RAS AL KHAIMAH // After a long day's work, as most people rush home to their families, Ahmed Mohammed Ali likes to take a detour to the back of his house.
There, his best friends greet him with a lot of cooing and flapping.
"There is just something so peaceful and beautiful about a pigeon," Mr Ali said.
He owns more than 200 pigeons of all sizes, colours and breeds.
At the age of 25, he has put the idea of getting married on hold so he can spend more time with his collection. "These pigeons are my family and I don't want to neglect them," he said.
A pigeon fancier since he was 10, Mr Ali said his hobby had a practical aspect: "The falcon is for the rich, and the pigeon is for the common man."
Sometimes, in his rush to visit the pigeons, Mr Ali does not bother changing out of the dark green uniform he wears as a member of the Ras al Khaimah Fire Department - and it can get messy.
"They have only one problem, they poop too much," he said, laughing as he cleared away another stain. "It is good luck."
Taking care of pigeons is nothing new. The domestication of the birds dates to 3000 BC and the fifth Egyptian dynasty. The sultan of Baghdad established a pigeon post system in AD 1146, and Genghis Khan used a similar method for relaying messages.
Pigeons remained popular messengers in Europe and the US well into the 20th century. While they do not carry messages any more, they are still very popular in the UAE and elsewhere.
Mr Ali is one of several pigeon fanciers living within several blocks of each other in the village of Shamal. Some are members of his family and are equally hooked on birds.
His 19-year-old cousin Essa Abduallah has several homing pigeons, a brown-and-white fantail (a popular breed with a fan-shaped tail made of more than 40 feathers), and a tumbler pigeon - so named because it tumbles as it flies.
Mr Ali and Mr Abduallah have a soft spot for the palm or laughing dove and its unique call, more of a musical, bubbly sound, different from regular cooing.
"Beautiful! They are just so gentle and beautiful, unlike a falcon that is aggressive and a killer," said Mr Abduallah, who also loves rabbits and dislikes falcons for their appetite for his furry friends.
There are pigeon fanciers outside the big cities, and often they are found on roofs in the villages or in the ezba (farm) of city dwellers. Friends from the city like to hang out with Mr Ali and his feathered friends at the weekend and on special holidays such as Eid.
They come to watch as he trains his prized racing Pakistani pigeons, with sharp black eyes and grey and white colouring. They compete in races throughout the year.
"They are fun and also good business. Some of the pigeons cost as little as Dh25 and as much as Dh40,000 (US$10,900), depending on how rare their colour and formation of their feathers," Mr Ali said.
Last February a man made headlines when he was caught with two pigeons stuffed in his trousers after he got off a flight from Dubai to Melbourne.
It was the kind of report that pigeon fanciers like to repeat, for it serves as "proof" of the seriousness of their industry.
"It can mean big business, either because of their beauty or because of their racing skills," Mr Ali said.
There is a secretive Dubai Racing Pigeon Club with hundreds of members across the UAE. Members are not authorised to speak to the media and the club leader did not respond to requests for an interview. The club communicates by word of mouth to inform members of the dates of upcoming races.
There are different types of races. In some, pigeons are transported a few kilometres from their homes and the first one back is the winner. In others, pigeons are released from their home loft to see how long they can stay in the air; the last pigeon home is declared the winner.
Pigeons have an uncanny instinct for finding their way home. It is believed they can sense the Earth's magnetic fields to get their bearings. Their keepers also use special training methods.
"There are many techniques, such as using a female pigeon or special whistles to attract and call the pigeons home," Mr Ali said.
The symbolic importance of a pigeon to the Emirati culture was captured in a locally produced short film starring a female bird.
"She didn't need any rehearsing. The emotions she expressed were instinctive and captured on the camera," said Ali Jamal, a filmmaker who won the jury award at the Middle East International Film Festival for The Crossing.
The film follows the reactions of a pigeon as she realises she has lost one of her babies after it was snared in a plastic bag. "The eyes of the pigeon can tell a tale. They tell us what the pigeon is thinking and feeling," Mr Jamal said.
"The pigeon is found everywhere, and is part of our life, and I wanted to capture the impact of something so trivial as a floating plastic bag on the life of something representative of our regular life and that which we may have taken for granted."
Mr Jamal never raised a pigeon he borrowed the leading lady from a pigeon fancier but he acquired an appreciation for the calming effect they have on people.
"The pigeon, like the cat, is the friend of the common man. You can find them everywhere, even on top of construction sites, giving comfort to a working man," he said.
No one could agree more than Mr Ali. As he petted his "bu balloon" pigeon, one of his favourites, a shiny black and grey bird, he blew into the bird's chest as an expression of endearment.
"They sense a good person from a bad person, and they understand where their home is and come back," he said.
There is a hole in the cage, and his pigeons are free to get out and fly about. Almost on cue, they come back home as the sun sets.
"They have their families and their food here, so they always come back," he said. "And maybe, they also like me and so always come back home to be with me."
rghazal@thenational.ae
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Pathaan
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
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.”
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
