Arabs & Arabian Records Aggregator. Chronicler. Milestones of the 25 Countries of the Arabic Speaking World (official / co-official). AGCC. MENA. Global. Ist's to Top 10's. Records. Read & Enjoy./ www.arabianrecords.org
Category: Inventions, Innovations (wef. Feb 01sy, 2022
A team from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and Al-Hasa-based Palms and Dates Center has been awarded the 2022 International Date Palm Innovative Technology Excellence Prize.
Presented by the National Center for Palm and Dates, the award was made in recognition of the team’s fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensor, which is used in the early detection of red palm weevils in date palm trees.
Tackling infestations of red palm weevils has been a long-standing problem across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe and other parts of the world.
The winning team comprised Dr. Islam Ashry, Dr. Chun Hong Kang and Prof. Boon S. Ooi from the KAUST Photonics Laboratory and Dr. Yousef Alfehaid and Eng. Abdulmonem Alshawaf from the PDC, which operates under the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Infestations of red palm weevils a major problem across the Middle East.
• Researchers from KAUST-PDC collect $53,000 in prize money.
As well as the prestige, the team collected SR200,000 ($53,000) in prize money. The award was announced at the 3rd International Dates Conference and Exhibition, which ran from Dec. 7-10 in Riyadh. Their design beat off the challenge of 65 other submissions for the prize.
Ashry said the team was honored to have won such a prestigious award and paid tribute to his colleagues at the Photonics Laboratory and the PDC who helped in the development, testing and deployment of the technology.
“This recognition motivates us to continue improving, optimizing and advancing this technology to a new level,” he said.
According to the NCPD, the event provided “a unique combination of scientific research and commercial strategy to exchange scientific knowledge and innovative technologies to enhance the safe production and commercialization of these extraordinary super-fruits.”
The Kingdom is home to some 33 million date palm trees, producing about 1 million tons of dates a year, or 20 percent of global production. In the Middle East region alone about $8 million is spent every year fighting infestations of weevils.
“Our RPW-detecting technology uses a fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensor,” Ashry said. “It is the first of its kind and offers a more scalable approach (than) other detection methods, such as microphone probe, computer-based tomography and visual inspection.”
Kang said the team’s system used fiber-optic cables wound around individual tree trunks.
“Acoustic signals generated by the weevil larvae inside a trunk can be picked up by the cable and transmitted back to an interrogator system,” he said.
“The collected signals are then analyzed and processed through a machine learning algorithm to identify each tree’s infestation status.”
Ashry and Kang are now working with various organizations within the Kingdom, including the PDC, MEWA, NEOM, the Royal Commission for AlUla and the Tabuk Agricultural Development Co., on the deployment of their technology.
These test applications will help to improve the sensitivity of the sensor systems so they can be used on large-scale farms.
“Our research efforts align well with … Saudi Vision 2030 in terms of diversifying the economy, especially for the date palm sector,” Ashry said.
Ooi said: “Our technology offers a unique and low-cost solution to protect the large number of date palm trees in the country through early infestation detection.”
Sharjah HQ of waste management operator Beeah aims to lay foundations for a greener future.
A striking Sharjah building in the shape of a sand dune is primed to be a beacon of sustainability and serve as a fitting legacy for renowned architect Zaha Hadid.
The headquarters of waste management operator Beeah was the last project designed by Zaha Hadid before her death in 2016.
Her team constructed a modern masterpiece across 9,000 square metres, using sustainable materials to create a building with 40 per cent of its power provided by the sun.
Illuminated, sweeping staircases take visitors up to an art gallery on the first floor, with screens showing a time-lapse video to explain the building’s five year construction.
Now open to full capacity of 500 workers, the building is breaking new ground in how to provide a sustainable working environment.
Green vision
“We aim to operate as sustainably as possible, and used recycled materials in the construction of the building,” said Nada Taryam, managing director of Beeah HQ, which manages waste management across the country.
“Native plants have been used in the landscaping and reduced the amount of water consumption.
“A power pack stores excess energy from the photovoltaic panels, so we have a holistic strategy to achieve sustainability.
“Every project has its own specific requirements when energy comes into play, but the basis on which we have built this design can be learnt from.
“All of these sustainability measures can be taken and applied to other projects.”
The building’s high thermal mass allows heat to be absorbed during the day and dissipated at night to encourage cooling, while its curved structure allows the flow of natural sunlight to reduce the energy required for lighting.
An artificial intelligence system enables the building near the Alsajaa industrial area to learn to become more efficient as more people use it.
Its developers say it conforms to the highest standards of energy efficiency in the world.
Windows are positioned to reduce solar glare, while special glass cuts radiant thermal energy to keep the building cooler during summer.
While the glass limits the entry of infrared and ultraviolet light, solar panels supported by Tesla-made battery packs capture the power of the sun and store it to run the building’s air conditioning system.
The building’s components and management systems are integrated to maintain and improve its efficiencies.
Conference rooms are equipped with technology to automatically transcribe meeting minutes and email them to participants.
The building is the third in the UAE to be designed by Zaha Hadid architects, following the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, opened in Abu Dhabi in 2010, and The Opus hotel and apartments complex opened in Business Bay, Dubai, in 2018.
“As it learns from its occupancy, this building could potentially become one of the most sustainable buildings in the UAE,” said Ms Taryam.
“Certain decisions were taken, such as using glass reinforced panels on the ceiling which refract the sunlight so contribute to its efficiency and temperature control.
Defying convention
“There is a misconception about what these kind of buildings should look like, and we have defied that.
“There isn’t a rule book to say green buildings should be lined with solar panels. We have proved we can integrate architecture as well as sustainability to create something iconic.
“Zaha Hadid has something that distinguishes her from any other architect of her time. Every project of hers has its own context, but her ideas are adapted for each specific project.”
The official names for the new minerals are elaliite and elkinstantonite.
Canadian researchers said the rock was found in rural Somalia two years ago, but locals believe it is much older.
They call the stone Nightfall, and say it is documented in poems, songs and dances that stretch back five generations. It is used today to sharpen knives.
A huge meteorite that fell to Earth contains two minerals never seen before on our planet, scientists say.
Canadian researchers said the rock was found in rural Somalia two years ago, but locals believe it is much older.
They call the stone Nightfall, and say it is documented in poems, songs and dances that stretch back five generations. It is used today to sharpen knives.
The official names for the new minerals are elaliite and elkinstantonite.
They were identified by scientists at the University of Alberta who looked at a 70g fragment from the 15-tonne meteorite, which is said to be the ninth-biggest to reach our planet and is about 90% iron and nickel.
The name “elaliite” honours the fact that the meteorite was unearthed in the district of El Ali in Somalia, and “elkinstantonite” is named after Nasa expert Lindy Elkins-Tanton.
“Lindy has done a lot of work on how the cores of planets form, how these iron nickel cores form, and the closest analogue we have are iron meteorites. So it made sense to name a mineral after her and recognise her contributions to science,” said Prof Chris Herd who curates the University of Alberta’s meteorite collection.
A third, as-yet unidentified mineral, is being analysed by the university’s researchers who now hope to get their hands on more of the meteorite – not only to see what else they might discover, but also how it could be used on Earth.
“Whenever there’s a new material that’s known, material scientists are interested too because of the potential uses in a wide range of things in society,” Prof Herd said of the “exciting” research.
source/content: the-star.co.ke (Star) / BBC News, Africa (headline edited)
Mawadah Muhtasib, an emerging Saudi artist who reversed the typeface of the Arabic language, is well on her way to becoming a prominent name in the global art scene.
From learning her mother’s technique of writing backward at age 13 to exhibiting in London and New York City, Muhtasib has generated international intrigue in the art of Arabic by creating the first reversed Arabic calligraphy, or calligraffiti, typeface.
Her messages are not only meant to be read, but are also designed to be deciphered. Engaging her audience with the challenge of decoding letters is a large part of experiencing the artwork itself.
“It’s about expanding your human capabilities into creating the impossible. And this is exactly what I have been trying to do,” she told Arab News in an exclusive interview.
FASTFACT
The Arabic language is one of the richest art forms, the artist says, but in modernity, it is difficult to appreciate the depths of something that has become so ordinary.
Born out of a quest to layer the heritage of Arabic letters with innovative graffiti art methods, her work dares to be the first of its kind, granting her Dubai’s Art Bus competition award and a chance to show her work at exclusive showcases.
As graffiti art surged in popularity in 2013, Muhtasib experimented with mural painting alongside a novel group, hoping to develop a boundaryless form of art.
With a vision to modernize the traditional, she created a decorative typeface that mixed Arabic and Latin, written from left to right.
It’s about expanding your human capabilities into creating the impossible.
Mawadah Muhtasib
Muhtasib said: “We are so used to Arabic calligraphy when it comes to Thuluth calligraphy, Al-Kufi, Al-Naskh, and so on, and we just read that way and pass it on.
“When I’m doing my Arabic calligraphy, people sit and stare at my work for hours trying to figure out what these letters are, and the moment they realize it’s Arabic, they start to analyze and see all these letters in a different form that we as Arabic speakers are not used to.”
The Arabic language is one of the richest art forms, the artist says, but in modernity, it is difficult to appreciate the depths of something that has become so ordinary.
The goal is not only to get the viewer to read but to actively reflect on the beauty and form of each stroke and letter within the alphabet.
Muhtasib now passes on her craft through community workshops exclusively for women, most recently at Saudi’s largest light-based festival, Noor Riyadh.
“In my workshops, I do not teach people to write in reverse … I’m basically giving you the key of how to use the tools of starting to practice in the form of Latin calligraphy,” she said.
As soon as students understand the anatomy of the font family, Muhtasib introduces slanted brushes, layering techniques and stroke pressure. From the first session, students are sent home with a new creative form of expression. “The soul of a person is laid out on a page,” she said.
Writing in reverse is not new; the artist’s mother passed down the habit after having to write backward to maintain privacy at work. Alongside that, she passed down her passion for creative innovation.
While most calligraphers in the Kingdom were mimicking Western methods, Muhtasib, at 16 years old, was inspired and encouraged by Tunisian artist eL Seed and Saudi Moroccan artist Shaker Kashgari.
“I took that trick that my mom taught me years ago on how to write and then I changed it into a decorative typeface,” she said.
The concept was designed to preserve the rich heritage of the Arabic language. For foreigners, it offers a chance to engage in the language and learn its history.
“This is Arabic calligraphy in reverse that I took, improved, adjusted and made into a different form. But viewers will also wonder how it actually looked like (originally) and this will make a lot of people go in-depth and learn more about Arabic calligraphy,” Muhtasib said.
The philosophy behind the Typeform has gained interest from international luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Carolina Herrera, Montblanc, Sephora and more, resulting in several collaborations.
Muhtasib urges creators to push the boundaries of art and culture.
With calligraphy, “your sky’s the limit,” she said.
The Kuwaitis continued to make many distinguished achievements and achieved results in various fields and at the various local, regional and international levels, which were recorded for their work and creativity, reports Al-Rai daily. The following are the most prominent of these achievements during the year 2022.
February 10: Dr. Hind Al-Qadri, a researcher at the Dasman Diabetes Institute of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, won the 2021 L’Oréal UNESCO Prize for Women in Science within the Middle East Regional Program for Emerging Female Researchers. (see picture below)
February 24: Kuwaiti parachutist Ibrahim Al-Rubaian recorded an unprecedented feat by jumping from a height of 13,000 feet with the biggest fl ag in the sky of Kuwait, with an area of 800 square meters, under the slogan “I raised glory and soared with pride,” coinciding with the national holidays.
February 26: The State of Kuwait entered the Guinness Book of Records by hoisting the country’s largest flag measuring 2,742 square meters and installing it on a mountain peak in the Sultanate of Oman (Jabal Shams), at an altitude of 3,028 meters above sea level, in conjunction with national holidays.
March 21: The Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO) honored Sheikha Dr. Suad Al-Sabah, in recognition of her brilliant contributions in the literary and cultural fields, at its eighth session of the “Arab Poetry Day” in the Tunisian capital.
April 23: The International Professional Diving Instructors Organization awarded the Kuwait Scientific Club Center for Swimming and Diving a Certificate of Excellence for its contribution to the development of the diving industry inside and outside Kuwait.
June 12: Kuwaiti researchers Dr. Nasser Al-Sayegh and Dr. Ammar Bahman obtained a patent from the US Patent Office, for their invention of a device capable of characterizing the physical state of nanosuspensions dispersed in nanofluids during the dynamic fl ow process.
June 29: Kuwait University announces that Assistant Professor of the Department of Surgical Sciences at the College of Dentistry, Dr. Muhammad Kamal, and the Consultant of Nose and Throat at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki, obtained a patent from the United States of America for an alternative medical splint to the nose wicks.
July 2: The International Pharmaceutical Federation selected Dr. Dalal Al-Taweel, Assistant Dean for Student and Academic Affairs at the College of Pharmacy, among 20 rising stars in the field of pharmaceutical research and pharmaceutical education.
August 11: The League of Arab States honors the Kuwaiti youth, Abdullah Al- Shammari, who won the third place for the “Excellence Award for Arab Youth 2022” in the field of “voluntary work” granted by the Council of Arab Ministers of Youth and Sports. The award came about the “Al-Amal Electronic Newspaper” project, which is concerned with the affairs of people with disabilities.
October 2: Plastic artist Munira Al-Qadiri won the prize of the 15th session of the German “Trina Fellbach” exhibition for small sculptures.
October 3: Dr. Badr Al-Enezi, from the Department of Environmental Technology Management at the College of Life Sciences at Kuwait University, obtained a patent on “improving water and solving the problem of environmental pollution in a scientific way” from the United States Patent and Intellectual Property Office.
October 9: Kuwaiti photographer Muhammad Murad won first place in the prestigious international “Mont Photo” competition for photography in the natural world in Spain.
October 12: The European Union of Medical Specialties selected Dr. MuhammadKamal, a Kuwaiti academic, as the first examiner from outside the continent for the Board of Oral, Maxillofacial, and Head and Neck Surgery. The selection was made during the last session held in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
October 12: Lama Fahad Al-Ariman received the “Rising Space Leaders” award presented by the International Astronautical Federation as the representative of the State of Kuwait in this international competition.
October 30: Kuwaiti photographer Muhammad Murad won the top honorary prize in the African “Benjamin Mkapa” competition for developing African wildlife and the American “Nature Best” competition.
A multifunctional snow park was opened at the Mall of Oman. The project Snow Oman is the largest in the Middle East. The snow park was developed by Majid Al Futtaim, who has experience building indoor snow and ski amusements. In 2005 the company unveiled its first project in the flagship Mall Al Futtaim and later realized the mega project Ski Dubai in the Mall of the Emirates.
The total area of Snow Oman is 160 000 square feet. The complex combines a variety of winter attractions, the country’s first colony of penguins, and natural snow. The main decorations are an ice port town and a sunken ship with a lighthouse.
Rides include Mountain Thriller, Snow Bullet, Slide Winder, Cloud Climber, and Zorb Ball, unique attractions such as Cold Town Muscat, and a 5112-square feet ice rink. Admission to the park starts at 12.5 OMR, equivalent to $32.5.
Snow Oman caters to guests of all ages and offers activities for both kids and thrill-seekers. Outside the ski and skate slopes are cafes with hot winter drinks, warm seating, and a photo area.
Majid Al Futtaim is one of the largest mall, retail, and entertainment companies in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company operates 29 malls, 13 hotels, and four mixed-use complexes in the UAE, as well as more than 600 cinemas and several entertainment centers.
The celebrated pharmaceutical chemist, nano engineer and inventor reveals why she has spent a career focusing her mind over matter.
When the Berlin Wall came down, Adah Almutairi watched the event unfold on a television screen 5,000 kilometres away in the family living room in Jeddah.
Too young at the time to fully understand the implications, 12-year-old Adah could nonetheless tell that the moment was significant, by the reaction of her parents.
Years later, at a conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany, Ms Almutairi was on a stage in Berlin talking about her ground-breaking achievements in knocking down walls in science.
Back then, public speaking made her nervous. The knowledge that Chancellor Angela Merkel, a fellow chemist revered by Ms Almutairi, was among the 700 top international scientists and guests taking part merely compounded the feeling.
She broke the ice with a quote from the 1967 romantic comedy drama The Graduate, which earned her a laugh from the audience: “I just have one word to say,” she told them. “Just one word. Are you listening? Are you listening? Plastics.”
Ms Almutairi went on to describe herself as a plastics chemist, but she is much more besides. Her wide-ranging work combining materials chemistry with nanotechnology as well as developing tools for the future of biology and medicine makes her in great demand at conferences in the US, Europe, the Middle East and China.
The Saudi-American pharmaceutical chemist and nanomedicine engineer has won all manner of honours and recognition, including the prestigious and lucrative National Institutes of Health director’s new innovator award.
At the Falling Walls event, she gave an engaging, if sometimes faltering, presentation of her life-changing nanoparticle discovery feted in the US Congress as one of the four most important US technology breakthroughs of 2012.
“I used to be a nervous wreck before I gave a talk and would practise for two weeks beforehand,” she tells The National. “Plus, Angela Merkel is such an amazing woman, so meeting her was really special.
“She got elected just as I got my degree in chemistry and the way she spoke at that conference, and later welcomed so many Syrians into Germany, made me really respect her views on being kind citizens.”
With practice, Ms Almutairi, now 45, is much more comfortable as a public speaker. “Preparation,” she says, “is key.”
It was a lesson she learnt as a schoolgirl after a fluffed first gymnastics performance before a crowd left her sobbing on a bench. Determined never to repeat the same mistake, she rose to become the top gymnast on the team as well as the fastest 1,500-metre runner.
Preparedness forms the backbone of her professional life as she puts known scientific truths into practice while always remaining open to unexpected outcomes.
Discoveries and their effects, she and Ms Merkel wholeheartedly agree, can often surprise the scientists and engineers themselves.
“If you decide there is going to be a challenge down the road and that is going to deter you, nothing will happen,” she says. “If you go down that road anyway, you’ll solve the problem when you get there.”
No amount of planning, though, could have readied her for a year when the rug was pulled out from beneath her feet. In 2015, her beloved father died at the age of 65 and her 20-year marriage to a banker she met at university fell apart.
It was, she says, a painful time – not least because Mutlaq bin Abdul Rahman Almutairi, born into a traditional Saudi family, was his daughter’s greatest ambassador, enabling her to break free from what could have all too easily been a restrictive mould.
He was just five years old and still mourning his mother’s death when his own father packed up their goat-hair tent, strapped their few possessions to the back of a camel and made the arduous 100km journey from the Bedouin desert enclave of Al Harra to seek work and a new life in Jeddah.
Desperately poor, the family squatted on land and, when old enough, the enterprising Mutlaq enrolled himself and his younger sister in school.
His conservative father, who could not read or write, was furious and sent his daughter home. Mutlaq stood his ground and continued with his education – a moment that shaped the course of his own future and subsequently that of his five children.
“Sometimes in life, one decision changes everything,” Ms Almutairi says.
Mutlaq’s offspring have flourished in their respective fields of science and medicine. Khalid, 46, a plastic surgeon, Heba, 38, a professor in radiology, and Ahmed, 37, a dentist, still live in Saudi Arabia while Amer, 41, a professor in family medicine, is based in Houston.
Ms Almutairi was named recently on the Forbes list of the world’s Top 10 Influential Female Engineers, and often thinks of the debt owed to a father who championed her right to education.
The stance made him something of an anomaly among the Almutair tribe, whose roots can be traced back to the Quran.
“It still makes me emotional,” she says. “He was enlightened from God.
“No one around him was educated. He was the first in his entire family to learn how to read and write and go to college.
“My father and grandfather got into a lot of fights because my grandfather did not believe women should be educated.”
While she inherited drive and motivation from her father, a love of learning was instilled at a young age by her mother Najat, who, aptly enough, was a teacher.
“My family on my mother’s side were extremely well educated and my mother is very well read,” she says.
Indeed, her parents met because Mutlaq had become besotted with Ms Almutairi’s great-aunt Hilal, an intellectual who was one of the first dentists in Saudi Arabia.
Despite the 20-year age gap, he approached the family to ask for her hand in marriage but was advised instead to wed the daughter of Hilal’s brother, with whom he would build a strong bond.
“My father appreciated a smart woman,” Ms Almutairi says. “He didn’t go after the young, pretty girl. He initially went for the older woman he enjoyed talking to.
“Now when I think back, I realise how special and unique he was, and how much respect he had for women.”
Mutlaq studied criminology and justice administration in Portland, Oregon, where Adah Almutairi was born, before returning to his homeland to become a police investigator.
The young Adah attended international schools in Jeddah and Riyadh, excelling not only at sport but in maths and science.
On leaving school at 16, she was at a loss as to what to do next. Her mother was applying for teaching posts so, on a whim, Ms Almutairi submitted an application to Najd National School in Riyadh – and surprised everyone, including herself, by landing a job teaching English.
“I didn’t have a degree, and when the headmistress realized how young I was, she said: ‘Don’t tell anyone, just put some lipstick on.’
“It was the best job ever. I loved every minute of it. I had such a connection with the girls. I used to take in copies of my mother’s Reader’s Digests and make up writing exercises around them.”
A year later, she began applying to universities. King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah turned her down but she secured a sports scholarship to Occidental College in Los Angeles, Barack Obama’s alma mater.
The opportunity once again put her father at loggerheads with her grandfather and members of the Almutairi clan, who did not think a young woman should travel overseas alone. Unperturbed, Mutlaq sent her anyway, even though he and Najat had doubts about her choice of subject.
The couple wanted her to be a doctor but Ms Almutairi chose maths as her major before switching to chemistry in her second year.
The lightbulb moment came when her tutor, the widely loved chemistry professor Tetsuo Otsuki, told her she was “a diamond in the dirt”.
“He made me feel smart and capable, and worth being taught,” she says.
“I have twice been told the phrase: ‘You remind me of myself’. It is one of the nicest things you can say to a young person if they look up to you. It really sat in my heart.”
Chemistry appealed because it was based on “concepts where once I wrapped my head around them, I could use them in so many ways”.
A scholarship to continue her studies at the University of California, Riverside, led her to create lightweight plastic polymers, or molecules, capable of conducting electrons that had uses in everything from robotics to space research.
“Around that time,” she says, “Hideki Shirakawa was winning the Nobel chemistry prize for his work with conductive polymers, and both Nasa and Walt Disney were funding and supporting that work.”
She may not have become a doctor of medicine as her parents had wished, but Ms Almutairi did turn her attention to the field during postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked with Jean Frechet, a chemist innovating in the area of in-vivo imaging to diagnose disease.
After being turned down for jobs in Saudi Arabia, she took up a post at the University of California, San Diego, going on to lead an interdisciplinary research group at the Centre for Excellence in Nanomedicine and Engineering.
Perhaps one of Ms Almutairi’s proudest moments was collaborating with an ophthalmologist for a decade to come up with a way to regenerate failing retinas and prevent blindness.
“That particular innovation is now commercialised and makes me feel really good about myself,” she says. “I enjoy all sorts of application materials but medicine is especially rewarding. I like to solve problems and have a positive impact on the world.”
Her work with lanthanides – popularly classed as rare earth elements but actually, she says, abundant – involves a chemical reaction that could be applied to the delivery of drugs and diagnostics in medicine but also solar energy harvesting.
She has more than 100 patents registered, including one with her brother Khalid to use gold molecules in liposuction.
“My work is very rewarding,” Ms Almutairi says, “and my father was very proud of me. When I became well known in the US, it was a big moment because the people who were criticising him for sending his daughter away were the same people congratulating him.”
A strong proponent of the “health is wealth” philosophy, she may no longer run, but she does lift weights regularly and spends time in the garden with her 10-year-old son cultivating avocados, figs, and citrus trees, and growing aubergines, tomatoes and cucumbers.
She has visited Saudi Arabia many times to see her family and speak at conferences. One in particular that has stayed with her was a graduation speech at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh.
There was no film quote for these graduates of the largest women’s university in the world. In a clear voice, without a hint of nerves, she instead passed on the words of that staunch defender of her own access to education.
Remain forever curious about the world, she told the audience, and live a meaningful life with impact.
It was clear that the woman of substance standing before them had been shaped by her father’s advice. She didn’t need to ask if they were listening.
One doesn’t have to be a Muslim to visit the mosque or see the tallest minaret in the world.
Many people who think of a vacation to Africa make plans with Morocco in mind, South Africa at times, maybe Kenya, and definitely Egypt—to see the famous pyramids—or the 4,100-mile-long river that gave birth to that momentous civilization. Yet, as a continent, Africa has 54 countries, almost as many as the number of states in the U.S. Though it may come as a surprise, almost all of these countries are safe and have nearly the same conveniences as those found in many First World countries. Take Algeria, for instance, the biggest country in Africa and more than three times the size of Texas. This northern African country has pyramids, just like Egypt, and several fascinating ruins that would interest any history buff or anyone who’s out for some real adventure.
The Great Mosque Of Algiers And Its Record-Breaking Minaret
Also known as Djamaa el Djazaïr, the Great Mosque of Algiers is itself a monumental structure and an architectural marvel in its own right. However, what really puts it in the Guinness Book of World Records is its minaret. The reason is that the Great Mosque of Algiers is noted for having the tallest minaret in the world. For those who may be scratching their heads, a minaret is a tower—or a tower-like structure—built into mosques primarily to project the “Adhan,” the Muslim call to prayer. Of course, today, minarets serve other purposes as well. For instance, they are important landmarks of Islamic presence. Coming to the minaret of the Great Mosque of Algiers, we would not be remiss to expect a structure described as the world’s tallest to answer to that exceptional description. Well, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Algiers is 265 meters tall and hence, by all accounts, impressive.
For perspective, that’s the same height as Truist Plaza, the 60-story skyscraper in downtown Atlanta or the Panorama Tower in Miami, Florida. It’s also about half the height of the One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the United States. Minarets, however, have never been this tall. Before the Great Mosque of Algiers secured a page in the Guinness Book of World Records for its minaret, the tallest minaret was the 670-feet tower of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. The Algiers minaret, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is now not just the tallest minaret in the world but the tallest building in Africa as well. This minaret is designed to withstand a magnitude nine earthquake, the highest earthquake magnitude. This type of earthquake can cause major damage over a region more than 1,000 km across.
Here’s A Brief History Of The Great Mosque Of Algiers And Its Minaret
The government of Algeria launched the construction of the Great Mosque and its record-breaking minaret in 2012. However, according to an adviser to the minister of housing responsible for the construction, the idea of constructing a mega-mosque had been in the cards from way back in 1962 when Algeria got its independence after 132 years of French occupation and after a 7-year brutal war that would send seismic revolutionary waves across the continent. For some reason, the efforts to put up a mega-mosque in Algiers had failed and foundered. However, with the election of Abdelaziz Bouteflika as President of Algeria in 1999, the building efforts would soon receive significant impetus.
Famous for his religious zeal and devotion to Muslim art and culture, Bouteflika would, unsurprisingly, actualize the mega-mosque dream even though his tenure as president would dramatically come to a premature end before the completion of his pet project. The mosque, however, including its record-breaking minaret, was an outstanding architectural masterpiece. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Great Mosque of Algiers sits on an expansive area of around 400,000 square meters (about 50 acres). For perspective, the building itself, plus the outside courtyard, can seat up to 120,000 worshipers.
Other Reasons Why The Great Mosque of Algiers Is Worth Visiting (& How To Visit)
The mosque looks towards the scenic Bay of Algiers, which features dazzling white buildings and panoramic views as far as the eye can see. Part of the mosque is a library that can stock more than a million volumes. In addition, the mosque has a Koranic school and a museum of Islamic art and history.
Where Is The Great Mosque of Algiers Located? This mosque is located on the Rue de la Marine in Algeria’s capital city, Algiers.
A crucial travel tip is to get in as a worshiper, probably during worship. Some visitors even carry a prayer mat or wear a scarf, especially women. Of course, one doesn’t have to be a Muslim to visit the mosque or see the tallest minaret in the world.
A consignment of blue ammonia has left Saudi Arabia for South Korea, representing a new milestone in the development of decarbonization solutions.
The development was first announced during the recent Saudi Green Initiative conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, and Vessel Seasurfer, carrying 25,000 metric tons (25 KMT) of low-carbon blue ammonia, is expected to reach its destination between Dec. 9 and 13 in the world’s first commercial shipment of its kind.
The accomplishment, which is an alternative to conventional gray ammonia, is part of a collaboration between Saudi Basic Industries Corporation Agri-Nutrients and Aramco.
Lotte Fine Chemical, which has a long-standing relationship with SABIC AN, will receive the low-carbon “cradle to gate” blue ammonia.
Abdulrahman Shamsaddin, SABIC AN CEO, said: “This shipment is another milestone in our journey toward carbon neutrality.
“We are proud to be a part of this pioneering solution, paving the way for further decarbonization efforts.
“Looking to the future, we are constantly working on breakthrough solutions to decarbonize our assets and deliver low-carbon solutions to our customers.”
Yong Suk Kim, LFC CEO, said: “We are delighted to enter this meaningful agreement with our long-term supplier, SABIC Agri-Nutrients, to receive the world’s first certified blue ammonia cargo.
“Building on our shared history, we are looking forward to moving forward together into a new era for ammonia. We believe that this shipment of blue ammonia will help lay the foundations for a global supply chain.”
Earlier this year, SABIC AN and Aramco received the world’s first independent certifications, recognizing blue ammonia and blue hydrogen production, from TUV Rheinland, a leading independent testing, inspection and certification agency, based in Germany.
The shipment of blue ammonia to South Korea will be the first to capitalize on this major certification achievement.
The new developments are aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, which focuses on low-carbon fuels, products, solutions and clean energy.
Google search engine celebrated the late Hamed Gohar’s 115th birth anniversary on 15 November with a Google Doodle.
The Egyptian scientist, marine biologist and TV host, Gohar is considered the founding father of oceanography in Egypt and the Arab world.
Born on 15 November 1907, he studied medicine at Cairo University in 1925 before shifting to biology. He then received his master’s degree in oceanography from Cambridge University in 1931.
The note under the doodle adds that “Gohar discovered that dugong, a sea mammal that was thought to be extinct in the region, still existed in the Red Sea. He continued studying underwater life for 25 years at the Hurghada marine biological station.”
He worked with the Arabic Language Academy to create scientific dictionaries in Arabic and served as an adviser to the United Nations’ Secretary General and helped organize the first International Conference on Law of the Sea in Geneva.
The general public knows Gohar for his educational show called “The Sea World” which he hosted on national television for 18 years. The programme highlighted underwater scenery and natural sea life, bringing the viewers closer to marine biology.