Abdel Nader exclusive: Egypt's NBA trailblazer determined to shine for Phoenix Suns


Reem Abulleil
  • English
  • Arabic

When an eight-year-old Abdel Nader and his family moved from Alexandria, Egypt to Chicago to pursue better opportunities, his mother did not necessarily have ‘professional basketball player’ in mind as a dream career for her son.

“If you had an Egyptian mom, you know how they are. She’s like, ‘I want you to go to school and become a doctor or an engineer, I didn’t come to America for no reason’,” Nader said with a chuckle, reflecting on his early days in the United States, long before he became just the second Egyptian to play in the NBA.

“I had to tell her. Because my high school coach was saying, ‘Why didn’t you come to practice today?’ and I’m like, ‘My mom, she won’t let me leave the house, she wants me to do homework and stuff’.

“So my high school coach had to drive to my house and talk to her during my sophomore year at high school and told her, ‘Your kid has a chance’. She kind of bought in after that and she’s totally supportive of me.”

Nader was speaking to The National from Dallas, just a few hours after he helped the Phoenix Suns claim the first of two wins over the Mavericks last week.

The 27-year-old small forward was part of the Chris Paul trade from Oklahoma City Thunder last November and missed the first few games of the season in concussion protocol.

Since his first regular-season appearance for the Suns against the Wizards in mid-January, Nader is averaging 8.5 points per game and is seeing increasing playing time in a loaded roster.

He enjoyed a season-high 16-5-3 game in a win against the Golden State Warriors before the trip to Dallas and has earned props from his teammates for making an immediate positive impact.

“I told Doolie after the game, ‘Way to be ready’,” All-star Devin Booker said of Nader following a win at Houston last month.

“It’s hard to predict things like that, haven’t had real NBA time and you come in ready to go. He has all the pieces to be a really good player and he shows his good sides, he can defend, and he can create on offence.”

Rebuilding his confidence

This is Nader’s fourth season in the NBA, having had stints with the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma prior to his arrival in Phoenix.

After starring for Iowa State as a transfer from Northern Illinois University, the Celtics picked up Nader in the 2016 NBA draft before sending him to the G League, where he was named Rookie of the Year with the Maine Red Claws.

When asked to reflect on the toughest point of his career so far, Nader goes back to his time in Boston.

“I would say that for me, being a high-calibre player my whole life and being thrown into a loaded Boston Celtics roster and barely playing at all my rookie year was extremely difficult on my mental and my confidence,” he said.

“I really had to get humbled and build myself all the way back up from the skill point to a mental point because that was a very hard thing to get over.

“Being able to get the opportunity that following season and really build my confidence back and understand, like, ‘Hey, I am an NBA player, I am good enough to be here’, and start playing well, that really showed me that there really is no lows and highs. If you just stay even keel through it all, it’s just going to be fine. It’ll all work out.”

That experience surely helped him bide his time this season in Phoenix; his current approach to the game highlighted by a positive and healthy perspective.

“The biggest thing I learned is to never really take anything so seriously, because it’s a long season, it’s a long career,” Nader said. “The biggest thing I learned is trust yourself, and don’t get discouraged ever, because there’s literally no point to it, it’s only going to hurt you and it’ll never help.”

Long journey

One constant in Nader’s life has been his ability to adapt. He has moved countries, switched universities and gone through several trades, and has always found a way to adjust to his new surroundings.

It’s a trait he acquired when he was a young child touching down in America for the first time.

“I think it was 2001 or 2002, and there was a huge winter storm once we landed, and I had never seen snow before. That freaked me out. I was like, ‘No I’m not getting off the plane, take me back’. That was the first shocker,” he said.

“If you grow up in Alexandria, you have no choice but to be tough. The hardest thing for me was to learn social norms they had in the US. Things I used to do in Egypt that were just unacceptable to do here.”

Nader remembers how he used to climb everything he could possibly climb when he was in Egypt – behaviour he soon realised was considered trespassing in the US. His first day at school was an eye-opener as well.

“I used to go to an English school in Egypt and I would have this little bow-tie and a whole suit for school uniform. And my first day in Chicago public school, my mom dressed me like that and sent me to school. Everybody was looking at me like, ‘Woah, this kid is so weird, what’s going on?’” he said.

Lucky for him, his English wasn’t good enough to realise the other kids were mocking him. Overall, Nader believes his background and mix of cultures he experienced growing up has given him valuable perspective.

“I think it really did help me just because it made me grateful," he said. "A lot of things we didn’t have in Egypt were expected in the United States. I was like, ‘This is awesome ... we got hot water all the time’. It gave me a different light on the world, and it gives you like two different views, whereas most people only get the one.”

Turning point

Nader's NBA dream started the first time he picked up a basketball. His coaches at school believed in his potential but when he went to Northern Illinois University, being so close to home proved to be a distraction. He eventually transferred to Iowa State in his junior year.

“I was young at the time, I probably shouldn’t have quit halfway through the season, but I was frustrated. So I just announced I was going to transfer,” he said.

Nader had to navigate some difficult times at his new university as he lost his best friend John King, who died with a heart condition, and got a DUI that led to a three-game suspension.

“That was one of the biggest turning points in my life,” he said in an interview on Cycle’s Youtube channel.

From then on, Nader put all his energy into basketball. He hit the gym, lost weight, and enjoyed a great senior year on the court before getting drafted by the Celtics.

Nearly five years on, Nader continues to concentrate on his own development and already feels he’s made progress since he joined the Suns.

“My emphasis this summer was to become a high-level defender and I think that’s one of the things I could feel that I’m doing much better," he said. "Just being able to guard from 1 through 4, and keeping the ball in front of me."

Abdel’s inspiration

Nader considers Kobe Bryant – his “all-time GOAT” – to be one of his biggest inspirations growing up, and like any Egyptian, Nader grew up being a football fan and is unsurprisingly a Mohamed Salah supporter.

“I’m a big Mo Salah fan and I’m a big Cristiano Ronaldo fan," Nader said. "Cristiano has been, in my eyes, the best player, for so long now. I think Mo Salah is taking the torch, and the fact that he’s Egyptian on top of it, just makes me want to support him more."

Despite spending the past two decades in the United States, Nader still feels a strong connection to Egypt, and gets lots of support from his compatriots on social media. He is just the second Egyptian, after Alaa Abdelnaby, to play in the NBA, and is hoping to see more follow in his footsteps.

Nader mentors two young Egyptian players, Mohab Yasser and Yara Osama, who met him in Chicago at a Basketball without Borders camp. Yasser, 18, is at Senegal’s NBA Academy and is in constant contact with Nader.

"He stood by me so much and never leaves me wanting for anything. He calls me all the time, we talk almost every day. He really helped me so much," Yasser told The National.

The Egyptian teen, who has four offers from Division I schools in the US, says Nader gives him advice on how to improve his game, tells him what it’s like to play basketball in America, and even spoke to the coaches of the universities interested in Yasser to know more about their plans for the talented youngster.

“It’s inspiring to see Abdel in the NBA. When I see an Egyptian playing in the NBA, I think to myself, ‘If he made it, so can I’,” Yasser said.

“He is a pride for all of Egypt. We could easily think that there’s no way we can play in the NBA, but there is an actual Egyptian playing in the NBA at the moment, so it’s obviously not impossible.”

Egyptian pride

Nader is keen to represent his country and don the Egyptian national team jersey in the future but is not committing to a time just yet.

“I don’t want to say that I’m going to play right now because I know the Olympics are coming up this summer, and I want to, and I’m planning on it," Nader said. "But also, I’m entering free agency, so there’s a lot of stuff I need to consider at the same time."

For now, Nader is looking to enjoy the ride with the Suns, who are trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.

A self-described “out-of-the-box thinker", Nader isn’t burdening himself by setting any outrageous goals, or chasing certain dreams before his time in the NBA eventually runs out.

“I try not to set those kind of expectations,” he said. “This is the way I live my life, I’m kind of like a free spirit, I don’t think there’s anything I necessarily need to do. I think the best way for me personally is just go out, try my best and enjoy myself and from there everything will fall into place.”

England 12-man squad for second Test

v West Indies which starts Thursday: Rory Burns, Joe Denly, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root (captain), Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes, Sam Curran, Stuart Broad, Jimmy Anderson, Jack Leach

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo

Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic

Power: 169bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh54,500

On sale: now

Overall standings

1. Christopher Froome (GBR/Sky) 68hr 18min 36sec,

2. Fabio Aru (ITA/AST) at 0:18.

3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 0:23.

4. Rigoberto Uran (COL/CAN) 0:29.

5. Mikel Landa (ESP/SKY) 1:17.

How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now

Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.

The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.

1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):

a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33

b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.

2. For those who have worked more than five years

c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.

Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.

23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees

Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.

2.0

Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

2017%20RESULTS%3A%20FRENCH%20VOTERS%20IN%20UK
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20round%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEmmanuel%20Macron%3A%2051.1%25%3Cbr%3EFrancois%20Fillon%3A%2024.2%25%3Cbr%3EJean-Luc%20Melenchon%3A%2011.8%25%3Cbr%3EBenoit%20Hamon%3A%207.0%25%3Cbr%3EMarine%20Le%20Pen%3A%202.9%25%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESecond%20round%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EEmmanuel%20Macron%3A%2095.1%25%3Cbr%3EMarine%20Le%20Pen%3A%204.9%25%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE%20STRANGERS'%20CASE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Brandt%20Andersen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Sy%2C%20Jason%20Beghe%2C%20Angeliki%20Papoulia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe. 

"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.

Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.

"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

RACECARD

4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m

UAE'S%20YOUNG%20GUNS
%3Cp%3E1%20Esha%20Oza%2C%20age%2026%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E2%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20age%2020%2C%2066%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E3%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20age%2021%2C%2065%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E4%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20age%2021%2C%2079%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E5%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20age%2023%2C%2016%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E6%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20age%2018%2C%2034%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E7%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20age%2017%2C%2053%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E8%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh%2C%20age%2017%2C%2068%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E9%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20age%2017%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E10%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20age%2018%2C%2033%20matches%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E11%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20age%2018%2C%2046%20matches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Day 2 at Mount Maunganui

England 353

Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88

New Zealand 144-4

Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

Florence and the Machine – High as Hope
Three stars

MATCH INFO

Delhi Daredevils 174-4 (20 ovs)
Mumbai Indians 163 (19.3 ovs)

Delhi won the match by 11 runs

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The biog

Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico​

INDIA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3ERohit%20Sharma%20(capt)%2C%20Shubman%20Gill%2C%20Cheteshwar%20Pujara%2C%20Virat%20Kohli%2C%20Ajinkya%20Rahane%2C%20KL%20Rahul%2C%20KS%20Bharat%20(wk)%2C%20Ravichandran%20Ashwin%2C%20Ravindra%20Jadeja%2C%20Axar%20Patel%2C%20Shardul%20Thakur%2C%20Mohammed%20Shami%2C%20Mohammed%20Siraj%2C%20Umesh%20Yadav%2C%20Jaydev%20Unadkat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

Fast%20X
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Fight card

Preliminaries:

Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

Main card:

Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)

Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)

Zidane's managerial achievements

La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017

'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster

Bio

Age: 25

Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah

Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering

Favourite colour: White

Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai

Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.

First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

The biog

Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
 

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.”

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."

The Two Popes

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce 

Four out of five stars

Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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Abu Dhabi GP schedule

Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm

Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm

Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

Date started: May 2021 

Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded 

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if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.

500 People from Gaza enter France

115 Special programme for artists

25   Evacuation of injured and sick

At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17

At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253

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