The tenant says his neighbours pay up to Dh15,000 less for the same apartment. Delores Johnson / The National
The tenant says his neighbours pay up to Dh15,000 less for the same apartment. Delores Johnson / The National
The tenant says his neighbours pay up to Dh15,000 less for the same apartment. Delores Johnson / The National
The tenant says his neighbours pay up to Dh15,000 less for the same apartment. Delores Johnson / The National

Nostalgia makes us long for the past even as we enjoy the present


  • English
  • Arabic

My mother tells me that she often sees me with a kind of double vision: she sees me now and also as the child I was a (very) long time ago. I wince sometimes, knowing that she’s seeing the version of me with a shag haircut and flared trousers but this past week, I saw some ghosts of my own and realised this double vision might be impossible to avoid.

During the school spring holidays, we had some visitors from New York: boys who have been friends with my son since they were about five and playing in a weekend soccer league. Those were the days when all the kids would run for the ball and argue about who got to kick it first (frequently in the wrong direction), or duck for cover if the ball ever came towards them in goal. I spent hours on the sidelines watching those little boys race around, their jerseys flapping around their knees, their enthusiasm far greater than their skill.

While they were here, they played football (as we’ve learned to call it) with some students from New York University Abu Dhabi and I once again stood on the sidelines watching. Their enthusiasm for football hasn’t dampened and their skills are prodigious; the joy with which they moved left me breathless.  And yet, even as they hurled their 17-year old bodies across the pitch, I could see the ghosts of their bobble-headed five-year-old selves trailing behind them.

As part of their visit, we hit some of the major tourist attractions and as we drove around, I started to see Abu Dhabi with the same double vision with which I saw the boys. When I saw the city through their eyes, I saw the city as it is: gleaming, growing, pulsing with development – and, at the same time, I saw the city I first got to know when I moved here seven years ago.

The first time I went to the Falcon Hospital, for example, we were in a group of perhaps 10 other people. This time, there were almost 70 of us squeezed into the room where the falcons, tidy in their hoods, waited on their stands. The unhooded birds perched on the gauntlets of the hospital staff gazed at us with unblinking disdain while I tried to avoid the sharp elbows of the people standing on either side of me. From the Falcon Hospital we went to Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where we fell into line with hundreds of other tourists snapping photos from the vantage point of the roped-off walkways. I remember standing in the centre of the courtyard the first time I came to the mosque, the marble cool under my feet as I looked up at the gleam of the domes against the blue sky.

We ended our trip with lunch at Louvre Abu Dhabi, which was barely a pit in the ground when we first moved here. The boys spent hours roaming the galleries and were amazed at the way the dome appeared to float, untethered, over it all. Anyone who saw these teenagers in the museum would have seen only a gaggle of young men; they wouldn't have seen the childhood ghosts, just as most of them probably didn't know about the museum's years of construction or the semi-permanent installation of cranes that marked the slow rise of the magical dome.

As my children move towards adulthood at a rate both glacial and supersonic, I look at them and wonder where their round cheeks and dimpled fists have gone. I miss having them curl up in my lap or cuddle at night with a story, the solidity of their little bodies wrapped in a towel after their bath.

In the same way, even as I felt a jolt of local pride when our visitors admired the city and marvelled myself at how quickly things have changed, I miss the smaller, slower, more intimate city that I knew seven years ago.

Is it human nature, do you suppose, that makes us nostalgic for the past even as we appreciate the present?

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League, last-16 second leg
Paris Saint-Germain (1) v Borussia Dortmund (2)
Kick-off: Midnight, Thursday, March 12
Stadium: Parc des Princes
Live: On beIN Sports HD

Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 571bhp

Torque: 650Nm

Price: Dh431,800

Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor

Transmission: 2-speed auto

Power: 455bhp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: from Dh431,800

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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Q&A with Dash Berlin

Welcome back. What was it like to return to RAK and to play for fans out here again?
It’s an amazing feeling to be back in the passionate UAE again. Seeing the fans having a great time that is what it’s all about.

You're currently touring the globe as part of your Legends of the Feels Tour. How important is it to you to include the Middle East in the schedule?
The tour is doing really well and is extensive and intensive at the same time travelling all over the globe. My Middle Eastern fans are very dear to me, it’s good to be back.

You mix tracks that people know and love, but you also have a visually impressive set too (graphics etc). Is that the secret recipe to Dash Berlin's live gigs?
People enjoying the combination of the music and visuals are the key factor in the success of the Legends Of The Feel tour 2018.

Have you had some time to explore Ras al Khaimah too? If so, what have you been up to?
Coming fresh out of Las Vegas where I continue my 7th annual year DJ residency at Marquee, I decided it was a perfect moment to catch some sun rays and enjoy the warm hospitality of Bab Al Bahr.

 

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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

MATCH INFO

Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:

Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2

Second leg:

Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm

In The Heights

Directed by: Jon M. Chu

Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda

Rating: ****

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year

Company profile

Name: GiftBag.ae

Based: Dubai

Founded: 2011

Number of employees: 4

Sector: E-commerce

Funding: Self-funded to date

The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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WITHIN%20SAND
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Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')

Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')

Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)