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The first world expo held in the Middle East ends in style.
After 182 days of diverse and rich activities and events, which enjoyed by millions of visitors from across the world, the curtain of Expo 2020 Dubai, the first world expo held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region and the first hosted by an Arab nation, came down on Thursday, March 31, 2022, at the iconic dome-structured Al Wasl Plaza.
The six-month-long exposition, staged under the central theme, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, defied the tremendous challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, delivering a resounding success.
By organising the world greatest show amidst such challenges, the UAE has removed the world ”impossible” from its lexicon to present a wonderful edition in the event’s long history as His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said in an audio message delivered at the closing ceremony of the mega global event.
We will not be exaggerating if we repeat what millions of visitors have said that Dubai’s remarkable success offered a great challenge for those to come.
Expo 2020 Dubai, which brought together 192 participating nations, is not a mere event that tells the culture and history of participating countries, rather than an invitation to engage and share visions to address challenges facing the humanity.
The UAE selection of the theme, ”Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” as a headline for its campaign to host the exhibition, did not come by chance. The UAE used to look to the future with proactive visions. Despite humanity’s passing through the most difficult and challenging time due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effects on the economies of the world, there was no confusion in the UAE’s approach and calculations.
Projects did not stop or affected by slowness, delay or hesitation. Rather, they continued in an unprecedented harmony that encouraged the international community participate and engage with confidence enhanced by millions of visitors who and their families enjoyed events and activities that many of them may not be able to repeat again and they will proudly tell them to the future generations.
Since the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) announced on 27th November 2013 in Paris that Dubai had won the bid to host Expo 2020, no one doubted the UAE’s ability to present to the world the most beautiful and brightest image of an event that had been exclusively hosted by certain cities in regions far away from the Middle East and North Africa.
As usual, the UAE has a proven track-record in areas of communication and fresh innovative concepts and ideas which have been turned into reality over the past decades. An indicator of success of Expo is that the large number of visitors came from outside the country.
Over six months, Expo 2020 Dubai brought together over 190 participating nations, including multilateral organisations and academic institutions, in a defining moment to exchange new ideas and perspectives, inspire meaningful change and create a brighter future for all under the theme, ”Connecting Minds and Creating the Future” through sustainability, mobility and opportunity.
There is no better place and environment than Dubai and the UAE in general to discuss these issues that of major concern to the world. This was clearly reflected in the World Government Summit 2022, which was the best conclusion to an exceptional event.
It was an opportune coincidence that hosting this event preceded the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2021, as the UAE shared its visions, ideas and rich experience in development with the world in an event that chronicles the World Expo events a new.
The UAE deserves deepest congratulations for the remarkable success of Expo 2020 Dubai as the world welcomes Expo 2025 Osaka in Japan.
Opinion: by: Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi is the Director-General of the Emirates News Agency (WAM)
source/content: gulfnews.com (edited)
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Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan (L2), UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Commissioner General of Expo 2020 Dubai, hands the BIE flag to His Excellency Jai-chul Choi (C), President of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) during the Expo 2020 Dubai Closing Ceremony at Al Wasl alongside Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy (L), UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai, His Excellency, Dimitri Kerkentzes (R2), Secretary General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the governing body of World Expos and His Excellency Wakamiya Kenji (R), Minister for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan. Image Credit: Expo 2020 Dubai
Awards made for services to Islam, Arabic language, literature, medicine, and science.
The winners of this year’s King Faisal Prize on Tuesday received their awards at a glittering ceremony staged in Riyadh.
The annual gongs — held under the auspices of King Salman — are the most prestigious in the Muslim world and recognize outstanding achievement in services to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic language and literature, medicine, and science.
The service to Islam prize was jointly awarded to former Tanzanian President Ali Hassan Mwinyi and Egyptian scholar Prof. Hassan Mahmoud Al-Shafei.
The Arabic language and literature award went to Prof. Suzanne Stetkevych and Prof. Muhsin Al-Musawi from the US.
American Prof. David Liu secured the medicine prize while the science accolade was shared by Prof. Martin Hairer of the UK and Prof. Nader Masmoudi of Tunisia.
The Islamic studies prize, that this year focused on the Islamic heritage of Al-Andalus, was withheld because the nominated works did not meet the necessary criteria.
Mwinyi was honored for actively participating in Islamic advocacy and promoting religious tolerance. He established Islamic schools and translated many resources and references in hadith, jurisprudence, and the Prophet Mohammad’s biography into Swahili, the language spoken by millions of people in East Africa.
Al-Shafei, who was president of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo from 2012 to 2020, held several academic positions and established a series of institutes concerned with Al-Azhar. He also contributed to the establishment of the International Islamic University in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
The Arabic language and literature prize was jointly presented to Stetkevych, chair of the department of Arabic and Islamic studies at Georgetown University, and Al-Musawi, professor of Arabic and comparative literary studies at Columbia University.
Stetkevych’s extensive research and numerous works have analyzed Arabic literature with unmatched depth from the pre-Islamic period to the Nahda/revivalist period. Her research approach, which is characterized by its application of varied methodologies, resulted in the renewal of the critical perspective and methods of studying classical Arabic poetry.
The research and studies of literary critic and novelist Al-Musawi have had a great impact on Arabic studies students and researchers in the Arab world and the West, through his distinctive methods of presentation, analysis, critical interpretation, and openness to Arab and international creative texts in prose and poetry.
Meanwhile, the medicine prize concentrated on gene-editing technologies. Its winner Liu, director of the Merkin Institute for Transformative Technologies in Healthcare, invented the first so-called base editor to make alterations on DNA and genes by replacing letters in the DNA base.
Hairer, chair in probability and stochastic analysis at Imperial College’s mathematics department, was one of the science prize recipients. His work has been in the general area of probability theory with a focus on the analysis of stochastic partial differential equations. He recently developed the theory of regularity structures which gave a precise mathematical meaning to several equations that were previously outside the scope of mathematical analysis.
The other joint science award winner, Masmoudi, a professor of mathematics at the New York University of Abu Dhabi, unlocked the mystery surrounding many physics problems which have remained unsolved for centuries.
He found a flaw in (Leonhard) Euler’s mathematical equations, which for more than two centuries had described the motions of fluids under any circumstance. Masmoudi discovered that the equations did not apply to all circumstances, as previously thought, and his findings helped to solve a raft of conundrums related to fluid-modeling, such as weather predictions.
Each winner received a $200,000 prize, a 24-carat gold medal, and a certificate written in Arabic calligraphy signed by the Chairman of the prize board, Prince Khalid Al-Faisal.
source/content : arabnews.com (edited)
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Winners of 2022 King Faisal Prize awards honored in Riyadh. (SPA)
The inaugural Time 100 Gala and Impact Awards was held at Dubai’s Museum of the Future . The ceremony was the first major event to take place at the museum since its opening on February 22.
The landmark was lit with a touch of Time’s red as regional leaders and cultural figures gathered alongside members of the global Time 100 community.
Notable personalities who attended the red carpet event included civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, who was named in Time’s first Women of the Year list this month; Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Nigerian singer, actress and philanthropist; French-Tunisian contemporary artist el Saeed; US model Tyra Banks; and Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi , the first woman to hold a ministerial position in the UAE.
Sheikha Lubna was formerly the minister of state for tolerance, minister of state for international co-operation and development, and minister of economy and planning
The winners
Minister of State for Advanced Technology Sarah Al Amiri was among the award recipients. Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency and the UAE Council of Scientists, Ms Al Amiri was honoured for her role in helping to take the UAE to Mars.
British-Ghanian architect Sir David Adjaye, whose designs include the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the US, as well as the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, was also honoured for his work.
Mr Adjaye was honoured, according to Time, for “reorienting the world’s attention and shining a light on cultures from every corner of the world”.
Tony Elumelu was also a winner of the Impact Awards. The Nigerian economist was honoured for his efforts, through his eponymous foundation, in empowering African entrepreneurs to create jobs on the continent.
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone was also among the winners. The actress was recognised for her advocacy work on mental health..
Makeup artist and founder of Huda Beauty, Huda Kattan, was awarded the prize for “disrupting what it means to be beautiful”.
The Iraqi-American entrepreneur launched her skincare line Wishful in 2020 with a campaign that featured Kattan and the company staff without filters or makeup.
Will.i.am was also a winner of the inaugural Impact Awards. The Black Eyed Peas founder was praised as much for his music as his philanthropy, and his work advocating forward-thinking tech and artificial intelligence strategies.
Pop star Ellie Goulding was also named a winner for being “a champion and protector of the environment”.
source/content: thenationalnews.com (edited)
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The inaugural Time 100 Gala and Impact Awards was the first major event at Dubai’s Museum of the Future since its opening ceremony on February 22. Victor Besa / The National
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, topped Forbes Middle East’s Top 50 Travel & Tourism Leaders list.
The list spotlights 50 leaders who drive growth in the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry, building on their desire to reconnect with the world.
Emirates Airline and Group’s revenue reached US$6.7 billion in the first half of the 2021/2022 fiscal year.
Moreover, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths ranked third on the list.
The UAE dominated this month’s list with 24 of the leaders featured based in the UAE, followed by 11 in Saudi Arabia, and four in Egypt.
The hotels and hospitality sector is the most dominant on the list with 26 entries, followed by aviation with 17, and tourism with seven entries.
Latifa Ibn Ziaten . French-Moroccan Activist. President, Association for Youth and Peace (IMAD).
Zayed Award for Human Fraternity has empowered me to continue fighting: Latifa Ibn Ziaten.
Anti-extremist French-Moroccan activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten, President of the Association for Youth and Peace (IMAD), called on countries participating in Expo 2020 Dubai to support the efforts aimed at supporting peaceful coexistence and combatting extremism.
She also lauded the UAE’s efforts to encourage social peace and promote the principles of tolerance and human fraternity.
In an exclusive interview with the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Latifa Ibn Ziaten, winner of the award in 2021, expressed her appreciation for the award.
“I am proud to be here in the UAE, the country that gave me the opportunity to win the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, which empowered and motivated me to continue my journey and fight to help marginalised youths,” she said.
“We need to help each other, most notably the youth who engage in terrorism. I will explore the reasons that led them to choose extremism, as people are not born terrorists, but factors, such as misery, ignorance, desperation and specific lifestyles, have led them to become prey for terrorism,” she added.
Ibn Ziaten said that she delivered several lectures in Abu Dhabi on terrorism and participated in seminars on how to save the youth from terrorism, in addition to delivering lectures in Morocco, the US, India and Mali. In France, she has worked with the Ministry of Education and conducts weekly lectures to raise the awareness of the youth.
After her son was killed in a terrorist attack in 2021, Latifa Ibn Ziaten has dedicated herself to promoting tolerance and countering terrorism.
Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan on Saturday, February 26th, received the 2022 Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.
In the presence of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, the award, presented during a ceremony hosted by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity at the Founders Memorial in Abu Dhabi, was granted in appreciation of Their Majesties’ efforts to promote human fraternity, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. The award was also presented to Haitian humanitarian organisation FOKAL.
Attending the ceremony virtually, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and His Holiness Pope Francis congratulated Their Majesties, describing them as role models for fraternity and coexistence.
Mohammed Abdulsalam, Secretary-General of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, also delivered a speech during the ceremony.
The award is organised by the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, an independent international committee instituted to promote human fraternity values in communities around the world and to fulfil the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity, signed by Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib and Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi in 2019.
The Kingdom’s new Founding Day celebrates the true birthday of the First Saudi State in 1727
A 1946 photograph of Shada Palace in Abha, built in 1820.
For generations, historians and writers have unwittingly perpetuated the myth that the First Saudi State, forerunner of the modern-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was founded in the year 1744.
In fact, as a new reappraisal of the origins of the Kingdom reveals, they were 17 years out.
There is no doubt that the events of 1744, the year in which Imam Mohammed ibn Saud of Diriyah offered sanctuary to the religious reformer Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abdulwahhab, were hugely significant.
In this ‘Carte de Dreiye,’ the oldest-known map of Diriyah, drawn by a French diplomat in 1808, the historic UNESCO-listed district of At-Turaif on the Wadi Hanifah is recorded as ‘El Tereif.’
But over time the importance of that admittedly historic moment of common cause between state and faith came to obscure the far more complex and deeper-rooted origins of the First Saudi State.
It is to correct this neglect of the Kingdom’s crucial embryonic years that Founding Day has been created, to celebrate 1727 as the true moment of birth and to give Saudis a deeper appreciation of a past far richer than many realize.
The original Makkah Gate in Jeddah.
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula.
This resetting of the clock from 1744 to 1727 is the outcome of extensive historical research that has been carried out studying the historical resources held by the new Saudi Historical School.
Ibn Saud’s warriors on the move in the early 20th century as the future founder of Saudi Arabia fought to bring the Najd and the Hejaz together.
“Many historians have linked the rise of the state to the arrival of Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahab, and have neglected the initial period of Imam Mohammed ibn Saud’s rule and the preceding era, even though this was the foundational period of the state,” said Dr. Badran Al Honaihen, associate director of historical research and studies at Diriyah Gate Development Authority.
“The revision and reinterpretation of historical events is an intellectual phenomenon found in every part of the world. Previous writings can be considered judgments and opinions that do not prevent revisions or the reaching of new conclusions.”
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
Today, no one can pinpoint exactly when the long journey toward statehood began. The first certain waypoint on the path is the year 430 when the Banu Hanifah tribe migrated to Al-Yamamah in the lower Najd from their home in the Hejaz on the Red Sea coast.
Here, at the junction of several important caravan routes, the tribe to which the ruling house of Al-Saud belongs settled and thrived, founding Hajr — modern-day Riyadh — trading, and growing crops in the fertile valley that in time would take their name — Wadi Hanifah.
With the coming of Islam the Banu Hanifah stepped on to the stage of world history for the first time.
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
In 628, six years after the hijra, the flight of Mohammed and his persecuted followers from Makkah to Madinah, the Prophet sent letters to various Arabian rulers, inviting them to embrace “Islam,” submission to the will of God.
The ruler of the Banu Hanifah at this time was Thumamah ibn Uthal, whose spiritual journey from initial rejection to heartfelt acceptance of Islam is celebrated in the Hadiths.
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IMAM MOHAMMED IBN SAUD’S MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS
• Unified Diriyah under his rule and contributed to its stability.
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• Managed internal affairs and strengthened Diriyah’s community.
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• Ensured regional stability.
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• Built the Diriyah wall to counter external attacks.
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• Began unification campaigns.
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• Political independence from any external influence.
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• Organized the country’s resources.
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• Unified the majority of Najd.
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• Secured Hajj and trade routes.
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In Hadith number 189, he is recorded as telling Mohammed: “There was no face on the face of the Earth that was more hateful to me than your face, but now your face has become the most beloved of all faces to me.”
In historical terms, Al-Yamamah would lay dormant for much of the next 800 years. This was a dark age of neglect and widespread emigration to escape the economic hardship endured under the oppressive Ukhaidhir dynasty, which rose to temporary prominence in the Najd in the ninth century.
Destiny, however, is a patient force, and by the 15th century the stage was finally set for the return to influence of the Banu Hanifah.
Generations earlier, part of the tribe had migrated eastwards to settle on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. But in 1446, Manaa’ Al-Muraide, leader of the Marada clan of the Al-Duru tribe of the Banu Hanifah, led his people back to the heart of Arabia, at the invitation of his cousin, Ibn Dira’, the ruler of Hajr.
The settlement they had founded on the coast they had named Diriyah after their tribal name, Al-Duru. Now they established a new Diriyah on the fertile banks of the Wadi Hanifah.
In the words of historian Dr. Badran Al-Honaihen, Al-Muraide’s arrival “laid the building blocks for the establishment of the greatest state in the history of the Arabian Peninsula, after the Prophetic State and the Rashidun Caliphate.”
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
Another 300 years would pass before the next momentous steps were taken. In 1720, Saud ibn Mohammed assumed the leadership of Diriyah, who the Saudi Royal Family named after him.
Today, historians date the origin of the First Saudi State to 1727, when Saud’s son, Mohammed, became the ruler of the city state.
He had, said Al-Honaihen, “assumed power in exceptional circumstances.” Diriyah had been rent by internal divisions, and a plague that had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula had claimed many lives in the Najd. Nevertheless, “Imam Mohammed was able to unite Diriyah under his rule, and to contribute to the spread of security and peace at the regional level and on the level of the Arabian Peninsula.
“The project of the first Saudi state began in 1727, and then his sons took it on after him. What we need to remember from this story is unity, security and peace after centuries of lack of unity.”
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
At last, here was a leader with a vision that extended beyond his immediate horizon, and who was determined to found a new state, based on education, culture and security and allegiance to the true faith of Islam.
It was to this dynamic and politically and economically increasingly powerful new state that the religious reformer Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahab was drawn.
The sheikh, a religious scholar from the nearby village of Al-Uyayna, had become increasingly concerned that many in the Arab world were forsaking the teachings of the Prophet and returning to heretical pre-Islamic ways. His attempts to introduce reforms were met with hostility in Al-Uyayna, but he would find sanctuary in Diriyah.
“The migration to Diriyah of Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahab came as a natural result of Imam Mohammed ibn Saud’s policies,” said Al-Honaihen. “The Imam was known to be religious, and his two brothers, Thunayan and Mishari, and his son Abdulaziz were among those in contact with Sheikh Mohammed ibn Abdulwahhab in Al-Uyayna.
“Sheikh Mohammed did not leave al-Uyayna until after Imam Mohammed invited him to come to Diriyah, and there was a state capable of protecting the Sheikh’s religious mission.”
For his part, “in supporting this reformist mission, Imam Mohammed saw that it was in agreement with the principles of the state he was working to establish, especially its religious aspect.”
In short, it was not the alliance of Sheikh and Imam that made possible the foundation of the First Saudi State, but rather it was the existence of that state, already politically and economically strong, that made possible the spread of the message of reform.
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
Al-Honaihen stressed that the decision to officially recognize 1727 as the year of founding should in no way be interpreted as undermining religion as the cornerstone of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“That’s not correct,” he said. “The objective is merely to put a precise political date to the founding of the state, namely Imam Mohammed ibn Saud’s accession to power in Diriyah, since a number of erroneous policies and opinions had arisen concerning the rise and establishment of the state.
“Moreover, the state in its constitution stipulates that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Arab Islamic state whose religion is Islam and whose constitution is the Book of God and the Sunna of His Prophet.”
It was in 1727 that Imam Mohammed ibn Saud came to the throne, carrying with him the dream of transforming the city state founded by his forebears three centuries earlier into the capital of a nation which, at its height, would bring peace and stability to most of the Arabian Peninsula. (Supplied)
He is also clear that Founding Day is not an alternative to National Day, celebrated on Sept. 23, but complementary to it.
“Founding Day is not intended to replace Saudi National Day, which celebrates the unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, but rather to recognize the beginning of the Saudi state’s history with a new event that celebrates the deep historical roots of the Kingdom.”
Although there is no doubt about the year, 1727, the precise date of the start of Imam Mohammed’s reign is lost to history, according to Al-Honaihen.
Feb. 22 was selected as Founding Day simply because a number of important events are known to have taken place in the first months of Imam Mohammed’s reign, at the start of 1727.
In 1851, the Great Exhibition set out to bring culture, history and innovations together in one place — London — for the world to see. Since this inaugural world expo, however, more than 85 percent of the global events have been hosted by either European or North American cities.
Some notable exceptions are the expos held in Asia, including Osaka in 1970, Aichi in 2005 and Shanghai in 2010, almost all of which set attendance records. But to date, these major events have been predominantly northern and western hemisphere affairs.
That is why Expo 2020 Dubai has been such a big deal, not just for world expos but also for the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole, with the Arab world occupying center stage for the first time.
As host, the UAE has offered the very essence of Arab hospitality, first by dedicating a pavilion to every participating nation, and, second, by giving every nation its own “national day” throughout the event. Saudi Arabia’s day fell on Jan. 7.
Expo 2020 Dubai has also had a distinctly Arab feel. The site is peppered with traditional Arabic design features, on its sunshades, water fountains and even public seating.
It is a well-known expo fact that pavilion positioning is everything, often indicating a nation’s global significance and its relationship with the host. With masterful design planning, the UAE was able to place participating Arab countries at the heart of the action, giving them greater visibility and prominence.
Naturally, the UAE pavilion is the largest, occupying the prime position. Its immediate neighbor is the impressive, world record-setting Saudi Arabian pavilion, and close by are Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Kuwait and other Arab countries.
The Saudi pavilion achieved three Guinness World Records for the largest interactive light floor, the longest interactive water curtain and the largest interactive digital screen mirror. But it is not alone in showcasing avant-garde architecture ideas.
While the expo lives up to its theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” it also offers a visible celebration of Arab cultures and nations on a global stage.
Themes celebrating the past are normally divided between the ancient past, such as the Bronze Age settlements of Failaka Island in Kuwait, and the more recent past, before the rapid urbanization of the last half-century.
Indeed, the Arab pavilions go to great lengths to pay homage to the feats and wisdom of past generations. For example, the first exhibit in the UAE pavilion features a stylized desert, with the soft, fine sand of Emirati dunes used as a projection surface for old film reels paying tribute to Sheikh Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE’s founding father.
In the nearby Vision Pavilion, dedicated to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, a guided video tour begins with the story of his stay with a Bedouin leader in the desert as a child, and the lasting impact that connection with the land made on him as a leader.
In the Saudi pavilion, ancient cultural sites, such as the tombs in Al-Hijr, At-Turaif District and the AlUla valley, are featured in a striking visual tour of the rich cultural history and natural beauty of the Kingdom.
In the Oman pavilion, meanwhile, a focus on frankincense highlights the sultanate’s eye-catching landscape and long trading history.
Far from focusing exclusively on their glorious past, Arab pavilions look to the future. Many have a concrete vision that highlights targets set in order to achieve desired development outcomes.
Saudi Arabia has put sustainability at the heart of its vision for the future, Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify its economy, alongside a pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2060.
Egypt has its own Vision 2030 plan, announced in 2016, which sets out eight national targets aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on an inclusive economy, education and the environment.
In this vein, Kuwait’s pavilion addresses the resilience of its earliest settlements, while a stylized water tower at the pavilion’s center highlights the ways in which humans have carefully managed its natural resources in order to flourish there.
Although Lebanon’s pavilion is much more austere compared with other Arab offerings, its message is a strong reminder of the resilience of its people.
Taken together, Arab participants in Expo 2020 Dubai have made good use of this global stage to highlight their achievements, heritage, ambitions and fortitude. In this sense, the expo can be considered an Arab triumph.
source/content: arabnews.com
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Expo 2020 Dubai has been such a big deal, not just for world expos but also for the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole, with the Arab world occupying center stage for the first time. (AFP/AN Photo)
Monastery has three churches, most important of which is underground Church of St Paul.
The Monastery of St Paul the Anchorite, also known as the Monastery of the Tigers, is a Coptic Orthodox monastery dating back to the 4th Century CE located in Egypt’s Eastern Desert, near the Red Sea Mountains.
Located about 155 km south east of Cairo, the monastery gained the moniker the Monastery of the Tigers due to its isolated location out in the wilderness of Egypt’s desert moonscape. It covers an area of about five acres of land, and is a rectangular shape of 200 metres long by 100 metres wide.
By the 5th Century CE, the monastery was built over the cave where St Paul the Anchorite lived for more than 80 years.
St Paul, also known as St Paul of Thebes, or Anba Bola in Arabic, was a Coptic Orthodox saint born in Alexandria in 228 CE. Following his father’s death, the teenage Paul decided to become a hermit and live a simple life.
At the age of 16, he converted to Christianity and escaped Alexandria to avoid Roman persecution. According to one story, God sent Paul an angel who guided him to Egypt’s arid Western Desert, where he could live alone as a hermit.
The same story relates how God sent Paul a crow every day carrying half a loaf of bread to feed him. One day St Anthony joined Paul, and when the crow came, it had a full loaf of bread. St Paul then realised that it was God who had sent St Anthony, after 80 years of his worshipping in solitude.
As legend tells it, when St Paul died St Anthony saw two lions standing by the door of the cave in which the former had made his home. The lions approached the corpse, and used their claws dug in the ground, for St Anthony put St Paul’s body into the hole for burial.
It is for this reason that St Paul’s icon in any Coptic museum in Egypt shows him flanked by two lions with a crown above his head.
The first travel narrative associated with the monastery belongs to an anonymous pilgrim from the Italian city of Piacenza who visited the tomb of St Paul the Anchorite between the years 560 CE and 570 CE. The pilgrim is not to be confused with Antoninus Martyr.
The first monks to occupy the monastery were some of the disciples of Anthony the Great, after they learned the story of St Paul the Anchorite. It may have been occupied by Melkites for a short period, although they were followed by Egyptian and Syrian monks.
The Syrians may have had a sustained existence at the monastery, for it appears that they also occupied the monastery during the first half of the 15th Century, after which their presence disappeared. According to an isolated Ethiopian reference, the 70th Coptic Orthodox Pope, Gabriel II (1131–45 CE), was banished to the monastery of St Paul the Anchorite for three years.
Throughout its history, the monastery has suffered from several Bedouin raids, the worst of which occurred in 1484. This particularly painful attack saw all the monks murdered and the monastery plundered, following which the Bedouins occupied the building for 80 years.
The monastery was rebuilt under the patronage of Pope Gabriel VII of Alexandria (1526-69 CE), then attacked and destroyed again towards the end of the century. The monastery was deserted for 119 years, then extensively reconstructed and repopulated by monks from St Anthony’s Monastery, under the patronage of Pope John XVI of Alexandria (1676-1718 CE).
The monastery has three churches, the most important of which is the underground Church of St Paul that contains the hermit’s cave and burial place. Its walls are painted with well-preserved frescoes, and the ceiling is hung with ostrich eggs, symbols of the resurrection. The larger Church of St Michael has a gilded icon of John the Baptist’s severed head.
There is no public transportation to St Paul’s Monastery and, as the original hermit intended, it is a long journey from civilisation to get there. Visitors can take the bus from Cairo to Hurghada and get off at the turn-off for St Paul’s Monastery, following which there is a 13 km uphill trek to the monastery itself. This may sound daunting at first, but the road is well-paved and has plenty of traffic.
The Monastery of St Paul is an incredibly important site in Egypt’s long and varied history, and is the second ancient Coptic Christian monastery tucked away in the Eastern Desert.
Visitors may also view some of the manuscripts in the monastery’s possession, which includes a Coptic language version of the “Divine Liturgy”. A tour of the site may include a trip up the tower, and a glimpse of the “Pool of Mary” where Mary, the sister of Moses, washed her feet during the Exodus.
Along with the nearby Monastery of St Anthony, the Monastery of St Paul is quite possibly the most impressive structure in the desert. It is for this reason that it is included in several Egyptian desert tours.
