Our weekly series of visual essays
In the waters near Yas Island, surrounded by mangroves, is a small empty island where Ibrahim Ali Sams spends his days in a hut barely large enough to sit up in.
Peering through small holes cut in the canvas, he carefully watches for falcons to swoop down on his pigeon bait.
His traps are sophisticated yet simple: once a bird pounces on the bait, a net hidden in the sand springs to life, trapping both predator and prey.
When Ibrahim catches a bird he gives it away to friends, for this is just a hobby.
He starts at sunrise and does not head home until sunset. Aside from the mangroves in the surrounding waters, there is nothing but sand and sun.
His hobby is a time for reflection as much as it is to catch falcons.
This season, which he says is not over yet, he has caught two falcons.
Experience Ibrahim Ali Sams's lonely labour of love here.
gclarke@thenational.ae
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
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.
