Roman writer Tacitus understood the ultimate futility of war. As for all those Greek flags, my Greek friends and relatives explained to me that they celebrate what is called “Ochi” Day – translated as “No Day”. At the end of October, Greeks all around the world commemorate the prime minister from the 1940s, Ioannis Metaxas, who received an ultimatum from the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Mussolini demanded that Greece accept an invasion by Italian forces and ultimately an Italian fascist government.
The Greeks said “Ochi”. It means “No”. I left the Rhodes museum thinking that there’s a lot we should say “No” to right now. But unfortunately, warfare really is an extension of politics by other means. Conflict means politicians have failed. And museums are evidence that history shows that one of our most common human failings is to ignore the most important lessons of history itself.
Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
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Women%E2%80%99s%20Asia%20Cup
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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
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Day 2, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dinesh Chandimal has inherited a challenging job, after being made Sri Lanka’s Test captain. He responded in perfect fashion, with an easy-natured century against Pakistan. He brought up three figures with a majestic cover drive, which he just stood and admired.
Stat of the day – 33 It took 33 balls for Dilruwan Perera to get off the mark. His time on zero was eventful enough. The Sri Lankan No 7 was given out LBW twice, but managed to have both decisions overturned on review. The TV replays showed both times that he had inside edged the ball onto his pad.
The verdict In the two previous times these two sides have met in Abu Dhabi, the Tests have been drawn. The docile nature of proceedings so far makes that the likely outcome again this time, but both sides will be harbouring thoughts that they can force their way into a winning position.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)
Sunday
Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)
Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
FULL%20RESULTS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
Company%20profile
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THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets