This book provides a comprehensive introduction to biodemography, an exciting interdisciplinary field that unites the natural science of biology with the social science of human demography.
Biodemography is an essential resource for demographers, epidemiologists, gerontologists, and health professionals as well as ecologists, population biologists, entomologists, and conservation biologists, says a review on the Princeton University Press website. This accessible and innovative book is also ideal for the classroom.
James Carey and Deborah Roach cover everything from baseline demographic concepts to biodemographic applications, and present models and equations in discrete rather than continuous form to enhance mathematical accessibility.
They use a wealth of real-world examples that draw from data sets on both human and nonhuman species and offer an interdisciplinary approach to demography like no other.
What We Are Reading Today: Architecture in Global Socialism by Łukasz StanekWhat We Are Reading Today: Beyond the Steppe Frontier by Sören Urbansky https://ift.tt/2S5rDc9 February 01, 2020 at 01:35AM
DUBAI: Dutch-Moroccan-Egyptian model Imaan Hammam, who has walked for high-end fashion brands, is starring in the latest campaign for British luxury label Alexander McQueen.
The 23-year-old wore an appliquéd and ruffled off-the-shoulder-dress in an Instagram post. Her second look was a suit jacket with a strong silhouette worn over white, lace-trimmed fabric and a wide-legged pant. Hammam’s leather-like dress with gold detail is another strong piece from the new collection. The campaign’s video shows her standing on rocks as waves crash into them.
Hammam started her career at the age of 16, when she was a new face opening for Italian designer Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy spring/summer 2014 show. She has also walked for Versace and appeared on Vogue’s cover three times.
CAIRO: “How old were you when your grandmother died?” asks Egyptian filmmaker Marianne Khoury as we sit down in her Downtown Cairo office.
It’s the first among numerous other questions Khoury asks during our interview. She’s used to being on the other side of the recorder. This particular enquiry was triggered by Khoury’s latest documentary film “Ehkeely” (Let’s Talk) — a brilliant autobiographical meditation on the intricacies of motherhood, daughterhood, life, and death, among other sub-themes. As soon as I enter her office, I tell Khoury how her film has pushed me to reconsider my own family’s feminine history and to want to narrate it somehow. Blurring the line between documentary and fiction — and emerging, therefore, as what Khoury describes as a “family thriller” — the film had its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, where it participated in the Official Competition, followed by a regional premiere at the 41st edition of the Cairo International Film Festival, where it scooped the Youssef Cherif Rizkallah Audience Award.
Khoury’s latest documentary film is “Ehkeely” (Let’s Talk). (Getty)
The film opens with an intimate conversation between Khoury and her daughter Sara, a Cuba-based filmmaker and student. This conversation emerges as a leitmotif throughout the whole film. Raw mobile footage gives way to a wide array of archival photos, video recordings, and extensive interviews done by Khoury with multiple family members over the years. From Cairo to Cuba and beyond, the film meshes these different, rather raw, formats to offer a fresh and novel take on family storytelling.
While the film can be seen as an engaging account of a cosmopolitan Egyptian family that loved and lived for cinema (Khoury’s maternal uncle was the acclaimed filmmaker Youssef Chahine, with whom Khoury worked for years), the film’s real power lies in how it chooses to reveal a lesser-known story — that of the family’s “feminine line,” which may have been overshadowed by the family’s male figures. This “feminine line” begins with Khoury’s grandmother Marika, and moves to Iris (Khoury’s mother), before reaching Khoury herself and finally Sara.
The film opens with an intimate conversation between Khoury and her daughter Sara, a Cuba-based filmmaker and student. (Supplied)
“For years, I was going around in circles not knowing what story I wanted to tell,” says Khoury, whose directing repertoire includes “The Times of Laura,” “Women Who Loved Cinema,” and the award-winning “Zelal.” “I knew I wanted to make a film about my mother. But I couldn’t bring myself to revisit the [family] archive because I was still coming to terms with her passing.
“My mother passed away in 1989 while I was still pregnant with my son,” she adds, pointing to the concurrence of life and death at this particular moment.
“I could not navigate my grief right away because I was busy looking after my kids. Flash-forward years later, I finally began to ask myself what I was doing and where I was (headed).”
Marianne Khoury’s late mother held hands with Egyptian actor Omar Sharif. (supplied)
That Khoury eventually felt ready to make a film about her mother was due in great part to her conversations with Sara, some of which are sampled in the film. These extended conversations, Khoury stresses, constitute a normal aspect of their relationship both on and off camera.
“One particular conversation with Sara became the film’s backbone, after which I knew I had a film and began to map out its sequence,” Khoury explains.
She proceeded to revisit the family archive she had amassed over the years — a hefty task that explains why the film took “ages” to finish.
Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine with his mother, Nona or Marika. (Supplied)
At the heart of this archive were everyday moments: the family at a Christmas dinner, or one-on-one conversations with Chahine, Khoury’s brothers, or aunt.
This constant filming of the “ordinary,” Khoury says, has always been an integral aspect of her life, especially as “a very thin line separates cinema from reality in my life anyway.”
According to Khoury, she chose to trace this feminine line in her family’s archive “because I relate to it.”
Khoury’s maternal uncle was the acclaimed filmmaker Youssef Chahine. (Supplied)
“As I told Youssef Chahine in one of the interviews sampled in the film: I pursued this project because I’m a woman, mother, daughter and sister. And I need to talk about these things; the things I know,” she explains.
But telling the story was far from easy — especially when another member of Khoury’s family, namely Chahine, had taken part in this very same exercise. Chahine had portrayed the women of his family in films including “Iskindiriyya Leh?” (Alexandria, Why?) and “Hadouta Masreya” (An Egyptian Tale).
“It was very difficult to try and get Chahine to talk. He didn’t want to talk (about family members) — and even asked why I bothered with knowing (more about their lives),” says Khoury. “He was convinced he had said everything there was to say about my mother and grandmother in his films.”
Khoury worked with Chahine for years. (Supplied)
But Khoury saw her family’s female members differently and was adamant that she should tell their stories from her point of view. In one instance, she included snippets from Chahine’s films into her own to highlight this tension between “how Chahine portrayed these women and what I tried to say about these very same women in my film.”
At the heart of Khoury’s narration of this feminist history lies her desire to understand her position as both daughter and mother concurrently.
“There was a moment in the film where my aunt informed me that my mother wanted to abort me. I felt a sense of contentment at first, because I could finally trace my constant melancholia back to something,” explains Khoury. “But it wasn’t long before I decided this was an all-too-easy conclusion: to attribute my perpetual feeling of melancholy to the fact that my mother didn’t want me. After all, she took care of me and loved me the way she could love.”
Chahine’s wedding. (Supplied)
Khoury knew she had to dig deeper, and one way she has done that in the film is by humanizing her mother and revealing how the latter grappled with her own life-long melancholia.
At the same time that Khoury was exploring the nuances of her relationship with her late mother, she was also responding to her own daughters’ questioning of their own complex relationship.
“Sara began asking herself (big) questions very early on. There’s always this element of ‘mirroring’ in our relationship. She asks me questions; I think about them and answer her back,” she says. “You could say that this wasn’t just a film. It was more of a healing process for both of us.”
At the heart of Khoury’s narration of this feminist history lies her desire to understand her position as both daughter and mother concurrently. (Supplied)
And therein lies the film’s power: It tells the truth. It gives its characters the space to heal difficult relationships. “Life is all about contradictions,” Khoury says. “And this is what I finally understood after going through the whole process, that all relationships are essentially complex.”
The trick, according to Khoury, is to “find yourself amidst this complexity.”
Perhaps it is this gripping honesty that gives the film its enduring magic. Since its Egypt premiere in mid-January, the film has garnered critical acclaim, with some viewers reportedly returning for multiple viewings. Clearly, the deeply personal subject matter has struck a universal chord.
“I am very happy. I cannot believe the extent to which the film has impacted those who’ve seen it,” Khoury says. “The film confirmed to me that what I like is right. I knew I wanted to make this film the moment I saw a (similar) film about a Lebanese family some 30 years ago. I loved this film the same way people love my film now.”
DUBAI: “Nyctophobia,” a new short psychological thriller from Emirati writer and director Tariq Al-Kazim, will screen in selected cinemas in February.
The film tells the story of Julia (played by Heba Al-Hamwi), a writer who has rented a secluded farmhouse in Al Ain to focus on her work. But it quickly becomes clear that she is not alone in the house — and all the doors are mysteriously locked.
Actor Robert Cristian Trif plays the man who is ‘sharing’ the space with Julia. In a press release, Trif said, “(I play) a disturbing man who tries to win over the woman, and plays with her mind. But ultimately we discover both our characters meet a cruel ending.” He added that it is his first time “playing in a horror film.”
“Nyctophobia” is Al-Kazim’s 14th film, and the director told Arab News that the idea for this one came from personal experience. (Supplied)
Al-Kazim told Arab News that he has been a fan of horror movies since he was a child. “I used to watch movies like “IT” and “Psycho” and I was curious as to why they scared me. Since then I’ve been developing horror films as a way to create the same feelings I had watching those films.”
“Nyctophobia” (an extreme fear of darkness) is Al-Kazim’s 14th film, and the director told Arab News that the idea for this one came from personal experience.
“As a child I was scared of the dark and I wanted people to feel the same,” he said. “I had that feeling ever since I can remember. I used to turn on the lamps in the room before going to bed or had my mother leave the door slightly open with the lights beaming in. I overcame the fear slowly as I grew up, acknowledging that whether there was light or not, it didn’t make a difference.
The movie will screen in selected cinemas in February. (Supplied)
“The first few days were terrifying,” he continued, “but eventually I managed to overcome the fear.”
Al-Hamwi feels the story is “symbolic of … how these fears stand in our way throughout life.”
“When we let those fears overwhelm us, they take over and metaphorically kill us,” she said in the press release.
RIYADH: Saudi gourmands and travelers may already be aware of the international acclaim and popularity enjoyed by COYA restaurant. Its primary location in Mayfair was named London Restaurant of the Year at the London Lifestyle Awards in 2014, just two years after its launch. Since then, COYA has become synonymous with contemporary and fusion Latin American cuisine in premium destinations around the world — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Miami, Monaco — and, now, Riyadh.
COYA made its debut on the Saudi fine-dining scene with a pop-up restaurant that runs until April in Oud Square, Diplomatic Quarters.
The restaurant is housed in a standalone hacienda-style structure with large windows that allow for ample sunshine on a winter afternoon and a lush, outdoor terrace. In the spirit of bringing a touch of Peru to its international destinations, COYA has an Incan-inspired aesthetic. The upholstery comes in rich tones of emerald, azure, and deep yellows with Peruvian textile cushions dotting the chairs. The work of acclaimed Peruvian photographer Martin Chambi — documenting the indigenous people and culture of Latin America — is on display.
COYA has become synonymous with contemporary and fusion Latin American cuisine in premium destinations around the world — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Miami, Monaco — and, now, Riyadh. (Supplied)
Intricate wooden frames, doorways, and arches, along with terracotta pots, lend an ‘earthy’ element. Mother Earth, as a divine feminine being and the provider of all sustenance, is revered in Andean culture. COYA’s brown-and-gold logo, however, depicts the Moon Goddess of the Mayan calendar — the matriarch of the house who looks after her guests and takes care of everything. And that is exactly what you can expect at COYA Riyadh — the hospitality is excellent.
As for the cuisine, the à-la-carte menu uses seasonal and fresh produce. Seafood, chili peppers (more than 300 varieties are used in Peruvian cuisine), and corn make a frequent appearance and are prepared using the Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish cooking styles that have all influenced Peru’s food.
Our first dish — guacamole — is prepared fresh at the table in a stone mortar and pestle. It is smooth and creamy, complementing the corn tortillas and shrimp crackers.
Seafood, chili peppers and corn make a frequent appearance and are prepared using the Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish cooking styles that have all influenced Peru’s food. (Supplied)
Next up is the Papa y Pollo. The three bite-sized chicken tacos may seem like a miniscule portion, but, honestly, that is all you need. Just one bite has all the flavors of creamed chicken, potatoes, Peruvian pepper, and shaved cheese, along with a welcome crunch from fried black quinoa. The Trio de Maiz salad dresses josper corn, crispy corn and jumbo corn in cherry balsamic vinegar, lime, olive oil, and chillies.
Of course, you cannot come to a Peruvian restaurant and not try the ceviche. And the Pargo a la Trufa is sure to be the star of your epicurean experience. Simone Sabbatini Peverieri — host and restaurant manager — gives us a lesson on savoring raw fish. He assembles a morsel of red snapper fillet cured in lime and salt, layers it with what is known as ‘tiger milk’ — a milk-based broth of ponzu sauce, celery, and chives — and tops it off with truffle slices. A simple spoonful is enough to experience the explosion of flavors — the soft, fatty fillet, the sharp tang of the sauce, and the musky crunch of the truffle.
In the spirit of bringing a touch of Peru to its international destinations, COYA has an Incan-inspired aesthetic. (Supplied)
Antichuchos are Peruvian-style grilled meat on skewers and we tried both the tiger prawns with aji panca (Peruvian red pepper) and the chicken with garlic and aji Amarillo (yellow chilli pepper). The succulent prawns had a tomato-based flavor to them, while the chicken had a sweet and sticky tamarind flavor.
From the cazuelas (Spanish for iron pot) menu, we tried the Arroz Nikei — Chilean sea bass marinated with miso and chillies and served on a bed of risotto-style rice, cooked in butter, vegetable stock, and its own starches. Peverieri serves straight from the iron pot, making sure the flavors of the flaky fish and rice come together to create the ultimate comfort dish.
As for the cuisine, the à-la-carte menu uses seasonal and fresh produce. (Supplied)
From the mains, we also tried a generous portion of spicy Wagyu beef fillet made with an aji limo (hot, citrus-flavored pepper) and star anise marinade.
From the dessert menu, we the Chicha Morada was a standout. It uses an infusion of purple maize corn, pineapple, cinnamon, star anise, and apple juice. This concoction is crystalized and served with a sorbet, wild berries, passion fruit, and shortbread. The orange and lime churros that come with a delectable milk chocolate and Dulce de leche sauce are also highly recommended.
COYA Riyadh is a unique blend of culture, art, and cuisine — one that appeals not just to your taste buds, but to all five senses.
Duraibah is a brand born out of Makkah and got its name from one of the ancient doors of the Grand Mosque, which at the time led to the main city market.
As a contemporary Islamic design house, Duraibah opens the door for lifestyle products that enrich the bond between Muslims and Islamic culture.
Its products are designed in a unique, modern arty way and aim to promote holy city icons such as the Kaaba and the word Makkah, written in Arabic calligraphy, around the world.
The brand’s Muslim designers have produced a range of items which include copies of the Qur’an with embroidered covers, prayer mats, and home decorations and accessories such as bracelets, mugs, notebooks, and wall watches.
Established in 2013, Duraibah has three stores located in Makkah, Jabal Omar mall and Abraj Al-Bait mall. It also has an online store (on Instagram @duraibah) which offers a delivery service to all Middle East countries in addition to the US and Japan.
LONDON: Discoveries made by a team of Iraqi archaeologists are to be the focus of a British Museum exhibition this year, along with dozens of artefacts removed from the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The British Museum’s collection of items from Iraq has for decades been understood without context, having been removed from the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but has been given new life following the work of the Iraqi archaeologists.
One of the objects, a small dolerite statue dating to around 2130 BC, was purchased by the museum in the 1930s and depicts a king called Gudea, ruler of the ancient city of Girsu, which is now inhabited by the city of Tello in the south of the country.
The statue shows Gudea in a position of prayer, the museum’s ancient Mesopotamia curator Sebastien Rey told the UK’s Guardian newspaper. He explained that while experts had deduced from sources that Gudea constructed a temple in the city, it had never been found.
Thanks to the work of the local Iraqi trainee archaeological team, led by Rey, who revisited the site decades after it was originally dug, it has now been found.
The team, working on the Iraq emergency heritage scheme started by the museum in 2015, found the location of the 4,000-year-old building as well as a bakery connected to it where bread would have been baked in large quantities as offerings to the gods.
Rey said the discoveries were “absolutely ten-out-of-ten and beyond,” especially given they came at a time when many of Iraq’s important historical and cultural sites had been under severe threat of destruction by Daesh militants.
The law in Iraq forbids archaeological discoveries to be removed from the country, but visitors will be able to see the items and finds in an exhibition called “Ancient Iraq: New Discoveries” through photographs, videos and reconstructions alongside the museum’s current collection.
It will run at the Great North Museum in Newcastle and University of Nottingham Museum from March to December.
DUBAI: The sound of glass and hard metal emanates from a room in Dubai’s Jameel Arts Center. Something is being broken. Step inside the gallery and the noise is revealed to be coming from a video installation by Saudi artist Sarah Abu Abdallah called “Salad Zone,” in which two women in black abayas are repeatedly hitting a large television.
The work, a 20-minute single-channel video projection in color and sound — originally commissioned for “Rhizoma,” a group show that took place during the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 — is both alarming and humorous. Abdallah herself is a protagonist in the film, and like her other multidisciplinary work, “Salad Zone” oscillates between the real, the poetic and the absurd.
Step inside the gallery and the noise is revealed to be coming from a video installation by Saudi artist Sarah Abu Abdallah called “Salad Zone.” (Supplied)
It was inspired by a story a friend told Abdallah about an argument that took place at her home. “My friend was so angry that she took a stick and started smashing the TV,” the artist explains. “I thought it was funny because the TV room seems to be the place where a lot of anger develops. It’s also the place in a home where people gather the most.”
The video is now part of “For the First Time in a Long Time,” the artist’s first solo exhibition at Dubai’s Jameel Arts Center, which brings together works she produced over the last six years using a variety of media, including painting, text, video and installation.
Each work offers an often-satirical meditation on what Abdallah — who has a BA in Fine Art from the University of Sharjah and an MA in Digital Media from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) — describes as “our media-saturated present.” Her work is influenced by the constant flow of online data and images, the pop-culture of the Gulf, and her own personal references.
In “Salad Zone” two women in black abayas are repeatedly hitting a large television. (Supplied)
“The House That Ate Them Whole,” a three-channel installation from 2018, also focuses on the rituals and residues of daily life as a way to open up a wider conversation on social codes that transcend public and private spaces.
“It’s a fictional story of a house that grew stagnant and bored and then ate its inhabitants,” explains Abdallah. “The story is told through witnesses. One person talks about a nightmare he had about an explosion that happened, while other scenes show people talking about the story in an investigative way, so that the story itself becomes almost real.”
The reportage in the video emulates current news channels to such an extent that it blurs the lines between what is fiction and truth; and so begs the question: Does the media show us what is real, or simply figments?
Abdallah herself is a protagonist in the film, and like her other multidisciplinary work, “Salad Zone” oscillates between the real, the poetic and the absurd. (Supplied)
Both “Salad Zone” and “The House That Ate Them Whole” also reflect on how notions of power permeate even the most mundane aspects of everyday life — from the way public roads are accessed and navigated to structural configurations of the private spaces that occupy one’s family home. In Abdallah’s art, these seemingly unimportant things are significant to how we think and feel.
Her work offers a dialogue that transcends public and private spaces and settles somehow in between — in a space where the unspoken social codes that are present in our daily lives can be discussed freely.
“Much of my work is generated through conversations with friends and collaborating with other artists,” she says, nodding to the idea that her art serves as a fictional extension of her real-life explorations.
Two new works, “Bad Hunches” and “Trees Speaking With Each Other” were specially commissioned for the show at Jameel Arts Center. The former is a large-scale undulating painting incorporating images and forms collected by Abdallah. It functions as a visual diary.
Her work offers a dialogue that transcends public and private spaces and settles somehow in between — in a space where the unspoken social codes that are present in our daily lives can be discussed freely. (Supplied)
“It’s a bit of journal that is trying to link different moments in my life,” says Abdallah. “Here is my cat and there is a tomato that you will see in the next room.” And the title? “It refers to the anxiety we feel today,” she says.
The painting is scroll-like in form so that the viewer must spend time walking from one end to the other taking in the various figures, objects, thoughts and dreams that inhabit her mind and now her art.
In “Trees Speaking With Each Other,” a large wooden planter box contains several living, heirloom tomatoes. But not just any tomatoes. The mundane installation serves as a monument to a type of tomato once grown in Saudi Arabia that has now disappeared due to land reforms and urbanization.
“It’s a work that speaks about the inability to recreate what has been lost,” says Abdallah. “I am from the Eastern Province (of Saudi Arabia) and, through urban development, farmlands have become compromised by the extraction of oil. These tomatoes are no longer available. They were grown by generations and generations of farmers. This piece is a gesture of nostalgia.”
In “For the First Time in a Long Time” — which runs until April 20 — the absurd, the powerful and the mundane are mixed with longing for what is no more. Abdallah preserves her memories not only of extinct tomatoes, but also of conversations with friends and her own explorations into the everyday wonders that make up daily life. In the end, her works are visual meanderings of the modern-day culture in the Gulf.
LOS ANGELES: It’s not hard to imagine a world in which “Locke and Key” — the comic book series created by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez that has been now brought to life as a series on Netflix — was the sort of classic book series that lined every child’s shelf. The story goes like this: After the tragic death of a parent, three children move back to their family’s ancestral home. In it, the children find keys that open more than just doors — one opens their minds, allowing them to step back into their memories; one takes them anywhere they want to go; one turns them into ghosts. But there’s something else in the house that wants the keys for itself — and it will stop at nothing until it gets them.
The series was a dark fantasy masterpiece as a comic book, but its journey to the screen has been a long one. One episode was filmed in 2010 and then quickly cancelled, only screened once for a private audience. Another was filmed in 2017, and again given the axe before it could continue. Joe Hill was ready to give up — until Netflix stepped in, allowing him to start the series from scratch once again, with himself as creator.
The series was a dark fantasy masterpiece as a comic book, but its journey to the screen has been a long one. (Supplied)
“(Netflix) said, ‘We’d like a turn.’ They looked at what was best in the comic and said, ‘How can we deliver this from the first scene, from the first episode, straight through?’ And that’s really been their focus. How to deliver those characters in the most satisfying, most electrifying way to the screen. And it does seem like the third time is the charm,” Hill tells Arab News. “They really seem to have connected with the material, and it’s off and running. And the results are luminous.”
Hill — one of the foremost horror writers in the world — is not one to give up easily. Right at the start of his career, he chose to use the name Joe Hill, because he didn’t want the world to know his true identity: Joseph Hillström King, son of the legendary Stephen King. Hill wanted to get his work published on its own merit.
One episode was filmed in 2010 and then quickly cancelled, only screened once for a private audience. (Supplied)
“I was able to keep it a secret — who my parents were — for about 10 years, and get some short stories published, and I broke into Marvel. But almost as soon as I had books to sell, the pen name came apart. Once I started to do public appearances, people figured it out pretty quickly, mostly because of my face,” Hill tells Arab News.
“Locke and Key,” like all of Hill’s work, bears the unmistakable influence of the two people who brought him into this world.
“I always hate when people ask, ‘Who are your biggest literary influences?’ Because there’s almost nothing to say except ‘My mom and my dad.’ I grew up with two writers and I read their stories and I’m an enormous fan of Stephen King’s books and Tabitha King’s books. I read those books again and again, and they can’t help but inform the way that I write and what I write about,” says Hill.
While the comic books had a definite ending, Hill was careful to build the show into something that could continue on past a single season. (Supplied)
The series, starring Emilia Jones, Connor Jessup, Jackson Robert Scott and Darby Stanchfield as the Locke family, does not follow its source material to the letter, something that Hill was adamant about from the beginning.
“There’s no point in doing something that’s lavishly faithful,” he says. “Who needs that? We’ve already got the comic book! I’d rather do something that feels emotionally authentic and true to the source material but still has some inner life of its own and takes some unique risks.”
The series stars Emilia Jones, Connor Jessup, Jackson Robert Scott and Darby Stanchfield as the Locke family. (Supplied)
While the comic books had a definite ending, Hill was careful to build the show into something that could continue on past a single season. First, of course, viewers have to fall in love with it, just as readers did.
“I hope when they get to the end of the last episode of the first season, they feel a clawing emptiness because they know they’ll have to wait six to nine months to get the next season,” Hill says. “Hopefully the show will give people something to thrill to, and then, when it’s over, something to look forward to.”
DUBAI: The UAE exhibition “Coins of Islam: History Revealed” opened this week at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC).
Inaugurated Thursday by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
The gallery boasts one of the world’s most significant collections of Arab and Islamic coin collections ever assembled. It underlines the rich history and cultural legacy across centuries.
The exhibition, running until April 28, has more than 300 coins.
The exhibition has over has over 300 coins. (Supplied)
Al-Owais said the exhibition presented an opportunity to recall the UAE’s founding father’s aspiration to create a spectacular masterpiece that serves as a platform to promote tolerance and coexistence. “Sheikh Zayed laid down the foundations of the UAE’s moderate approach, making it a meeting point of cultures from all across the globe.”
In a statement Abdurrahman bin Mohammed Al-Owais, chairman of the board of trustees of SZGMC, said “Islamic history and culture inspired this exhibition.”
“Since its establishment, the center has become a leading cultural destination, serving as a beacon of intellect and reason through its various activities,” he added.
“By displaying historical artifacts, like these extraordinary coins, SZGMC aims to underline the rich history and cultural legacy of successive Islamic eras across centuries.”
“Nayel Nassar, you are one of a kind,” Gates, who is a medical student and an equestrian athlete, wrote to her 203 thousand Instagram followers. “Absolutely swept me off my feet this past weekend, surprising me in the most meaningful location over one of our many shared passions.”
I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives learning, growing, laughing and loving together. Yes a million times over,” she added.
Nassar, who grew up in Kuwait, was not able to hide his excitement either. “SHE SAID YES!!” he wrote. “I’m feeling like the luckiest (and happiest) man in the world right about now. Jenn, you are everything I could have possibly imagined... and so much more.”
Coffee Beans Festival returns to Saudi Arabia’s Jazan for its seventh editionStars look to Lebanese designers on music’s biggest night https://ift.tt/2U8sY4v January 30, 2020 at 10:07AM
