Month: July 2022

Omar Sharif: Lawrence of Arabia

July 10 marks the death anniversary of the late iconic international Egyptian actor Omar Sharif. 

On this occasion Egypt Today looks back at some of the milestones that led to his international debut. 

Sharif’s childhood 

Born in Alexandria as Michel Dimitri Chalhoub on April 10, 1932, he was of Lebanese descent, but was born and bred in Egypt. His parents were of good social standards; his father in the wood business and his mother a notable society hostess who often hosted King Farouk to play cards. 

Growing up, Sharif easily became multilingual as he was brought up by his French speaking mother and attended an English boarding school and Victoria College; he also became fluent in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. 

After graduating from Cairo University with a mathematics and physics degree, he attempted to follow his father’s path of work but quickly receded and went on to London to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. 

Sharif realized his passion for acting at the tender age of 13 when he participated in his English boarding school’s theatre program. 

This horrified his father, since it would stop his son from following in his footsteps and becoming a timber merchant. Later, Sharif’s talent overcame all obstacles and he became a world-renowned actor. 

The immortal cinematic and romantic couple Sharif and Hamama 

In 1954, Sharif starred in “The Desert’s Devil” (Shaytan al-Saharaa), but his break was the same year when he acted in “Struggle in the Valley” (Sira’ Fi al-Waady) alongside his wife, the late great Egyptian actress Faten Hamama. 

The love story of Hamama and Sharif began when they worked together in Youssef Chahine’s “Struggle in the Valley.” 

Despite being born Catholic, he changed his name and converted to Islam to marry her in 1955. A marriage that lasted for 20 years, the famed couple were the symbol of love to all the Egyptian audience. 

They portrayed their love in a number of successful movies that will live on for years after their death; movies that taught us the true meaning of love, such as “Ayamna el Helwa” (Our Beautiful Days), “Nahr El Hob” (River of Love), “ Saydet el Kasr” (The Palace Lady), “Sra’a fe El Mena” (Struggle in the Port), among others. 

El Sherif’s international Stardom 

He achieved international stardom in 1962 by acting in Lawrence of Arabia alongside Peter O’Toole. 


He maintained his status as a foreign heartthrob by leading in films like Dr. Zhivago and Funny Girl, which caused outrage in Egypt due to the romance with his leading co-star, Barbara Streisand, who won an Oscar for her role. 

Funny Girl was based on a play with the same title also starring Streisand. This musical comedy drama is a biographic, based on the life of Fanny Brice, a famous female Jewish comedian of the 1900s who dreams of stardom in New York City’s Broadway. 


Against all odds she rises to the top and falls for Nick Arnstein, played by Sharif, a businessman and compulsive gambler. 

While the 60s were the best and busiest years of Sharif’s acting career, they were the ones which took a toll on his marriage with Hamama, and the couple shocked their fans by getting a divorce in 1974. 

A resonating talent 

His impeccable acting skills speak for themselves, but his mastery of contract bridge also precedes him. He wrote books on bridge, his favorite card game, and even established the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus. 

However, his addiction to gambling eventually caused him money troubles, which led to his acting flops and his downward spiral. 

Living alone and with little money, Sharif spent his later days living in hotels in Paris and London until he made a brief comeback with his role in the 2003 French film “Monsieur Ibrahim.” 

The film received positive reviews, and Sharid even won the audience award for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. 

Sharif was always keen to support and encourage young talents such as the famed Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan, who had a small role in Sharif’s only Egyptian soap opera “Hanan w Hanin” ( Tenderness and Nostalgia). 

Ramadan previously announced in a number of TV interviews that Sharif encouraged him a lot and praised his acting talent, predicting at that time that he will be a superstar in the future. 

“When I first met Omar Sharif, he greeted me as if I was family. He was someone who really loved people; when he found out that we were [both] Egyptian, we bonded instantly. 

The main piece of advice he gave me was to start in Egypt and get that experience under my belt before trying to have a career internationally,” recounted the Egyptian rising international actor Amir El-Masry in an interview with Egypt Today. 

The End 

Sharif moved back to Egypt to spend his final days while struggling with Alzheimer’s disease. Sharif passed away at the age of 83 due to a heart attack on July 10, 2015. Sharif is a cheerful, handsome, talented and iconic artist who will remain forever alive in the hearts of his audience around the world. 

source/content: egypttoday.com

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pix: goodreads.com

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EGYPT

MAKKAH, SAUDI ARABIA: How the Award-Winning Jamarat Bridge at Mina, Provides Relief to Pilgrims During Key Hajj Ritual

The Jamarat Bridge project is a massive structure built to save pilgrims’ lives and facilitate a crucial Hajj ritual.  

Pilgrims gather in this place to throw stones at the devil in a symbolic act as part of their Hajj. Without this act, their pilgrimage is incomplete and considered to be unaccepted.

The concept of stoning the devil began when Prophet Ibrahim intended to sacrifice his son Ismael upon Allah’s order. The devil tried to dissuade the prophet three times from carrying out the order.

On each of the three occasions, the prophet pelted the devil with seven small pebbles to drive him away, after which the devil disappeared. This act has become a symbolic ritual and an integral part of Hajj.

It takes place over two or three days, from the 10th day of Dhul Hijjah until before sunset on the 13th.

The three pillars were previously built of stone and mud with low barriers surrounding them. They were then covered with cement, with the size of the pillars remaining unchanged for years.

However, the increasing number of pilgrims called for a project to help manage the hundreds of thousands of worshippers gathering in one place.

According to Mohammed Idris, former vice dean of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research, the three pillars were surrounded by circular walls until 1975.

“A substantial enlargement of the area took place in 1987, and other expansions followed to upgrade the Jamarat area’s capacity to ease pilgrim movement and avoid accidents. The exit points and entrances to the pillars were amended, and the curved paths to the Jamarat were made straight,” he told Arab News.

The Jamarat Bridge was originally a pedestrian structure built in 1963 to facilitate the stoning ritual. Since then, it has been expanded several times to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims.

A substantial enlargement of the bridge took place in 1974, and other expansions followed to upgrade the bridge’s capacity to ease pilgrim movement and avoid accidents.

Despite this, the structure witnessed several deadly incidents owing to actions of pilgrims who violated instructions, thereby sparking stampedes and deaths.

In 1990, over 1,400 pilgrims were killed by trampling and suffocation in Al-Ma’aisim pedestrian tunnel, which led from Makkah to Mina. Between 1994 and 2006, more than 1,030 pilgrims were killed in stampedes while trying to stone the pillars. Around 470 others were injured.

The worst stoning-related incident in recent memory occurred on Sept. 25, 2015, when more than 700 pilgrims died and another 800 were injured when pilgrims surged toward the intersection of Street 204 and Street 223.

A doctor at an emergency department of a Mina hospital told Arab News at the time that most of the pilgrims died of asphyxiation.

A Saudi interior ministry spokesman had blamed the stampede on “unprecedented high numbers of pilgrims” as compared to previous years, plus the fact that a majority of the victims had descended onto a pathway during a time that they were not allowed to enter it.

Witnesses to the tragedy had confirmed that a large group of Iranian pilgrims passed through Souq Al-Arab Street and refused to return, ignoring Hajj guidelines.

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FASTFACTS

• Stampedes and surges caused thousands of deaths at the Jamarat Bridge before the infrastructure was upgraded.

• The project, to alleviate overcrowding and avoid tragedies, cost $1.12 billion.

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Regardless of the causes of the tragedies, they prompted the Saudi government to devise a solution that could save lives. After the 2015 incident, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman offered condolences and immediately ordered an urgent review of the Hajj plan.

Over four years, Saudi authorities studied and researched the site before the old structure was completely removed and replaced by the existing engineering marvel known as the Jamarat Bridge.

The new project details were approved by top engineering and architectural committees consisting of local experts and highly experienced US, German, and British engineers. The opinion of senior Muslim scholars was taken into consideration for the religious position on the project details.

“In 2005, the circular walls around the pillars were reshaped, making them elliptical to facilitate the movement of the pilgrims,”  Idris told Arab News.

“ In 2007 the old Jamarat project was discarded, and work on the new project began. A year later, one floor as per the project was fully constructed. In 2009, the second floor was made ready to serve pilgrims. By 2010, the entire planned construction was fully complete.”

The bridge, which was constructed over three years by more than 11,000 workers, is 950 meters long and has six floors, including the basement, with a height of 12 meters per floor. Each floor can absorb up to 120,000 pilgrims per hour.

Its foundation was constructed to withstand 12 floors to accommodate 5 million pilgrims by 2030.

On the fifth level, umbrellas cover the site of the three Jamarat to enhance the comfort of pilgrims and protect them from the sun and heat.

The Hajj infrastructure showpiece, which has won several local and global awards, was built at a cost of over SR4.2 billion ($1.12 billion).

It has 12 entrances, 12 exit roads from four directions, two tunnels, 19 ramps, escalators, emergency exits, helipads, six service buildings, and an air-conditioning system with water sprinklers to cool the atmosphere and reduce the area’s temperature to 29 degrees Celsius.

The building also contains three electric stations and a standby generator that automatically supplies electricity in case of any temporary power cut.

Unlike the old circular shape of the walls around the three pillars, the new oval design has contributed to a better pilgrim flow. It has also assisted in increasing the bridge’s capacity for pilgrim numbers.

The new bridge was designed by Dar Al-Handasah and constructed by the Saudi Binladin Group. It features a wider and column-free interior space, longer Jamrah pillars, additional ramps and tunnels for easier access, large canopies to cover each of the three pillars to protect pilgrims from the sun, and ramps adjacent to the pillars to speed up evacuation in the event of an emergency.

No casualties have been reported at the Jamarat sites in six years. However, both Saudi Hajj and health authorities are prepared for any scenario. This year, 17 emergency centers will be present at Jamarat Bridge to assist in any emergencies — from crowd surges and falls to illness — that pilgrims may face on their Hajj journey.

source/contents: arabnews.com (headline edited)

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The walkway leading to the symbolic stoning of the devil, the oval design has contributed to better pilgrim flow and boosted the structure’s capacity for accommodating people. (AFP)

A substantial enlargement of the bridge took place in 1974, and other expansions followed to upgrade the bridge’s capacity to ease pilgrim movement and avoid accidents. (AFP/File Photo)

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SAUDI ARABIA

Amran Farah is likely the First Somali American to make Partner at a high-power Minnesota Law Firm. Now she’s helping to pick the next U.S. Attorney.

Co-founder of the Somali American Bar Association. President of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. Amran has used her professional success to create opportunities for other Somali attorneys—and the people they serve.

Amran Farah has had a busy past year. 

A few weeks after achieving that professional success, she accepted an invitation to help select the next U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal in Minnesota, The U.S. Attorney represents the United States in federal criminal cases. The U.S. Marshal serves as the enforcement arm of the courts and is involved in most law enforcement initiatives. Both posts typically turn over when a new president takes office, and together they exert great influence over what types of law enforcement take priority in Minnesota.

The second week of February, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith announced the members they invited to join the Federal Law Enforcement Selection Committee. Chaired by Ramsey County Attorney John Choi, the seven-member committee reviews applications and recommends candidates to the senators. Klobuchar and Smith will then bring those selections to President Joe Biden for consideration and approval.

Smith praised the selection committee that includes Amran: “These Minnesota community leaders will help run an inclusive and fair selection process to name top federal law enforcement candidates in Minnesota,” Smith said in a statement.

Amran said she hopes to ensure the selection of candidates who will serve all Minnesotans, especially those who come from the same communities as Amran. This new connection to the workings of government marks another step in Amran’s rapid rise in the legal profession. Throughout her still-young career, Amran has used her personal success to create opportunities for other Somali attorneys—and the people they serve. 

‘I come to this work differently’

Amran was born in Somalia and arrived in the United States as a child. She said she has always held a strong presence in her community since she comes from a large family. Amran has 10 siblings and 34 nieces and nephews. Add that crew to her network of in-laws, Amran joked, and the whole family could make up a voting bloc.

That connection to extended family—and community—also inspired Amran’s commitment to create opportunity for immigrants and people of color.

Amran began to take an active role in the Somali community while studying at what is now called the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. There, she helped create the Somali American Bar Association, an organization for Somali American law students and attorneys. She graduated law school in 2013. Amran next served as the president of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. Through this role, Amran got involved in helping protesters over the summer. 

“If I felt like the reason the senators were inviting me is so they can just check off the boxes—oh, we have a Black person, we have a Muslim person, we have a Somali person, we have a woman—if I really truly felt that, then I would not be part of it.”

Making law partner in three years

A large part of Amran’s public standing comes from her rapid professional rise. In 2018, Amran started work at Greene Espel, a boutique firm that represents prominent local companies like 3M, Ecolab, and the Minnesota Vikings. This winter, she became a partner—after just three years at Greene Espel. 

According to Guled Ibrahim, the current president of the Somali American Bar Association, Amran is the first Somali attorney in the state to become a partner at a major law firm.

“The culmination of Amran’s achievements is her recent achievement of becoming partner,” Guled said. “She’s a trailblazer. And now we have an image of what it means to be a partner at a top law firm.”

A legal connector for George Floyd protestors

In April, Amran had a baby boy—during a pandemic. It’s been difficult not spending time with her large family and having to maintain social distancing. Her siblings hadn’t seen Amran’s son until he was about 6 months old. Some of her nieces and nephews didn’t believe her son was real, Amran joked.

Amran’s day starts at about 8:30 when her son wakes up. She begins working and takes breaks for the baby throughout the day. She wraps her work up by 6 p.m. and spends time with her husband and her son. Then, when her son falls asleep in the evening, Amran logs back on for the night. 

Then-Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in May. During the uprising that followed, protesters on the ground struggled to get legal representation after being arrested. Because she was the president of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, she started receiving texts and emails calling for her help. Amran doesn’t practice criminal law, but she helped arrange legal help to protesters by acting as a liaison between her own organization and other local legal rights groups.

Getting everyone into the room

Amran hasn’t just assumed the responsibilities of leadership roles; she’s helped create them.

She served as the president and co-founded the Somali American Bar Association which, at first, brought together Somali law students, attorneys, professors, and judges throughout North America. Eventually, the organization shifted its focus solely to Somali American members: Today, the group includes about 20 attorneys from Minnesota and a growing number of law students.

Guled joined Amran and other law students in creating the organization to unite Somali people in the field, but also to serve as a resource for their own community. From the beginning, Guled said he’s seen the ways Amran uplifts people.

“On the committee, my role is going to be to make sure that the senators and the candidates know that this is an act of service for all Minnesotans,” Amran said. “That includes, Black Minnesotans, Muslim Minnesotans, Somali Minnesotans.”

source/content: sahanjournal.com (edited)

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Recently appointed partner at Greene Espel, Amran Farah will help select the next U.S. Attorney and U.S. Marshal in Minnesota. Credit: Greene Espel

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AMERICAN / SOMALIA

The Restored Holy Family Site Built-in 328 CE the ‘Rock-Hewn Monastery and Church of the Virgin Mary’ in Minya, Egypt to be soon Inaurgrated. It is One of the Locations the Holy Family Visited and Stayed in for 3 days during their Journey in Egypt in the Early First Century CE.

A new stop on Egypt’s Holy Family Trail will soon be inaugurated in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya after development and restoration work.

On top of the Gabal Al-Teir cliffs in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya stands the rock-hewn Monastery and Church of the Virgin Mary, with its distinguished architecture and wonderful view of the Nile Valley giving onto carefully cultivated fields and lush palm groves.

According to tradition, the area is called Gabal Al-Teir, meaning Mountain of the Birds, because of the thousands of birds living and nesting in the cliffs. It is one of the locations the Holy Family visited and stayed in for three days during their journey in Egypt in the early first century CE.

According to historian of Christian monasteries and churches in Egypt Abul-Makarim, while passing by the place in a small boat during the Holy Family’s visit, the Virgin Mary noticed an enormous rock coming loose from the mountain and about to fall on the boat.

But the infant Jesus extended his hand and stopped the rock from falling, and the shape of his palm was imprinted on the rock. In 1168 CE, the then ruler of Jerusalem removed the part of the rock bearing the imprint and took it with him to Syria.

Osama Talaat, head of the Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiquities Sector at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that the Church of the Virgin Mary at Gabal Al-Teir was built in 328 CE by the Byzantine empress Helena (mother of the emperor Constantine) in memory of the passage of the Holy Family in Egypt.

In 1938, Severus, the bishop of Minya, restored the church and removed the original stone roof in order to enlarge it.

The church consists of a nave with three sanctuaries and two side aisles and a western return aisle separated from each other by 10 rock-cut columns. On the south side of the church, the baptismal font is carved out of a column. The area in front of the middle sanctuary serves as a choir.

Hisham Samir, assistant to the minister of tourism and antiquities for archaeological projects, said that work on the restoration project at the monastery and church had begun in 2018 after the approval of the Permanent Committee of Islamic, Coptic, and Jewish Antiquities. The work was carried out in two phases, the first phase covering the western corridor and being completely finished. The second phase includes the southern corridor and is to be completed soon for the official inauguration.

The work has included the restoration of the walls and ceiling of the church, removing cracks, consolidating the walls, repairing the bell in the church tower, and its four arcades and domes. The façades of the church were mechanically cleaned, and the modern mosaic set up in 1987 on the eastern wall of its southern entrance has been replaced with another mosaic showing the journey of the Holy Family.

Fine restoration has been carried out on all the decorations and icons in the church as well as the icon frames. New lighting and fire-security systems have been installed as well as electronic gates. To enhance the visitor experience, new services have been provided, including information signs, new paths, sunshades and seats.

Facilities around the church are also being upgraded and infrastructure installed to assist visitors following the route of the Holy Family’s sojourn in Egypt. The goal of the larger Holy Family Trail includes developing poorer areas and communities in the Delta and Upper Egypt, restoring archaeological sites, and creating suitable services for visitors at sites along the trail.

This is all part of the ministry’s desire to develop spiritual tourism that can appeal throughout the year and not just during special seasons.

THE HOLY FAMILY IN EGYPT: The Holy Family travelled in Egypt for around three years and six months, with their sojourn in the places they visited varying from a few days to a few months.

The Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is associated with archaeological sites from Sinai to the Delta and Assiut in Upper Egypt. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in collaboration with Egypt’s Coptic Church has carried out a number of restoration and development projects at churches and monasteries on the route.

These include the restoration and inauguration of the Abu Serga Church in Old Cairo, the St Abba Noub Church in Sammanud, monks’ cells and other structures at the Wadi Al-Natroun Monasteries, and now the Virgin Mary Church at Gabal Al-Teir.

The late Coptic pope Shenouda III approved itineraries drawn up for Christian pilgrims visiting Egypt to follow the route in 2000. During an audience in St Peter’s in Rome in 2017, Roman Catholic Pope Francis blessed an icon by a Vatican artist representing the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt and effectively gave his blessing to the millions of Christians around the world who may want to follow in the Holy Family’s footsteps.

The Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is associated with many archaeological sites, Osama Talaat noted. They journeyed south from Palestine across the wilderness, avoiding main roads for fear of capture. They entered Egypt at modern-day Rafah, where a lone sycamore tree is said to have survived on the site since their visit.

The Holy Family reached Arish, and from there they followed the old Horus Road along the Mediterranean coast to Zaraniq, where the Byzantines later built three churches. They continued to Al-Mohamediya, and their last station in Sinai was on the northwest coast near the edge of the Delta at the city of Pelusium, now the sprawling ruin of Tel Al-Farama. Here, archaeologists have discovered traces of several Roman churches.

They then travelled south along the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, which has long since dried up. They stayed in the city of Bubastis, now the ruin of Tel Al-Basta near the modern city of Zagazig. They then went on to Mostorod, where the Virgin is said to have bathed Jesus. There is a church in Mostorod named after the Virgin Mary that was built in the 12th century and that has been recently restored.

They then turned north again towards the town of Bilbeis, travelling northwest across the Delta. When they reached Damietta, they embarked on a ferry which took them to Sammanud. The Holy Family then continued north to Borollos. The next stop was Sakha in the western Delta. Here, the Virgin Mary is believed to have held her son against a rock which retained his footprint. A relic in the church dedicated to the Virgin in the area bears this mark.

The Holy Family then moved on to the Western Desert, eventually reaching Wadi Al-Natroun, where monastic settlements were later established. They then headed for what is now Cairo, where they stopped at Ain Shams and Matariya, where they sheltered under a sycamore tree, now known as the Virgin Mary Tree. One story says that when the Virgin Mary sat there, a spring of water gushed out of the ground.

The next stop for the Holy Family was Al-Zeitoun, and then Al-Zweila. Travelling south, they reached Old Cairo and hid in a cave that is now the crypt of the Church of Saint Sergius. In what is now Maadi, they went to the place now named the Virgin’s Church of the Ferry. From there, the Family took a ferry across to Memphis and embarked on a boat that carried them to Upper Egypt.

Their first stop there was on the west bank of the Nile near a village now called Ashnein Al-Nassara at a place called Al-Garnous where a monastery was later built. A church dedicated to the Virgin was built at Deir Al-Garnous in the 19th century, on the west side of which is a well that is believed to have provided the family with water.

The journey continued towards Al-Bahnasa, Samalout, and then Gabal Al-Teir, where a monastery now stands. The Holy Family took shelter in a cave that is now covered by an ancient church. They travelled to Al-Ashmounein, Armant, and Dairout, and then crossed the river again and reached the town of Al-Qusseya.

They travelled east into the desert to Mount Qussqam, perhaps the most important of all their stations, where they stayed for six months and 10 days. This place was later called Al-Muharraq, which means “burnt”, as there was an abundance of grass there which had to be burned so food could be grown in its place.

Mount Qussqam is sometimes called “the second Bethlehem”, and its church is held to be the first ever built in Egypt. The cave in which the family sheltered later became the altar of the Church of the Virgin Mary.

According to Ahmed Al-Nemr, a member of the ministry’s scientific office, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Assiut and told him to return to Palestine because king Herod was dead. The family then went back through Assiut and then probably sailed down the Nile to Memphis, landing at what is now Al-Badrashin near the ancient capital.

Once again, they may have passed through Maadi, Babylon, and Heliopolis before crossing the desert to Palestine and finally reaching their home town of Nazareth. “Not all of these places are archaeological sites, but they all share religious, social, and cultural rituals which derive from the holy journey,” Talaat said.

The places at which the Holy Family stopped that house archaeological sites are the Virgin Mary Tree in Matariya, the Church of St Sergius in Old Cairo, the Monasteries of Wadi Al-Natroun, the Church of the Virgin Mary at Gabal Al-Teir in Minya, and the Al-Muharraq Monastery in Assiut.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 7 July, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

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The rock-hewn Monastery and Church of the Virgin Mary

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EGYPT

UAE Athletes Win 16 Medals at ‘Special Olympics National Games Austria 2022’, Burgenland

Special Olympics UAE Athletes won 16 medals during their participation at the Special Olympics National Games Austria 2022, which was held in Burgenland from June 23-28, 2022.

Special Olympics UAE was invited to participate with six other countries, as part of the Building Bridges between UAE and Austria programme, launched in 2018.

Special Olympics UAE Athletes excelled in powerlifting, DanceSport, and table tennis, bringing back memories of their outstanding success at the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019. 11 Special Olympics UAE Athletes won 16 medals, including eight gold, two silver and six bronze in the National Games Austria 2022.

In powerlifting, Abdul Rahman Al Hosani won four gold medals and Mohammed Al Mazmi won two silvers, while Ibrahim Al Hammadi secured four bronze medals.

Khuloud Al Shehhi and Nadia Al Falasi each secured first place at their respective table tennis categories, and in the doubles competitions (males), Mohammad Al Mas and Qais Al Qubaisi also won first place. In the individual DanceSport competitions, Ahmad Al Jailani came first, and Ghanem Al Maamari came third.

Special Olympics National Games Austria 2022 gathered 1600 Athletes from seven countries: Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Hungary, in addition to Austria and the United Arab Emirates. Further to the sports where Special Olympics UAE Athletes participated, the Games included judo, swimming, tennis, bocce, golf, bowling, and football.

On this occasion, Sheikh Suhail bin Butti Al Maktoum, Executive Director of the Sports Development Sector at the General Sports Authority, said, “We are proud of the achievements of the Special Olympics UAE Athletes and their determination to win and raise their nation’s flag in the regional and international competitions, which reflects the efforts of Special Olympics UAE and its partners from both government and sports sectors, who share the goal of empowering People of Determination and strengthening their sports performances.”

Talal Al Hashemi, National Director of Special Olympics UAE, noted, “We are proud of the continuous achievements of the Special Olympics UAE Athletes internationally, after winning 16 medals in Malta, Special Olympics UAE Athletes went to win another 16 medals in Austria. Special Olympics UAE and Special Olympics Austria have enjoyed a strong relationship since the launch of the Building Bridges Programme between Abu Dhabi and Austria in 2018.

The Building Bridges Between Abu Dhabi and Austria Programme launched in 2018, where a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Abu Dhabi and the Republic of Austria, strengthening the ties between both Special Olympics institutions.

Special Olympics UAE’s delegation comprised 19 members, including 12 athletes, four coaches and a medic from the National Ambulance to ensure Athletes’ health and safety throughout their participations.

source/contents: wam.ae (edited)

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (U.A.E.)

Egypt Wins First Position with 7 Trophies in the ‘2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship’

Egypt has finished in first place at the 2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship held in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.

Since 2008, the Arab Open Robotics Championship has been the largest regional robotics tournament held in the Arab world.

The tournament was organized by the Ministries of Youth and Sports, Communications and Information Technology, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and the Egyptian Federation of Electronic Games.

The tournament included over 650 students ranging in age from four years to the end of the university stage.

The participants represented 136 teams from 12 Arab countries: Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya.

The Arab Robotics Association accredited 100 juries to judge the tournament’s nine robot competitions.

Egypt came first, winning seven trophies. Jordan finished second with two trophies, followed by Iraq, Libya and Qatar in third place.

In addition, the tournament hosted a lively forum for Arab youth on the sidelines.

source/content: arabnews.com

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Egypt placed first in 2022 Arab Open Robotics Championship, winning seven trophies. (Source: Egypt State Information Service)

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EGYPT

Saudi Aramco becomes First-Ever Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Firm in the American Analytics Company ‘Clarivate’s Top 100 Global Innovators List’

Saudi Aramco has been named one of the top 100 global innovators by American analytics company Clarivate. 

In its report titled “Top 100 Global Innovators 2022,” Clarivate revealed that Saudi Aramco is the first-ever company from the Middle East and North Africa region to be placed in the list. 

“The regional diversity continues to increase, with the first-ever Middle Eastern list entry via energy firm Saudi Aramco,” wrote Clarivate in the report. 

Apart from Saudi Aramco, other new entrants to the list are China’s Alibaba, Germany’s Continental, US’ General Motors, South Korea’s Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors, US’s Philip Morris International, and UK’s Rolls-Royce. 

Clarivate added that companies have been included in the list based on factors like influence, success, globalization, and technical distinctiveness. 

source/content: arabnews.com (headline edited0

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Apart from Saudi Aramco, other new entrants to the list are China’s Alibaba, Germany’s Continental, US’ General Motors, South Korea’s Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors, US’s Philip Morris International, and UK’s Rolls-Royce. 

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SAUDI ARABIA

UAE: A Story of Triumph and Tragedy – Adi Bitar, the Man who Wrote the UAE Constitution

Adi Al Bitar – Judge, Legal Advisor, Lawyer. Author of the UAE Constitution.

Adi Bitar was a brilliant Jordanian lawyer chosen to create the first laws.

Their names are rightly celebrated for the part they played in helping the Founding Fathers build the country we know today as the United Arab Emirates.

Figures such as Adnan Pachachi, the adviser to UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who became the first UN ambassador, Dr Abdul Makhlouf, architect of the modern city of Abu Dhabi, and Zaki Nusseibeh, who has had a long and distinguished career as cultural adviser to two Presidents and Minister of State.

But what of Adi Bitar, whose work after more than 50 years, still shapes the daily lives of everyone who lives here?

The author of the Constitution of the UAE, the enormity of his achievement is perhaps concealed by the modesty of his personality, but also the result of a life cut tragically short.

Even for group photographs, “my father would just walk away”, his son Omar Al Bitar says.

“He was a modest man and not the type of person to boast about what he had done. Even when other people took credit for his work, he didn’t mind.”

Yet thanks to Bitar, the seven desert emirates, once ruled largely by tribal convention and cultural traditions, became a modern nation of laws.

In the words that he penned, “Equality, social justice, safety, security and equal opportunities for all citizens shall be the pillars of the society.”

Yet he barely saw the UAE beyond its birth in 1971, dying of cancer just two years later at the age of 48. He is buried beside his 10-year-old son, Issa, struck down by leukaemia only three months earlier.

Early life and escape from Zionist bombing

Bitar was born in Jerusalem, on December 7, 1924. His father, Nasib Al Bitar, was a distinguished judge who had studied at Cairo’s Al Azar University and later served in the First World War as an officer in the Ottoman Empire, of which Palestine was then a region.

By the time of Bitar’s birth, Jerusalem was under the control of the British Mandate, and he was educated first at the multi-denominational Terra Sancta School and then at the Palestinian Institute of Law where he graduated with honours in 1942.

By then tensions were growing between the British authorities, Palestinian Arabs and Jewish settlers, whose number was increasing rapidly as they fled the aftermath of Hitler’s Germany at the end of the Second World War.

By now Bitar was gaining experience as a legal clerk and on the morning of July 22, 1946 found himself at the British administrative headquarters at the King David Hotel, overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City.

At 12.37pm, the Zionist terrorist group, Irgun, detonated a massive bomb in the hotel’s basement. Bitar escaped the blast largely unscathed, but as he went back into the building to rescue the injured, a large part of the south wing collapsed, burying him alive.

Most were convinced he had been killed, but Bitar’s brother insisted otherwise. Eventually Bitar was dug out alive but with serious injuries, including broken bones. He lived only because a table had sheltered him from the worst of the falling rubble.

Two years later the British Mandate was over, and the State of Israel declared. In the war that followed, Jerusalem’s Old City and the entire West Bank came under Jordanian control, and it was as a citizen of Jordan that Bitar gained his reputation as a lawyer.

His quick mind and keen intelligence lead to a senior appointment at the Attorney General’s office, where he worked until 1956. An appointment to Sudan followed, as a district judge, returning to Jerusalem three years later to set up a law practice.

Bitar’s life changed forever in 1964. Working for Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, the British political agent for the Arabian Gulf approached the Jordanians.

They were looking for a legal adviser to the government of Dubai who could develop a framework of laws that would help the emirate’s development to a modern economy, including a civil legal system and courts.

Bitar’s name was put forward and accepted. He moved to Dubai and immediately set to work on laws and regulations that would govern everything from the banking system to the new Dubai International Airport, Port Rashid, the establishment of Jebel Ali, and even the decree that switched driving to the right-hand side of the road.

In 1965 Bitar was appointed Secretary General and legal adviser to the Trucial States Council, a forum at which the Rulers of the seven emirates would meet to discuss areas of mutual interest.

The post allowed other Rulers to know Bitar better, especially Sheikh Zayed, then Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and with Sheikh Rashid the major player in plans to create the Union of Arab Emirates.

The deciding moment came in February 1968, with a meeting between Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid in the desert at Seih Al Sedira, on the border of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

A decision was made to create a new country from the seven emirates, and with it a number of practical decisions, including the pressing need to draft a constitution.

Bitar, a familiar and well-liked figure, was the obvious choice.

He worked long hours to complete the task, from his offices at the Government of Dubai and Trucial States Council, then later in the day from the quiet of his home in Dubai, using the dining room table.

His son, Omar, would act as his father’s driver and assistant during this time, and remembers taking pages to be typed and then copied on a mimeograph machine, the precursor of photocopiers.

The finished document, with 152 articles, and in the words of the Government “establishing the basis of the UAE and the rights of citizens in ten areas” was completed in time for December 2, 1971.

Some elements were intended to be temporary, including Abu Dhabi as the capital, with provision for a new city at Karama on the Dubai border, but this was abandoned and the constitution finally made permanent in May, 1996.

For Bitar, the future seemed to be continuing his distinguish career in the service of the UAE as a senior adviser both to the UAE cabinet and the Prime Minister, at that time Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid. It was not to be.

His youngest son, Issa, was diagnosed with leukaemia, with treatment in Lebanon, the UK and Dubai. It was during this period that Bitar told his family he needed to visit Britain, on a working trip to discuss the printing of UAE passports.

In fact Bitar was also unwell. In London, he arranged to see a consultant and was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. At one point the treatment, at the American Hospital in Beirut and in Dubai, seemed to be achieving some results, but in January 1973, Issa died, his father at his side. He was 10.

Issa’s death seemed to break Bitar. His own health declined rapidly, and in March 1973 he also died, to be buried by his son’s side.

His wife and surviving children remained in the UAE, becoming citizens of the country Bitar had helped to create.

Of his surviving sons, Nasib, who died in 2011, was a documentary writer and senior figure at Dubai Television, where he was director of programming, and creator of Alarabiya Productions, where he created the series The Last Cavalier.

Omar Al Bitar rose to become a major general in the UAE Armed Forces, vice president of the Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, then ambassador to China and vice president of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy.

Of his father, he says: “He was a man of vision, a man of ethics. He would discuss with you any matter. He had a depth of knowledge. He was a man of calibre and integrity.”

source/content: thenationalnews.com (edited)

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Adi Bitar with UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. All photos courtesy of Omar Al Bitar

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JORDANIAN / Jerusalem (MANDATORY PALESTINE)

Yemeni Engineer Hashem Al-Ghaili Unveils Nuclear-Powered Flying Hotel that can Accommodate 5,000 Guests

The structure could remain airborne for years at a time.

Yemeni engineer Hashem Al-Ghaili has unveiled his vision for the future of travel, and it wouldn’t look out of place in a film about the apocalypse.

Al-Ghaili posted a video on YouTube proposing a giant nuclear-powered sky hotel named Sky Cruise, which could accommodate 5,000 passengers. Like an enormous, winged, futuristic-looking cruise liner, it would be fuelled by 20 electric engines, with a small nuclear reactor using “highly controlled fusion reaction to provide the sky hotel with unlimited energy”.

As such, the hotel would never run out of power and could remain suspended in the air for several years, “without ever touching the ground”. Both supplies and passengers would be delivered to the hotel via traditional commercial jets. All maintenance and repairs would also be conducted mid-air.

Suspended high above the clouds, the sky hotel would feature a large “panoramic hall”, offering 360-degree views of the skies. A lift would connect this space to the main entertainment deck, which would be home to shopping malls, sports centres, swimming pools, restaurants, bars, children’s playgrounds, theatres and cinemas. A separate section of the airborne hotel would be dedicated to events and business meetings, as well as wedding halls.

Incorporated into the design are balconies and viewing domes attached to each side of the structure, where guests could indulge in some high-level stargazing. “Its sleek design combines the features of a commercial plane, while offering the epitome of luxury,” Al-Ghaili’s video explains.

Sky Cruise would also eliminate disturbance from turbulence, with its navigation systems featuring a state-of-the-art command deck that uses artificial intelligence to predict turbulence minutes before it happens. The system would respond by creating anti-vibrations.

The hotel would also be home to an advanced medical facility to keep guests “safe, healthy and fit”.

The concept was originally created by Tony Holmsten and then reimagined and animated by Al-Ghaili. But it has been greeted with scepticism by commentators: “If physics and aerodynamics didn’t exist, then this vessel might actually be able to take off,” wrote one YouTube user.“

Hashem Al-Ghaili is a Yemeni molecular biotechnologist,  science communicator, director and producer. He is best known for his infographics and videos about scientific breakthroughs.

source/content: thenationalnews.com (edited)

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YouTube.com

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YEMEN

Award-Winning Egyptian Filmmaker Ali El-Arabi finds his Voice through Film

 Nearly 10 years ago, Egyptian filmmaker Ali El-Arabi, the award-winning documentarian behind “Captains of Zaatari,” which hits Netflix this month, made a promise. He was in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, the largest temporary settlement of displaced Syrians in the world, and a teenaged boy he had just met named Fawzi Qatleesh asked if he could speak his truth to the camera.

“On the first day I arrived, he asked me, ‘Ali, can you film me? I want to say something to the people outside of this camp.’ The second he started to talk, I said to myself, ‘This boy is my hero,’” El-Arabi tells Arab News.

As the film hits Netflix this month in the Middle East, El-Arabi is overjoyed. Finally, after seven years of filming and a years-long global festival tour, his promise is fulfilled.

El-Arabi knew what it felt like to have a message that people needed to hear. He was himself once an athlete, a dedicated and successful martial artist, even winning Egypt’s national kickboxing championship. During the Egyptian revolution, however, El-Arabi abandoned any future he might have in sport, instead turning towards filmmaking.

“I started to feel I had something to say, but I couldn’t say it with my voice,” he says. “I realized filmmaking was the way I could say it. I started making small documentaries about what was happening and screening them in the street. One day, the police came and I took my film and I ran. That made me realize the power of what I could say with a camera.” 

El-Arabi left Egypt, partnering with the ZDF TV channel to film documentaries in war zones including Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan and Afghanistan. War reporting, however, was unfulfilling, as it so often stripped away the humanity of those caught in its horrors.

After meeting Qatleesh and his friend Mahmoud Dagher — the two boys he would ultimately follow from the refugee camp in Jordan all the way to an elite soccer program in the Gulf — El-Arabi filmed them for seven years before whittling their story down to a scant 75 minutes, resulting in a story that showed their incredible journey while also refusing to gloss over the realities of refugee life.

Since its limited release in 2021, the film has already transformed the lives of both young men whose story it follows.

While he may be done telling their story, El-Arabi has been hard at work over the last few years on another — “Ashish’s Journey” — about the upcoming FIFA World Cup. It is inspired by a man who approached him in Qatar as he filmed “Captains of Zaatari.” 

The more time El-Arabi spent with the man, the more his innocent aspirations intrigued him, leading him to not only film Ashish in Qatar, but to follow him and his family back to India, even adding fictional elements (with Ashish playing himself) inspired by the classic French satirical novella “Candide” to the docu-film.

“He’s actually a very good actor,” El-Arabi says.

While El-Arabi knows that he will finish filming later this year at the World Cup, chronicling Ashish’s adventures during the games, he does not plan to rush the film out in the immediate aftermath of the event. 

El-Arabi has other projects in the works as well. He’s currently producing a film about Algeria and discussing producing an upcoming project with his best friend Mohamed Diab, the director of Marvel’s “Moon Knight.” Closest to his heart, though, is the fiction film he has in the works between Los Angeles and Egypt, inspired by both his own history in boxing and his relationship with his father. 

While telling Arab stories will remain a key part of El-Arabi’s career moving forward, ultimately what drives him is not capturing his identity — it’s capturing his soul. 

source/content: arabnews.com (edited)

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(From left) Mahmoud Dagher, Ali El-Arabi and Fawzi Qatleesh with the award for Best Arab Documentary Film at El Gouna Film Festival in 2021. (AFP)

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EGYPT