The secret of the green hat was well acknowledged by our group by the end of yesterday's Haj rituals.
Since Day 1, everyone had wondered why I was wearing a green straw hat to Haj.
"I'll wear it there in case I get lost, they can find me easily," I told my mother as I was packing.
It turned out to have a much bigger role.
As we continued our most critical Haj rituals two days ago, and drowned endlessly in the flood of pilgrims wherever we passed, one thing distinguished our group - my green hat.
Many became lost during the jamarat, so the tallest man leading the group waved the hat up high as we walked and the lost ones managed to find us.
I was so worried we would lose our main source of guidance when it fell off my head as my leg slipped between the train and the platform at the Arafat metro station.
I was pushed by the stampede into the train and my leg just slipped. Luckily a passenger grabbed me quickly inside and my hat was found soon after.
The hat also protected me as I performed jamarat on the last morning. A stone hit the back of my head and I hardly felt it under my headgear.
Jamarat is when pilgrims throw seven stones at the three spots where Satan tried in vain to talk the Prophet Ibrahim out of slaughtering his son Ismail, and where he tried to turn Ismail against his father, and where he tried to turn Lady Hajar against Ibrahim.
It is a pillar of Haj where many pilgrims have died in the past and I was terrified.
But it turned out to be the most fun of all. When you enter the jamarat area the scene fills you with fear and excitement.
You see so many arms moving back and forth as quick as the wind. The sound of the stones hitting the wall and pillars echoes in the air.
"How big are their stones to cause that pound?" I asked my friend.
The stones are supposed to be round in shape and the size of a hommos bean so they do not hurt anyone.
I wanted to make sure that my stones reached the area where we were supposed to throw them, so I took a spot in the first line.
That can be the riskiest spot, because stones were sure to be thrown my way.
But with the green hat, everything seemed possible.
I lowered my hat and body as if I was escaping bullets until I reached my spot, then I jumped up and down to throw one stone after the other, until I finished seven for each.
When I was done, I sneaked out again with head and shoulders low, struggling to find my friend Samira, a 24-year-old nurse from the UAE delegation, who was cracking up at my performance.
The person next to me was very serious as he kept chanting "Allahu Akbar" with each stone.
Another woman threw her stones very quickly in silence and rushed out.
It is sometimes the smallest objects that add flavour to what we do in life and turn a basic action into a joyful one.
hdajani@thenational.ae
PRISCILLA
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke