Majestic mosque gets finishing touches

Posted on August 26, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Majestic mosque gets finishing touches By Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter/GULF NEWS Published: August 18, 2007, 00:05

Abu Dhabi: More than 1,500 workers, supervisors, designers and engineers are working feverishly to put the final touches on Shaikh Zayed Mosque, which can accommodate about 40,000 worshippers.

The mosque is scheduled to open at the end of Ramadan for Eid prayers and its main prayer hall can accommodate about 5,000 worshippers, said project manager Khowla Salem Al Sulaimani.

The striking domes of the mosque are reportedly the largest ever built on any mosque.

“Two international Islamic organisations have confirmed it is the third largest in the world,” said Khowla, but notes that its main striking features are its domes, the biggest among any mosque in the world.

The General Secretariat Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) based in Saudi Arabia, and the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture in Turkey have confirmed the 22,412 square metre mosque to be the third-largest in the world.

Even before its completion, the Shaikh Zayed Mosque, which cost about Dh2.1 billion, has become famous around the world. A huge chandelier is installed in the main prayer hall. An Iranian carpet will also be placed in the main prayer hall and is the largest hand-woven carpet in the world.

The carpet was woven by about 1,200 Iranian women. The carpet which costs Dh30 million was delivered to Abu Dhabi last week.

The 16.5 metre chandelier was imported from Germany. The seven chandeliers in the mosque cost about Dh30 million.

The main dome which is 87 metres high with a diameter of 32.8 metres, is the largest in the world. While the other 81 domes are of traditional Moroccan design.

Distinct features

The main door of the mosque is made completely of glass and is 12.2 metres high. The 7 metres wide door weighs about 2.2 tonnes and has beautiful floral designs.

The prayer halls are decorated with Italian white marble and are inlaid with floral designs. Various designs are used for different parts of the mosque.

The courtyard is decorated with white marble from Greece, while its 1,048 columns are being decorated by workers from India, points out Khowla, who is proud to be working on a world famous project.

The outside walls of the Shaikh Zayed Mosque are of traditional Turkish design. Worshippers entering the mosque will get a fantastic view of the entire structure, reflected in the waters surrounding it.

Artificial lakes laden with dark tiles surround the mosque.

The four minarets of the Shaikh Zayed Mosque reach a towering height of 107 metres and can be seen from far off.

“The whole structure is on an elevated position as the foundation has been laid 9.5 metres above ground level,” said the project manager.

Municipal Affairs Department of the Abu Dhabi Municipality is supervising the finishing touches on the Shaikh Zayed Mosque, one of the ten largest mosques in the world.

Director of the Shaikh Zayed mosque project Khowla Al Sulaimani said that the main prayer hall of the mosque is expected to be opened during the final days of the month of Ramadan. The carpet to be spread in the prayer hall arrived yesterday from Iran.

Different colours
The 5,000 square metre carpet is the largest of its kind in the world and is handmade with 35 tonnes of wool and cotton.
Public relations director at the Municipal Affairs Department Mubarak Saif Al Mazroui said that the Shaikh Zayed Mosque is a magnificent addition to Islamic architectural splendour, and will become a landmark in the UAE and the region as a whole.

The main prayer hall under three large domes can accommodate over forty thousand worshippers.

The main prayer hall under three large domes can accommodate over forty thousand worshippers.

Car Roll Over’ simulator will increase seat belt awareness

Posted on August 26, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Car Roll Over’ simulator will increase seat belt awareness
By Joy Sengupta /KHALEEJ TIMES 26 August 2007

DUBAI — The Emirates Driving Institute has introduced the ‘Car Roll Over’ simulator to make drivers realise the importance of using seat belt as a safety measure.
The ‘Car Roll Over’ gives the students an actual feeling and the body movements of the driver when his car turns topsy turvy in an accident, Muhammed Arif, the Advance Driving Instructor and First Lecturer of the Institute, said yesterday.

“The apparatus would also make the people realise the fact that people inside the car have got more chances of survival if they have fastened their seats belts as it holds them tight to the seat in the case of an accident resulting in the car roll over,” he said.

“There are many organsations who have been talking about the importance of seat belts since a long time now. Fines have also been imposed on the violators. But still, there are people who don’t care. A majority of them don’t understand the importance of seat belts. We realised that a practical knowledge about how the belt works would be helpful,” he said. The system had been imported from Volvo, a popular commercial transport solutions based in Sweden.

“This is a whole car. We ask the person to sit in it and then fasten the seat belt. Then we revolve the car upside down. One can easily feel the pressure on the back and the neck when the car is turning,” Arif said.

“But then if one is fastened, the belt does not allow the person to crash out through the windscreen or get thrown in some other corner of the car. This considerably reduces the risk. Also, the air bag coming out from the front after the crash is beneficial only if you are fastened. This apparatus would indeed make people realise the importance of seat belts,” he added.

The official stated that another apparatus, called the ‘Seat Belt Convensor’ was also useful in making people aware. “In this, we try to make people know the kind of impact the car has when it hits something. It is again the seatbelt which does not let the person move out of the seat. Otherwise he can crash out of the car through the windscreen,” pointed Arif.

The official said that soon they would be opening these machines for the common people. “Anyone would be free to come down to the centre and experience this. People should know about the importance of seat belts. Seat belts are life savers,” he emphasised.

Parents hard hit by rising stationary cost

Posted on August 25, 2007

Parents hard hit by rising stationary cost
By Daniel Bardsley and Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporters /GULF NEWS Published: August 25, 2007, 00:24

Dubai: Many parents say they are finding it difficult to cope with the rising cost of uniforms, stationary, textbooks and all the other things they have to buy for their children every year.

Dr Elizabeth Thomas, 37, a veterinary surgeon from India with two daughters, Evana, eight, and Evita, seven, who both go to an Indian school in Sharjah, said increases in uniform prices had affected her the most.

She estimated that uniform prices had jumped about 10 to 15 per cent during the past 12 months.

“Over the year, the uniform prices have gone higher, there’s no doubt,” she told Gulf News.

“We get the uniforms from school and for the cost you pay, I certainly feel we could get better quality. Material wise, I could get a better shirt for the same price.

“The way things are now in the UAE, it’s really difficult because it’s not just the uniforms, it’s everything.”

Umm Ahmad, an Iraqi whose three children go to private Arabic schools, said uniform prices had gone up.

“Uniform prices have gone up about ten per cent, which is not bad considering that they were not expensive to start with,” she said.

She named the rising cost of tuition fees as more of a headache, saying: “The salaries of many residents of the UAE stay the same while expenses such as this are on the rise. Tuition prices go up every year.”

Armenia, an Indian whose 15-year-old daughter attends an Indian school in Sharjah, said textbook and writing book price rises had been heavy this year.

“Previously, I’ve never had to spend more than Dh200 on books, but this year it was Dh300. That is quite a big jump,” she said.

Back to school with a bang and a sigh

Posted on August 25, 2007 Updated on June 6, 2015

Back to school with a bang and a sigh
By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter/GULF NEWS
Published: August 25, 2007, 00:24

Dubai: The phrase “back to school” has struck fear into the hearts of children for decades, but increasingly, parents as well are beginning to dread the beginning of term.

The reason that mothers and fathers become concerned when the new school year looms is financial: costs of many of the essentials of school life have increased significantly this year.

It is not just the well-documented rises in tuition fees that are causing financial headaches, but also hikes in the price of books, stationery and uniforms.

As reported this month in Gulf News, stationery is now more than twice as expensive as last year for some parents, thanks to increases in the cost of paper and other inflationary pressures.

Parents who used to shell out Dh200 to equip their children with pens, pencils, exercise books and the like now have to pay Dh450.

Increases in the costs of school items are a particular headache to parents already struggling with the rising costs of rent and other major expenses.

Peter Daly, headmaster of Dubai English Speaking College, said textbooks had become much costlier, although in the case of his school, parents do not have to buy them themselves.

“Textbooks are now quite a major part of our budget. I’d say [the increase] must be 10 per cent per annum,” he said. “We get our textbooks from the UK and in the last two or three years particularly they have become expensive.”

Similarly, with regard to uniforms, Alexandra Sacher-Clynes, director of supplier Wren International, said that the cost of materials had gone up considerably, as the company sourced from the UK and exchange rates had become less favourable.

She said the firm had absorbed this cost as its contracts with schools stipulate the price of uniforms, although other firms that are not locked into contracts have been free to put up prices.

“We haven’t increased the prices – we’ve taken the headache,” she said.

Schools hike annual fees for transportation

Posted on August 24, 2007

Schools hike annual fees for transportation
By Preeti Kannan / KHALEEJ TIMES 24 August 2007

DUBAI — As students gear up for the new academic year, their parents are faced with yet another ‘extra expense’ with many schools reportedly choosing to increase transportation fees.

It is learnt that Emirates International School (EIS) has hiked the annual transportation fee from Dh3,300 to Dh5,250 and Dubai International Academy (DIA) from Dh3,300 to Dh5,200. Also, the International School of Choueifat, Dubai, has upped it from Dh3,000 to Dh3,300, while Delhi Public School (DPS) Dubai is learnt to have hiked the fees by Dh150 on some select routes.

DPS Dubai’s rates have changed from Dh 1,650 to Dh1,800 on the Deira and Ghusais routes, while the fee for Bur Dubai and Satwa routes has gone up from Dh1,500 to Dh1,650.

An official from the school, who didn’t want to be named, pointed out that the diesel costs had prompted the move.

Be that as it may, the hike in transportation fees has added to the parents’ cup of woes.

“Any change in the transport fee does pinch our pockets. Already there are so many expenses to be incurred during the course of the year. However, as parents, we have no choice but to depend on the school buses to ferry our children,” says a parent, KN, whose ward is studying in the International School of Choueifat, Dubai.

Another parent, whose child studies in DIA and who didn’t wish to be named, also echoed similar views. “It does upset our budgets when there is such an increase. Nevertheless, we would have to bear the cost if we want to use the school bus.”

Transport company Diamondlease, which provides buses to EIS, Meadows, EIS Jumeirah and DIA, confirmed that the fees have been increased. However, company officials justified the hike, claiming that it was long due because operational costs had gone up considerably.

“We had not increased our rates since DIA started a few years back. The overall operational costs like hiring of drivers, accommodation and visas for them have gone up. Also the time taken to pick up and drop children is longer now. It is financially not viable for us to run buses at a low cost,” said a senior representative of the company, who did not wish to be named.

The principals of EIS Jumeirah and Meadows, however, refused to comment.

ADCCI news

Posted on August 24, 2007

ADCCI announces second five-year strategic plan
Wam/29 July 2007

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) declared its second five-year strategic plan, Salah Salem Al Shamsi, chairman of the Chamber said. “The strategy comes as a result of continuing development that the Chamber has witnessed.”

In a Press conference, Eng. Salah said that the strong belief of the Chamber in the importance of setting up a strategy and implementing it, would help any institution to achieve its strategic goals. He assured that the priorities and objectives of the new strategy had been set to serve the economic and construction boom that the UAE is witnessing now.

ADCCI signs deal with Toastmasters
BY A STAFF REPORTER /KHALEEJ TIMES 25 July 2007

ABU DHABI — The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Toastmasters International, a US company, to adopt its Communication & Leadership Programme.

Ahmad Hassan Al Mansouri, ADCCI director-general, signed the agreement with Ravender Ray, the programme’s regional representative, recently.

Al Mansouri said that adopting this international programme comes in the framework of the ADCCI’s plan to support the private sector and to create special international educational and training programmes.

“The application of the internationally-known programme is expected to serve the chamber’s plans and strategies that aim at developing the services offered to its members and businessmen and linking it to their actual needs,” Al Mansouri said, adding that developing communication and leadership skills is considered to be a top priority for any leading company.

Al Mansouri said that the programme aims at supporting the society’s needs and requirements, so that it may add knowledge and experience to all those working for different government bodies, local companies, private and official institutions.

He said the Chamber will be the sponsor of more than 10 events, covering communication and leadership programmes, in addition to associated events and exhibitions.