Nearly five decades have passed but Brigadier General Ishaq Suleiman still has the letter that brought him to Abu Dhabi to create the first police band in the Emirates.
In 1963, he was a sergeant in Jordan's army orchestra when a chance meeting with the niece of a British officer turned into a life-changing encounter.
Ishaq Suleiman was in Britain on tour with King Hussein when he met the young woman. Her uncle worked for Sheikh Shakhbut, the then ruler of Abu Dhabi, who wanted to start a police band.
"Sheikh Shakhbut once saw the Omani band playing and liked their outfit," Brig Gen Suleiman recalled. "They wore a red chequered kaffiyeh on their heads, similar to the Jordanian army's outfit.
"So he asked a British officer who worked for him to bring someone from the Jordanian army to start a police band in Abu Dhabi."
The girl told her uncle about the sergeant she had met.
"He sent me a letter about the job and then sent me a two-way ticket to Abu Dhabi to meet Sheikh Shakhbut," he said.
He accepted the offer and began to recruit members for his 60-strong band, although none were Emiratis.
"There was no Emirati that would agree to play music - they considered it shameful," he said. "The police at the time were mostly Baluchis from Pakistan and other countries."
He ordered 30 bagpipes and 30 brass instruments from Britain but one big problem presented itself - none of his musicians could play a note or read music.
However, within six months the Abu Dhabi police band was ready.
"Sheikh Shakhbut was in a hurry, so in the beginning we only taught them to play the military march," he said. "Every evening at 5.30pm, Sheikh Shakhbut would sit outside his Hosn Palace [now the Cultural Foundation] and we would go out and play for him.
"He would look at us happily as we marched around the Hosn area and all of Abu Dhabi's residents followed us. There was no other form of entertainment at the time.
"As time went by, I started teaching them famous symphonies by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart."
The band played a role in the development of the UAE by performing during the talks that preceded the unification of the Emirates.
"When the rulers of the other emirates came to meet Sheikh Zayed to discuss the unification, we would go out to Maqta Bridge and play for each ruler the anthem of his emirate when he arrived. Those who did not have an anthem, we played the Abu Dhabi one for them," Brig Gen Suleiman recalled.
The band also played at the coronation of the Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said al Said, after he overthrew his father, Sa'id ibn Taimur.
"He asked for a music band from Abu Dhabi, so we went," he said as he took out a clipping of an article that was published in UAE News, a defunct English-language newspaper.
After the UAE was formed, the rulers wanted to start a band for the Armed Forces. "They sent me the members to train them at the Abu Dhabi Police College. I taught them from zero, they did not have any music background either."
Brig Gen Suleiman, who left the band in the 1980s and retired in 1991, also designed the ranking insignia still worn by the police today.
"I chose the falcon to go with the stars, because the UAE people love falcons, so it was also representing their culture," he said.
hdajani@thenational.ae
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE