ABU DHABI // Visitors strolling along the Corniche last night were greeted by a massive sand likeness of Sheikh Khalifa, the President of the UAE, along with the message "Kulluna Khalifa" ("We are all Khalifa").
Next to him were sand horses, camels and castles, all entries to the first Emirates International Sand Sculpture Festival.
At the entrance of the venue was a traditional Emirati dhow, moulded by Ahmad Haylooz, the Palestinian artist who organised the competition on behalf of the Emirates Heritage Club. He has been crafting sand sculptures related to Emirati heritage for more than 30 years.
Also on show were works by two Emirati sculptors, including a shark and horse by Shadi al Matroushi, a 30-year-old civil servant. "He said it reminded him of his childhood in Egypt when he used to make sand figures," said Haylooz.
A heart-shaped sand dune bore the letters UAE; next to it stood a traditional Emirati coffee pot made by Mohammad Abdullah, a 55-year-old Emirati who lives in Sharjah.
A fort scene, complete with camels and a well, was crafted by Fouad, a 30-year-old from Lebanon. He added a touch of salt to the fort to give it an "antique" look.
Sultan Saad, a 26-year-old Syrian art teacher from Sharjah, had built an enormous sand castle too - this one based on Al Ain's Al Jahili Fort. The sculptures usually took two to three days to complete.
Thirty-year-old Syrian Ali Mouaala had sculpted a quote from Sheikh Zayed, the Founder of the UAE: "If you give me a plant, I will guarantee you a good future." Next to it, a group of sand people prepared to plant a sand palm tree.
Paul and Remy, from the UK and Holland respectively, completed their mould of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque last night. They were wise to leave their entry to the last minute - some sculptors who had worked further ahead of time have had to conduct running repairs as their masterworks were eroded by the past week's blustery winds. With chemical congealments banned, they were forced to water them at least twice a day.
The sand has all been brought specially from the desert outside Al Ain, with eight lorries carting 300 tonnes of it for the festival. "It's cleaner and softer," explained Haylooz.
Sahar E, an Egyptian art teacher who works for the Abu Dhabi Education Council, said the artists had done "an excellent job".
"It's good that they're concentrating on the UAE's heritage because it will draw children towards it," she said, adding that she hoped to bring her pupils to the festival today.
South African craftsman Andrew John's sand calligraphy read "To the UAE with love" in Afrikaans, English and Arabic. The 43-year-old's second model represented Bu Tinah island, with eagles, flamingos, crabs, fish, palms and jellyfish all made out of sand.
Meena T, a 27-year-old teacher at Abu Dhabi's Khadija Al Kubra primary school for girls, was among yesterday's visitors.
"I think it's important for people to see what the UAE is about, especially the kids," she said.
Children were also encouraged to take part, with 50 participating in sand sculpture workshops every evening.
Adults with special needs joined in, too.
A group from the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs made a camel standing alongside an Emirati fighter, with the help of Nassima Abu al Hassan, a 35-year-old professional sculptor from Lebanon.
cmalek@thenational.ae
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
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Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Opening fixtures:
Friday, Oct 5
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers
Saturday, Oct 6
4pm: Nangarhar Leopards v Kandahar Knights
8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Balkh Legends
Tickets
Tickets can be bought online at https://www.q-tickets.com/apl/eventlist and at the ticket office at the stadium.
TV info
The tournament will be broadcast live in the UAE on OSN Sports.
SQUADS
India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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