DUBAI // The lawns surrounding the winding, leafy driveway are a deep green, with streams of water criss-crossing though them.
At the end of the drive is a two-storey villa with a waterfall next to its wooden front door.
"There are water features running throughout the development," says Jessica Watson, senior marketing executive at the developer Al Barari.
This villa, on the market for Dh27million, would be well within reach of anyone taking out Standard Chartered's new mortgage.
"In total, there are more than 14km of filtered lakes, streams and cascades [in the development]," says Ms Watson. "It is a piece of tranquillity away from the hustle and bustle of the city."
Inside the front door, a short hall runs past the kitchen to the left before it reaches an open area that has two sitting rooms. The dining room has a table big enough for a banquet. The ground floor master bedroom ensuite bathroom alone is bigger than most studio apartments. So, too, is that bedroom's private garden, complete with a plunge pool.
Both sitting rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on to the garden and swimming pool. "The windows were designed to be like this. It is a really nice view with all the trees and plants." At the top of the marble and granite stairs is the first of seven bedrooms, each with sofas, coffee tables, a television set and - naturally - an en-suite bathroom.
"We designed each master bedroom with a theme in mind to show what you can do with the rooms," says Ms Watson. "Actually all the rooms are master bedrooms"
The maid's room is tucked away in a corner of the villa. "It actually has the largest private terrace in the villa and the maid's room itself is quite big. They have their own kitchen and general living quarters. Next door, if you want to unwind, there's a massage room."
The guest room has its own entrance, allowing visitors to "come and go without disturbing anybody or going through the main part of the house".
A king-size bed faces the window, with a view over the Nad al Sheba Royal Wildlife reserve.
Below the ground floor are two sky-lit basements. One is an additional bedroom and the second is a playroom, but they could equally be a gym, or even a cinema.
"There are so many options for these," says Ms Watson. "We have just put a bedroom in here to show what you can do with it but some people have already gone ahead and built their own cinema."
Finishing it off is a triple garage designed to be long enough for a Rolls-Royce and high enough to fit a Range Rover.
"A lot of our buyers own their own businesses and are self-made millionaires," says Ms Watson. "We have sold 70 per cent of the villas. They are buying their own piece of tranquillity."
eharnan@thenational.ae
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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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
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
