A glance at a map of the UAE shows a hotchpotch of emirate frontiers that may bemuse an outsider. But few know more about their ins and outs than Julian Walker, the British boundaries expert who mapped many of them.
The task of delineating the borders took on a new urgency in the run-up to the British withdrawal from the Trucial States at the end of 1971, and Mr Walker was an obvious choice to get the job done as the clock ticked down towards independence.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) "wanted old hands in the Gulf because it was an awkward time and we would at least know the people and understand some of their problems", Mr Walker, now 82, recalls.
The diplomat had first come to the Trucial States in 1953, largely by accident. He hadn't wanted to study Arabic but "didn't feel in a very strong position to refuse" following his FCO exams. After learning the language in Lebanon he thought he was to be posted to Bahrain, but the day before he left it was decided he would instead be sent to Sharjah.
"It was a tiny little town with a few palm trees and in fact we had a political agency for the Trucial States there, in a broken-down coral building with no electricity, no proper transport," he said.
The British had decided that delineating the borders was a priority - without boundaries the oil companies could not operate as no one would know whose territory they were on. Mr Walker's superior, the Political Agent, began with the frontier between Umm Al Qaiwain and Ras Al Khaimah.
"After about eight hours in the desert he gave up, went back to the agency, decided he was too busy to do frontier work and decided that I should start to do frontier settlement work," Mr Walker recounts.
"There were no maps, that was a problem for a start. First I had to explore and draw maps. It was hot, very difficult in the desert. I would get Bedouin guides from one side, and Bedouin guides from another side. I'd have to do the mapping, decide where the frontier should lie and then go and discuss it with the rulers, and if necessary go back again and again."
Just 13 Britons - other than those with the Trucial Oman Scouts and Royal Air Force - lived in what was to become the UAE at the time. Mr Walker recalls his first visit to Abu Dhabi - then a town of no more than 3,000 people ruled by Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
"Then it was about a seven-hour drive from Dubai and you had sabkha [a salt flat] before you got to the islands so you might get bogged down. I delivered about 100 rifles to Sheikh Shakhbut.
"He couldn't afford to put us up so we slept under the lorry between Al Hosn and the town and then I went in to call on him in the morning."
After his initial 18-month posting, Mr Walker was called back each winter for the next three years to deal with the Omani-Emirates frontiers and later the Dubai-Sharjah frontier.
When he was called back in January 1971, as Political Agent in Dubai in the lead-up to the union of the UAE, there were still internal and external border disputes with which to be dealt.
"I realised we were in for trouble. The states talking about union but not getting there. And we had disputes of course with Iran because of the three islands, and the Shah wanted compensation because he'd given up his claim to Bahrain and wasn't really prepared to compromise, at least not to start with.
"There were still frontier problems. Ajman and Sharjah were still asking me to make sure where the border was."
Though the three islands - Greater and Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa - remain a problem even now, 40 years later, the other internal border disputes were resolved by the summer of 1971. The Ministry of Interior continued to consult Mr Walker over border issues up until 2004.
"In a way I was involved with all the UAE borders. The only one that I wasn't fully involved in was Dubai-Abu Dhabi, there was no time so I tried to get somebody else to deal with that because I was dealing with Abu Dhabi-Oman, Sharjah-Oman, Ajman-Oman, Dubai-Oman, Dubai-Sharjah et cetera."
"The frontier between Dubai and Ajman in Wadi Hatta is virtually the only frontier over which there was no dispute - simply because they'd fought each other earlier and they'd built a wall."
newsdesk@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
Wonka
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A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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if you go
The flights
Emirates have direct flights from Dubai to Glasgow from Dh3,115. Alternatively, if you want to see a bit of Edinburgh first, then you can fly there direct with Etihad from Abu Dhabi.
The hotel
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Located in the heart of Mackintosh's Glasgow, the Dakota Deluxe is perhaps the most refined hotel anywhere in the city. Doubles from Dh850
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Events and tours
There are various Mackintosh specific events throughout 2018 – for more details and to see a map of his surviving designs see glasgowmackintosh.com
For walking tours focussing on the Glasgow Style, see the website of the Glasgow School of Art.
More information
For ideas on planning a trip to Scotland, visit www.visitscotland.com
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Tips%20for%20holiday%20homeowners
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099