tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-216203612008-07-18T03:05:11.028+04:00grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comBlogger693125244896http://www.feedburner.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-78263178832737429652008-07-18T02:51:00.000+04:002008-07-18T03:05:11.043+04:00

No sex on the beach No topless sunbathing No transvestites? No aircon Dubai just ain't fun any more. Next thing you'll be tell me is that shisha is banned!

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What is Islamic tourism all about? Is it tourism about Islam? Or is it tourism that allows women the opportunity to sunbathe without prying eyes? Segregated sunbathing? Let's put it like this: where there is a niche, there is a market. Where there is a market and that market has money to spend, the niche gets catered for. Expect more Islamic tourism in the future. In the Gulf, in Turkey, and

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Are these the top 20 public intellectuals? Is the fact that there are a great number of Muslim's in this top 20 significant? Or, as Foreign Policy most eloquently put it: No one spread the word as effectively as the man who tops the list. In early May, the Top 100 list was mentioned on the front page of Zaman, a Turkish daily newspaper closely aligned with Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

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Tourist often get tempted to purchase a kandura, guthra and egal as a memento from a trip the UAE. Mazher Mahmood took this one step further by creating an alter ego, in his investigative journalist guise for the News of the World, that got the rich and famous to disclose things that they probably didn't want anyone else to hear. He took on the form of a "sheikh", supposedly very wealthy and

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/07/confessions-of-fake-sheik.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-81200412742112941382008-07-01T20:10:00.000+04:002008-07-01T20:12:14.734+04:00

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, has downplayed the size of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, saying that estimates that it has assets of around $800bn are exaggerated. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) – of which Sheikh Khalifa is chairman of the board – is often described as the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with estimates of its size

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I think the average salary will be going up if announcements like this one are contined: All Dubai-bound

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/06/regarding-dubai-expat-salaries.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-53314826784479845952008-06-24T00:24:00.000+04:002008-06-24T00:33:42.133+04:00

Last month Mckinsey Quarterly issued a great little paper that really puts things into perspective regarding what oil means for the GCC economies. The GCC’s foreign-investment choices will influence interest rates, liquidity, and financial markets around the world. And the domestic investments will affect the region’s urban development, economic diversification, and ability to create jobs.

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136 Dollars for a visa - does a cash charge prevent undesirables? While such concerns are understandable, the UAE had better make sure that it doesn’t lose its competitive edge with business travelers and tourists. Immigration can already be a slow process at Dubai’s airport. A new layer, including lines to make payments for visas, could really gum up the process. Ease of access has been a key

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/06/would-precharge-prevent-you-from-coming.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-82893981227133445652008-06-24T00:05:00.000+04:002008-06-24T00:09:54.489+04:00

Which are the best souks in Dubai? Where can you get your "authentic" souvenirs? Where in the UAE can you fell as if you are in a scene from 1001 Nights, in modern day Arabia. We give you the definitive guide. Souk it up! - Souks in Dubai.

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/06/souks-in-dubai.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-23908821711938085322008-06-15T15:27:00.000+04:002008-06-15T15:38:35.402+04:00

Find out the difference between halal, halawa, halwa, hamala, hawala in our new definitions section and you will manage to sort your body wax from your money transfer. Grapeshisha Definitions - The Unofficial Dictionary to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the UAE

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/06/halalawalwamalawala.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-61606471020376122792008-05-22T17:06:00.000+04:002008-05-22T17:11:16.403+04:00

There is a shortage of quality housing in the Capital Emirate with an influx of expats. Historically, Abu Dhabi rents have been relatively high, but are now escalating at a furious level. And while cityscape highlighted numerous plans for the housing, there seems to be only one way up, for Abu Dhabi rents. Think of the Dubai rate 3 years ago, and double it. With no minimal supply and increasing

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We have put together a selection of maps of Abu Dhabi and maps of Dubai for those looking to locate where things are. They range from both google maps to the governmental ones. The new Abu Dhabi map from Belhane is particularly impressive. Maps of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the UAE

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/05/maps-of-abu-dhabi-dubai.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-26913577655918643442008-05-08T00:00:00.001+04:002008-05-08T02:13:26.399+04:00

We have covered the 99 before but it appears that there are more on the horizon, and in the not too distant future it is not crazy to think that you could have an Arab Batman V Superman type mashup all backed by the Marvel, who of course are setting up a theme park in Dubai. So when a man has a dream: Mr Bakhit not only honed his drawing skills, but he also developed his first story, a tale

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/05/arab-superhoes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-31604426328458258022008-05-07T23:45:00.000+04:002008-05-07T23:59:18.672+04:00

In years gone by, camels would be traded in the desert as a form of currency. "I will reward you with 1000 camels" or phrases of such nature. Whether at this point in time, actual camels were used or the promise of camels is not known, but either way, the camel has a sort of value of currency, bartering or otherwise. These days, camels are traded in the the camel markets, either as a sort of

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Is the Palm really all it was cracked up to be? Or is the first Palm island in Dubai a plum? The Guardian give their own view: Multimillion-pound villas have been squeezed together "like Coronation Street", air-conditioning bills are hitting £800 a month and persistent snags have led some to joke it is more "eighth blunder" than "eighth wonder". Pitfalls in paradise: why Palm Jumeirah is

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/palm-jumeirah-is-scarer.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-41323431127351820772008-04-28T19:43:00.000+04:002008-04-28T19:48:26.702+04:00

Visions of what Masdar (the zero carbon, zero waste city) in Abu Dhabi. From If you Build it (Slate Magazine)

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/masdar.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-85260596910813502842008-04-27T17:22:00.000+04:002008-04-27T17:45:55.445+04:00

Up until now, the freezones of Dubai have operated perfectly well as a sort of offshore haven operating within the UAE. But if the UAE is going to look for sustainable growth for the whole economy, it needs to lift some barriers on foreign ownership. Currently if you are setting up a company in Dubai, you need a local partner who take 51% of the company. The perception of this is risky, as you

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/new-companies-law-on-foreign-ownership.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-47693190796449128482008-04-26T16:57:00.000+04:002008-04-26T17:03:42.334+04:00

You have always got to listen when Queen Rania has something to say: Her open debate on youtube is remarkable. Aside, here is something on women doing business in Dubai

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/arab-women.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-67545820973610641932008-04-26T16:49:00.000+04:002008-04-26T16:56:58.495+04:00

Peter J Cooper has now set up a blog - and this will be the blog to watch. More insight than blog, it comes with the backing of a wealth of past and present experience. It is my new must read, although I'm sure he doesn't care too much for Grapeshisha or any of the other blogs out hear, bar John Chilton, "the emirates economist", and he does have some views that are valid but probably don't gain

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/peter-j-coopers-blog.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-50414326105892580022008-04-19T16:04:00.001+04:002008-04-19T16:05:52.385+04:00

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/dubai-miracle-or-mirage-video.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-14242036509857861452008-04-19T14:59:00.000+04:002008-04-19T15:36:42.369+04:00

The price of gold at the moment is currently north of $1000 per ounce. These are unprecedented levels and those that reflect the current market sentiment. The price of gold has historically been correlated to oil and inflation. If you look at the current price of oil which hovers around the $115 per barrel mark, you could say that gold is undervalued, at the current time. And there are other

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/price-of-gold.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-83730882978065888342008-04-16T14:40:00.000+04:002008-04-16T15:58:09.843+04:00

Arabic Literature is taking centre stage at present, with many titles starting to command a presence in the west, and many doing not so badly at all. Here is a selection of the best Arabic literature that is currently doing well, or soon to do well. Although this category of best current Arabic literature is a little tenuous and are not necessarily written in Arabic before they are translated,

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/arabic-literature.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-28117528239526598372008-04-15T03:44:00.000+04:002008-04-15T04:00:10.137+04:00

The London Book Fair has an Arabic theme this year, with Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the League of Arab States stating: : He said there had been an increase in the number of books published in the Arab world in recent years, with a new creativeness in literature, less censorship, and more translation abroad. "The number of books issued [in the Arab world] in the last five years was three

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/authonomy.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-4297416104216592502008-04-15T03:35:00.000+04:002008-04-15T03:41:42.235+04:00

This has all the markings of being schooled, but those who know the very basics of Arabic names will know that bin means son of. So, this is conclusive proof that Superman was Batman's father. It sounds like having the hallmarks of a mashup of Starwars and superheros. Imagination overdrive. For those of you who have had issues at airports, consider this: Airport Security, Customs Official: May

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/batman-bin-suparman.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21620361.post-59463026168746397662008-04-15T03:23:00.001+04:002008-04-15T04:00:56.657+04:00

Whether you are interested in finding the best schools in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or just trying to get a feel for schools fees, we have tried to cover a number of issues, from availability of schools to cost of education to universities and special needs, as well as trying to provide some detail on curriculum. Schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

grapeshishahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00647015483310802719noreply@blogger.comhttp://grapeshisha.blogspot.com/2008/04/schools-in-dubai.html