Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh is spearheading the transformation of a historic house in Bukhara into the Jadids’ Legacy Museum, a site dedicated to the reformist intellectual movement in Central Asia.
Drawing its name from the Arabic and Persian word for "new", the Jadids were active in the late 19th and 20th centuries, holding principles that resonate well into the contemporary era.
The movement arose in the context of Russian imperial rule, advocating modernisation through education, while preserving Islamic and cultural identity. It promoted literacy, social reform and rationalism, incorporating arithmetic, geography, natural sciences and literary studies within religious curricula. In many ways, the Jadids lay the foundation for modern education systems across Central Asia.
The Jadids’ Legacy Museum will showcase the contributions and enduring impact of the movement, displaying manuscripts, artefacts and portraits.
An initiative by Uzbekistan’s Art and Culture Development Foundation, the project is scheduled to open in 2027 and comes as part of a wider effort to preserve and re-examine the country’s national heritage, while also putting it in an international spotlight.
The museum will be housed in a historic structure that was once the home of Usmon Khodjaev, the first president of the Bukhara People’s Republic and a seminal figure of the Jadid movement. Khodjaev played an active role in establishing several Jadid schools in the early 20th century. Upon his return to Uzbekistan from Turkey in 1913, he helped form the Young Bukharans, a group of like-minded intellectuals who sought to transform the historic city in Uzbekistan.
His house in Bukhara, situated near Lyabi-Hauz – a 17th-century square and gathering space – features several key elements from Uzbekistan’s architectural heritage. These include intricate woodworks and finely-painted ornamentation, as well as niches that emerge with geometric sequences, known as muqarna. Ghotmeh intends to preserve many of these elements within the museum, in an architectural approach that balances conservation with renewal.
“I’m really fascinated by craft,” she tells The National. “This house is really a jewel for craft.”
The house was subject to several alterations, which obscured its original character. Ghotmeh intends to remove many of these additions for the museum, making larger spaces for its facilities, including a library and exhibition areas.
“I’m keeping the shell of the place and keeping the essence of what has been the valued history of this place,” she says. “So basically, a lot of the rooms, we can see that they added bathrooms, and then there are the partitions, all those are elements that could be removed.”
Like with many traditional houses, the structure is built around a courtyard, which has been subdivided by a raised platform. In her redesign, Ghotmeh intends to restore the courtyard’s openness, turning it into a more inviting communal area.
The idea, she says, is to “create more porosity, more openness to this courtyard and allow it to become more of an interactive space".
The Jadids’ Legacy Museum is a natural continuation of Ghotmeh’s oeuvre. Her practice, which she has previously described as "archeology of the future", is informed by meticulous research into history and cultural memory.
As with her past works, which include Beirut’s Stone Garden and the Serpentine Pavilion in London, Ghotmeh carefully considered the context of the museum, what it intends to be as well as the historical structure it is housed in.
“Before starting anything, I was just digging into the archives,” she says. “I wanted to understand the topology of this house, looking at the history of the Jadids and connect all the elements together. I wanted to see how to exhibit the collection in a contemporary manner. This is so much about my also work like this, archeologist, bringing the past into the future and making it very much relevant in the present today.”
Conversing with local experts is a central aspect of Ghotmeh’s process. The architect toured Uzbekistan, meeting with several scholars and historians familiar with the Jadid movement. She also aims to work with local artisans in the restoration of the house. These include Abdulvahid Bukhoriy, the Bukharian ceramic artist, whose Blue Room is currently on display as part of the Bukhara Biennial.
“Working with locals is important. I think my role here is just a vessel to put this back on an international map,” Ghotmeh says, adding that there is a lot to glean from the Jadids movement, which holds special relevance today.
“It was a reformist movement, an awakening,” she says. “It was deeply respectful of religion, of Islam, yet also bringing in the importance of education, the importance of literature, of arts. It was an integral part of understanding the Islamic religion and, of course, the emancipation of women at that time and their role as central to making a society.
“It’s super contemporary when you look at it,” she adds. “It is essential to our societies today, and to understand that religion is not about enclosement. It’s about seeking knowledge and being able to live in a coherent society of diversity and gender.”
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Valladolid v Osasuna (Kick-off midnight UAE)
Saturday Valencia v Athletic Bilbao (5pm), Getafe v Sevilla (7.15pm), Huesca v Alaves (9.30pm), Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Real Sociedad v Eibar (5pm), Real Betis v Villarreal (7.15pm), Elche v Granada (9.30pm), Barcelona v Levante (midnight)
Monday Celta Vigo v Cadiz (midnight)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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