Talking about his latest movie, Dunkirk, which opens on Thursday , film director Christopher Nolan described the skill of storytelling as the ability to look for "gaps in the record" and of being able to identify, in an absence, something meaningful and positive.
In Nolan’s case, those gaps provide the ideas for his films, but when it comes to Abu Dhabi, cityscape absences often represent something negative, disappearances from the city’s historic urban fabric and from its memory.
The capital is riddled with such spaces, seemingly empty plots that appear and disappear between the high-rises, providing Abu Dhabi with a peculiarly moth-eaten quality that can only be appreciated up-close and by those with a mind to remember.
Now overlooked by a multi-storey car park, the long, sunken plot on the Corniche near the ADMA-OPCO headquarters is just such a place, which has stood empty since 2014.
For 50 years this was the site of the rambling Gray-Mackenzie building, the Abu Dhabi headquarters of one of the Arabian Gulf's oldest trading companies, established in 1883 and still operating throughout the city.
An ambassadorial-looking compound that was once surrounded by traditional arise, or palm frond homes, the building enjoyed uninterrupted views out to sea, an ideal location for an entrepôt in the days before the construction of Mina Zayed, when cargo was often transported directly to the shoreline.
Further inland, there are several plots on Airport Road, Salam, Al Falah and Hazza bin Zayed Streets that were once architecturally connected because they all housed two-storey buildings that were constructed to the same essential design.
Modestly decorated with arches and patterned tiling, these buildings supported typing offices, tailors, garages and groceries on their ground floor and were topped with modest homes on the first.
The Airport Road example was the last survivor of its type. Home to The Diamond, a pristine one-woman typing operation, a dilapidated women's tailoring business and Ahmed Awad's Agricultural Supplies, a purveyor of irrigation pipe and seeds, the building was earmarked for demolition back in 201,5 but hung on until just a few weeks ago when it was finally demolished.
Built to a scale that spoke of a very different life, in a very different city at a time when Abu Dhabi’s oil wealth was yet to produce the buildings and living patterns that define it today, such buildings raise issues about conservation, heritage and the memories and histories we cherish and those we decide to forget.
The former Bait Al Sayegh is a case in point. Tucked behind the Fotouh Al Khair Centre - Marks & Spencer - in the heart of downtown Abu Dhabi, the rambling compound, complete with its own wing of apartments and shops, once stood in stark contrast with the steel and glass towers that surrounded it.
But what had once been a substantial and clearly important family compound complete with palm trees, inner courtyards, apartments and majlises, had become an overlooked and overcrowded slum in the very heart of the city by the time The National reported on it in 2012.
Research among local residents and shopkeepers, most of whom are transitory, revealed nothing about the compound’s history and the best guess among local historians, long-term expats and merchants who had their businesses in the neighbourhood was that the building had once been used as an embassy.
That was the line that ran, incorrectly, in The National in article about the city's uneven patterns of remembering and forgetting but less than a year later memory, so often an unreliable guide to the capital's history, came to the rescue when Munira Al Sayegh produced a short photographic project based on the property.
Now a curator and the programme officer at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Al Sayegh was working as an assistant producer with New York University Abu Dhabi's Forming Intersections and Dialogues (Find) programme at the time and the project can still be found on their website.
Rather than a diplomatic compound, the house had belonged to her grandfather and when she returned to it after a seven year absence, Al Sayegh found the experience both inspiring and challenging and, like Nolan, she used that absence as the basis for something positive.
“I walked through the halls and doors that occupied my memories. Suddenly, sounds and smells, familiar faces and distant memories all came back to life. Things I forgot, people who are no longer here, all came back to me instantly,” she wrote at the time.
When the British urbanist Ian Sinclair wrote a book about the many ways in which London’s past was being steadily eroded, a reviewer described the work as the summation of “the lost worlds of a white man's city, filtered through rose-tinted nostalgia”.
Al Sayegh’s experience, and the enthusiasm of the many visitors who took part in the recent "My Old House" tours that were organised in Al Ain, show that a concern with built heritage is not only a matter of historical importance, but that it has a resonance that crosses generations and communities.
Buildings such as the Gray Mackenzie compound may now exist only in photographs and memories, but if the capital’s older buildings have to be lost, perhaps they can be recorded, like the Bayt Al Sayegh, before they are incorrectly identified or forgotten completely.
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Madjani Stakes Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 2,200m
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,400m
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
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The years Ramadan fell in May
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
If you go:
The flights: Etihad, Emirates, British Airways and Virgin all fly from the UAE to London from Dh2,700 return, including taxes
The tours: The Tour for Muggles usually runs several times a day, lasts about two-and-a-half hours and costs £14 (Dh67)
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is on now at the Palace Theatre. Tickets need booking significantly in advance
Entrance to the Harry Potter exhibition at the House of MinaLima is free
The hotel: The grand, 1909-built Strand Palace Hotel is in a handy location near the Theatre District and several of the key Harry Potter filming and inspiration sites. The family rooms are spacious, with sofa beds that can accommodate children, and wooden shutters that keep out the light at night. Rooms cost from £170 (Dh808).
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
More coverage from the Future Forum
About RuPay
A homegrown card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India and backed by the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank
RuPay process payments between banks and merchants for purchases made with credit or debit cards
It has grown rapidly in India and competes with global payment network firms like MasterCard and Visa.
In India, it can be used at ATMs, for online payments and variations of the card can be used to pay for bus, metro charges, road toll payments
The name blends two words rupee and payment
Some advantages of the network include lower processing fees and transaction costs
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Read more from Johann Chacko
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Samaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5