My family and I recently moved to Abu Dhabi after almost a decade in Dubai. For those who don’t live in the UAE, this might seem like a simple thing. After all, they're only about a 90-minute drive apart.
But ask any resident in the UAE and you’ll find that there is a level of attachment that people have to the emirate they live in. Many people would rather commute hundreds of kilometres daily than move emirates.
However, I was not affected at all when we moved, despite having lived in Dubai all these years, first with my parents and then with my husband. My mother-in-law, who has been a Dubai resident for less time than any of us, felt sad to leave our home. My husband too had grown fond of the apartment, especially since it was where we brought our daughter home for the first time. It's not that I had no sentimental memories in the home, but as we drove away I am pretty sure I did not even look back. To me, it’s just a place with four walls.
I was born in Sanaa and it was home for our family for more than 20 years. We moved twice while living there, and it was there that I spent 16 years of my life.
After I left to study in India, I stayed in a boarding school in Kerala and later in Pune, then with my grandparents and at various relatives’ homes in Kerala. Eventually, I got used to not having my own room, as I came to consider them as temporary living situations. Home for me was always Sanaa, where I travelled back and forth between holidays.
In 2011, when the political situation in Yemen worsened, my parents, brother and I were forced to leave the country for our safety. It soon dawned on me that we had no home base to go back to, and began to feel like strangers in our own country. My brother found it even harder than I did – he didn’t know how to read our native language, Malayalam, or how to navigate the different cultural and social nuances.
That’s when I came up with an idea to help him. But honestly, it was also to help myself cope. I told him that we need to accept the idea that home could no longer be tied to a house, a town or even a country. I told him that home is wherever the four of us were together.
Years later, my parents moved to Dubai with my brother and I followed them soon after. When I married, my husband was added to the "list". So now, you could send me anywhere and if I had these five people with me, I would still be at home. This coping mechanism has helped me a lot. No matter where I am or where I go, I know exactly where my happy place is.
But it can also be a bit sad. I recently overheard my husband talk to our daughter about his ancestral home in Kerala and how it is now hers. He told her about the 100-year-old school he studied in and regaled her with stories about the friends he grew up with. I have no such places to show, having lost them to regional conflict.
I also feel a sense of instability sometimes. I know friends who have properly settled down, found new friends, decorated their houses and go about their routines – everything that can make a place feel like home. I feel unable to immerse myself in such things because there is always a thought in the back of my head that things could change.
I hope I can teach my daughter my coping mechanism so she knows that her dad and I will always be "home" no matter where we are. But I also want her to have memories and experiences that can give her a sense of belonging.
After a decade in the UAE, the longest I have been anywhere since Yemen, I know there is no place more perfect for her to do that. The country is safe and beautiful and has the perfect mix of cultures for her to grow up to be a well-rounded sensitive person.
We have only lived in Abu Dhabi for six months and I love it just as much as Dubai. The city has a relaxed laidback vibe and is perfect for families. Moving here has been exciting because it is a new start, a new apartment and new places to see. But my true home is still the people I am with.
The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Apple%20Mac%20through%20the%20years
%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
