FUJAIRAH // Contestants will be leaping around with blades in their hands and kicking up dust this week in the run-up to Fujairah's first annual sword competition.
Swordsmen will gather over the coming weeks to show off their mastery of the traditional sword dances of the mountain tribes before the contest begins next month.
The competition, an initiative of Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, the Crown Prince of Fujairah, offers the top swordsman Dh100,000, a gold sword and a luxury vehicle. The total purse is Dh200,000.
During the contest, combatants will face off in mock battle with narrow swords trembling over their shoulders.
Organisers are consulting elders and young swordsmen across the mountain regions to lay out judging criteria for the competition. "When they shake it, the sword must dance," said Salem al Zahmi, the director of the Crown Prince's office. "His Highness took to this idea because he found that the tradition started gradually to disappear. It is an old tradition, but not everybody knows it.
"Not everybody can shake the sword."
Style points are likely to be a major part of the judging as ability to show prowess in this area will be more highly valued than fighting tactics, said Mosabbah al Mesmari, a member of the event's organising committee.
"There is a way to carry the sword and we are not looking for people to fight as much as to show their capabilities in mastering the sport," he said. "It can be a dangerous sport so the aim is not to defeat the other party."
The programme begins with training and demonstrations at cultural centres in Dibba Fujairah and Masafi. Demonstrations will be held across Fujairah for the coming three Fridays, after which the best challengers will be chosen.
The competition will then progress through four elimination rounds in November before the finals on December 10 at a site below the Fujairah fort. Emiratis and Omanis over the age of 15 can enter the competition, which is already generating excitement among enthusiasts of the tradition.
Mohammed Saeed, 30, from the town of Sha'am, said: "I love the sword. Yes, I love it. When I was a small boy I watched my father, by his side. I learnt without anyone telling me how."
He insisted the mastery of making a blade quiver has not gone out of fashion. "This dance will not stop because it is a tradition."
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
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What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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