Favourite haunt: the royal palace with a ghostly past lifting spirits in Ras Al Khaimah


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  • Arabic

Abu Yasir was first invited to Al Qasimi Palace in Ras Al Khaimah 20 years ago. But when he saw the towering white palace on the hill, fear overcame him.

He knew the stories of its jinn, the supernatural spirits said to roam its halls. He knew people had heard children’s voices, seen faces in dark windows. He had heard of its abandonment after furniture was inexplicably tossed around inside, like toys.

“I didn’t want to enter,” said Abu Yasir, a Syrian resident of 40 years who did not want to give his full name. “I didn’t want to see anything strange.”

He kept driving.

Today, Abu Yasir sells tickets at the palace gates and the manor is Ras Al Khaimah’s busiest tourist attraction. The mysterious palace opened its doors a few weeks ago for the first time in more than 30 years.

Abu Yasir works in a room with white and blue Moroccan tiles, lit by a French chandelier.

A year ago, the prospect would have sent shivers up his spine.

Today, he sees the palace differently.

That is the point, says the palace’s new owner.

Tareq Al Sharhan wants people to see the four-storey palace as it was originally intended: a spectacular piece of art.

The palace was the dream house of Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Humaid Al Qasimi, a member of the Ras Al Khaimah ruling family who commissioned its construction in 1975.

He had artists decorate its vast hallways in Moroccan tile, adorn bedrooms walls with bucolic paintings of frolicking ghazals, birds and dusky maidens.

They sculpted plaster pigeons and owls into the walls. The manor was a testament to Middle Eastern art and took 15 years to complete.

“Imagine it 40 years ago,” Mr Al Sharhan said. “The original idea was to build a special palace in a special place and the sheikh liked art. In the 1980s, this was something very special.”

Mr Al Sharhan grew up in the neighbourhood and remembers the house “when it was black”. Rumours of it being haunted began before construction was even complete.

“Before it was finished. Yanni, how can it be haunted if it’s not even finished?”

He has little interest in the supernatural.

“I don’t scare and I don’t care. I am a businessman and I like the arts,” Mr Al Sharhan said.

“Everybody knew this place was for ghosts. I thought I could change its story to something better, something cultural, something for tourists.”

Boasting strange and unconventional architecture, the palace was abandoned for decades due to its haunted history. Chris Whiteoak / The National
Boasting strange and unconventional architecture, the palace was abandoned for decades due to its haunted history. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Its paranormal reputation has long attracted thrill seekers from across the country and even inspired an Arabic novel by journalist Rym Tina Ghazal.

Holy men came too, promising to expel unwelcome spirits with incantations. They scratched out the eyes of humans and animals from paintings and beheaded plaster birds, in the belief that the depiction of human-like forms was un-Islamic and would attract jinn.

Mr Al Sharhan bought the property last year, after years of negotiation.

Restoration took six months. Today, it has the air of a polished estate, no speck of dust and no trace of jinn.

The 40 French and Belgian crystal chandeliers dusted and polished, the Moroccan wall tiles repainted and re-stuck, the paintings restored, the heads re-sculpted on plaster birds.

“It was all broken and with no heads, so I brought somebody to build new heads,” Mr Al Sharhan said.

It was all broken and with no heads, so I brought somebody to build new heads

Mr Al Sharhan, a painter in his youth and a collector of antiques, feels it was a worthy investment. He will not divulge what he spent on the palace. “It’s not cheap. But I think it’s a good price for a palace like this. Just sometimes, you have to do crazy things," he said.

Mr Al Sharhan said he would convert the original servants quarters into escape rooms and open cafes and art exhibitions in some of the palace's 38 rooms. He will also, perhaps, build chalets outside.

Consensus on the palace has changed overnight, with the building transforming from spooked manor to a kitsch 1970s architectural wonder.

To some visitors, this is a disappointment.

The palace is open temporarily for feedback. “People already started to think of it in a different way," Mr Al Sharhan said.

"After I started restoration, one guy came to me and said, ‘I can clean the place of jinn’. I told him, ‘I bought this palace because there’ are jinn inside and you want to remove them?'”

Repairmen saw nothing unusual during restoration.

Well, almost nothing.

“There was one man, from India, eating inside on the first floor bathroom when he heard a big sound,” said Mr Abdulrazak Abdulrashid, 47, a member of the maintenance team. “He was frightened and he asked to return to India afterwards.”

The restored interior is almost at odds with the unconventional outer facade. Chris Whiteoak / The National
The restored interior is almost at odds with the unconventional outer facade. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Abu Yasir listened to his tale, unconvinced. “I think he wanted a bigger salary. He left not for fear but because he wanted a bigger salary.”

Mr Abdulrashid nodded. “I think he wanted drama," he said.

They are agreed jinn may have been here once. Jinn are known to hate development. They inhabit abandoned places.

So what happens when a jinn loses its home? Ras Al Khaimah was once a jinn hotspot but favourite haunts have grown crowded and disappeared entirely.

The abandoned the pearling village of Jazirat Al Hamra, a dense settlement of crumbling coral stone and sandbrick houses, is undergoing archaeological excavation. Ras Al Khaimah's mangroves are steadily shrinking. The desert has been flattened for government housing and far flung wadis are crisscrossed by motorways.

Even the elders from the palace neighbourhood disappear in the late afternoon and travel across town to sit in cafes in a quiet creekside area.

I am sure nobody is there, only history... until the evening comes. Then, maybe

“Maybe the jinn have gone to Burj Al Arab,” joked Hamed Sultan, 65, a neighbour of the palace and a creekside cafe regular.

“People talk a lot about the palace but there’s no truth in it,” said Mohammed Ismail, 62, another neighbour at the cafe. “There’s no certainty in truth. In my opinion, there was nothing there.”

Were jinn in the abandoned palace? The consensus in the cafe was that there probably were. Did they remain after visits by exorcists and Quranic recitations? No chance.

Abu Yasir is equally sceptical, although he is careful never to utter the word "jinn". “If you think about ghosts in your head, anything you see will be ghosts,” he said. “Maybe your own breath seems to be a ghost.”

He can now stay inside the palace for hours without fear.

“I am sure nobody is there, only history,” Abu Yasir said. “Until the evening comes. Then, maybe.”

Tickets are available at the gate, daily from 9am-7pm; Dh75 per person; Al Qasimi Palace, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Road, Ras Al Khaimah

The Bio

Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959

Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.

He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses

Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas

His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s

Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business

He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery 

Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LEADERBOARD
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House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

Honeymoonish
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

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Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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The distance learning plan

Spring break will be from March 8 - 19

Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm

Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19

Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning

Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5

Company%20Profile
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

WWE World Heavyweight Championship AJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

Singles match John Cena v Triple H

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba

 

Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh650,000

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

 

 

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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 
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57%20Seconds
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Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

'O'
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BOSH!'s pantry essentials

Nutritional yeast

This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.

Seeds

"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."

Umami flavours

"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".

Onions and garlic

"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."

Your grain of choice

Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."