Open Skies | August 2015

UNDERGROUND IN STOCKHOLM

Editor-in-ChiEf Managing PartnEr & grouP Editor EditoriaL dirECtor grouP Editor SEnior Editor digitaL / Print dESignEr digitaL aniMator Sub Editor EditoriaL aSSiStant

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Ian Fairservice Gina Johnson gina@motivate.ae Mark Evans marke@motivate.ae Andrew Nagy andrew.nagy@motivate.ae Ralph Mancao ralph@motivate.ae Surajit Dutta surajit@motivate.ae Salil Kumar salil@motivate.ae Londresa Flores londresa@motivate.ae

ContributorS

Andrew Birbeck, Marina Chetner, Gemma Correll, Jamie Knights, Kaye Martindale, Thomas Mester, Joe Mortimer, Robbie Porter, Gareth Rees, Rebecca Rees, Sandra Tinari. Cover: Geoff Brokate ChiEf CoMMErCiaL offiCEr Anthony Milne anthony@motivate.ae gEnEraL ManagEr ProduCtion S Sunil Kumar ProduCtion ManagEr R Murali Krishnan

grouP SaLES dirECtor Craig L. W. Wagstaff craig.wagstaff @motivate.ae

grouP SaLES ManagEr Jaya Balakrishnan jaya@motivate.ae

PubLiShEr Martin Balmer martin.balmer @motivate.ae

SEnior SaLES ManagEr Shruti Srivastava shruti.srivastava@ motivate.ae

rEgionaL ManagEr abu dhabi Imane Eddinari Imane@motivate.ae

dEPuty SaLES ManagEr Amar Kamath EditoriaL ConSuLtantS for EMiratES Editor Hannah Burden Hamer arabiC Editor Hatem Omar dEPuty Editor Andy Grant WEbSitE emirates.com InternatIonal MedIa representatIves auStraLia/nEW ZEaLand Okeeffe Media; Tel + 61 894 472 734, okeeffekev@bigpond.com.au bELgiuM and LuXEMbourg M.P.S. Benelux; Tel +322 720 9799, francesco.sutton@mps-adv.com China Publicitas Advertising; Tel +86 10 5879 5885 gErMany IMV Internationale Medien Vermarktung GmbH; Tel +49 8151 550 8959, w.jaeger@imv-media.com hong Kong/MaLaySia/thaiLand Sonney Media Networks; Tel +852 2151 2351, hemant@sonneymedia.com india Media Star; Tel +91 22 4220 2103, ravi@mediastar.co.in JaPan Tandem Inc.; Tel + 81 3 3541 4166, all@tandem-inc.com nEthErLandS giO media; Tel +31 (0)6 22238420, giovanni@giO-media.nl PaKiStan D&S International News Agency; Tel +92 3235345727, dnsnewsagency@gmail.com SWitZErLand, franCE/itaLy & SPain IMM International; Tel +331 40 1300 30, n.devos@imm-international.com turKEy Media Ltd.; Tel +90 212 275 51 52, mediamarketingtr@medialtd.com.tr uK Spafax Inflight Media; Tel +44 207 906 2001, nhopkins@spafax.com uSa Totem Brand Stories; Tel +1 4168475100, nicole.mullin@tc.tc Emirates takes care to ensure that all facts published herein are correct. In the event of any inaccuracy please contact the editor. Any opinion expressed is the honest belief of the author based on all available facts. Comments and facts should not be relied upon by the reader in taking commercial, legal, financial or other decisions. Articles are by their nature general and specialist advice should always be consulted before any actions are taken.

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110,618 copies July – Dec 2014 Printed by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai, UAE

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s k i e s

Don’t change the rules on open skies Why Open Skies has become an industry hot topic and why it’s bad news for consumers, trade and the aviation industry if America decides to retract or change its policy Open Skies is the name of this magazine. It is something Emirates strongly believes in and advocates, and it is also a topic that has made media headlines across the world in recent months.

In aviation, Open Skies is the United States originated and led international policy that creates a free-market environment for the commercial airline industr y. It massively liberalises market access for passenger and cargo air transpor t services and eliminates government inter vention in areas such as choice of destinations, pricing, flight frequency, the types of aircraft an airline operates and the onboard product it offers.

It regards consumers, and their interest in competitive choice, to be paramount.

Emirates proudly supports and contributes to the goals of Open Skies which are: greater competition, increased flight frequency, consumer choice, promotion of business travel and tourism, improved service, and customer-centric innovation.

On October 25, 1985, Emirates took flight on its first routes out of Dubai with just two aircraft – a leased Boeing 737 and

an Airbus 300 B4. We began with just US$10 million cash seed capital and we were told, in no uncer tain terms, not to come back for more. We were treated as a wholly independent business entity, and were asked to operate under Dubai’s Open Skies regime, competing with any other airline on the same terms. We have never received aeropolitical protection, or handouts. Our instructions were clear : “look good, be good, and make money.”

That has always been Emirates’ mandate, even as we evolved over the past 30 years into a global airline and brand. Operating under Dubai’s Open Skies policy, we learned how to thrive in a competitive landscape through good business practices, hiring and retaining talented staff, and offering a great product that keeps customers coming back.

Open Skies has become a media and industry hot topic because in January, three US legacy carriers – Delta, United and American Airlines – began an aggressive lobbying campaign, asking the United States Government to change the Open Skies agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The US

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O p e n

legacy carriers allege that three of their competitors from the Gulf – Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar – are subsidised and compete unfairly. On the basis of these allegations, they requested their government to unilaterally freeze the growth of all three Gulf carriers’ air services into the US, and to significantly roll back the existing Open Skies agreements, or even terminate them.

What the US legacy carriers seek is to lock out competition on international routes – to the detriment of consumer choice and valuable international air transpor t links that cities need for trade and tourism to flourish.

Wrongly, the US legacy carriers believe they are entitled to your business, and need not win it by offering you world class service like Emirates. If you instead choose to fly Emirates because we make you feel more valued as a customer, they claim we have “stolen” you. They are demanding the US government return “their” passengers by eliminating your opportunity to choose Emirates. It is a mindset that is completely foreign to Emirates’ customer-centric approach. It is up to us to win your business by offering the safest and best product possible, not the role of government to force passengers onto any airlines by denying them competitive alternatives.

In their protectionist campaign, the three US legacy carriers levied a number of false allegations about Emirates’ business practices. And they have relentlessly promulgated these untruths, which have unfor tunately been echoed by a vocal minority in Europe who share the same protectionist mindset as the US legacy carriers.

Emirates’ formal response to these allegations has been submitted to the US government departments who are reviewing the issue, and is also publicly available on our website (emirates.com/USsubsidyRebuttal). For the record, Emirates receives no subsidies whatsoever and does not compete unfairly.

We have always been transparent, and our business growth and finances are clearly laid out in fully-audited financial reports which we have published annually for more than 20 years.

When the United States pioneered and championed Open Skies agreements in the ‘90s, it was a huge step forward that has generated a cascade of tremendous benefits for consumers and travellers alike and across the supply chain – aerospace manufacturing, travel, hospitality, trade and commerce, retail and tourism. For consumers, the benefits are clear – increased choice of airlines, routes, lower fares, and increased flight frequency.

For businesses and communities, the realisation of Open Skies by the United States and its trading partners has enhanced US cities’ international connectivity. More US cities now have direct international routes, which boosts tourism and trade.

Emirates alone offers US consumers, communities and exporting companies direct flights to more than 50 cities not directly served by any American carrier. We transpor t tourists, business travellers and goods, connecting America to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These are markets the US legacy carriers have largely ignored.

Emirates today flies 84 flights each week from nine US gateways – Boston, Chicago, Dallas/For t Wor th, Houston, Los

s k i e s

Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC. The estimated annual economic value of Emirates’ services to these airpor ts and their surrounding regions is $2.9 billion. In addition, via interline arrangements, Emirates has provided over 775,000 feed passengers to US legacy carriers, producing $133 million in financial benefits to them over the past five years.

Open Skies has also spurred innovation, creating oppor tunities for carriers to develop new types of products to differentiate their services, and route networks based on their assessment of marketplace demand. Innovative new air transpor t services like international express delivery and longhaul to long-haul international flights, are just two examples of what Open Skies has made possible.

In a recent Huffington Post ar ticle, Roger Dow, President and CEO of the US Travel Association, wrote, “Preserving Open Skies is critical to thousands of businesses all across America and millions of US jobs that depend on international travel.

These agreements exist to benefit the entire travel industry and the broader US economy, not just three airlines.”

Simply put, changing the rules or rolling back the Open Skies agreement that the US has with the United Arab Emirates, or indeed with any of the other 114 countries where such agreements exist, would be a mistake for the global aviation industr y, for America, and most impor tantly for consumers.

Emirates will continue to engage in the Open Skies debate, to champion consumer choice and competition. However, we will not lose focus on what we really set out to do when our airline took flight 30 years ago: to connect people, places and oppor tunities efficiently, and in the most comfor table way possible. We will continue to work hard to deliver the high quality experience and value that our customers expect – on the ground and in the air.

Since 2013, we’ve added 20 new passenger destinations to our global route network, and additional flights to existing routes to increase your travel choices. Today, Emirates flies to 146 destinations in 81 countries and territories. A new Emirates Lounge was recently opened in Narita, Japan, bringing to 38 the number of dedicated Emirates airpor t lounges across our network. Free Wi-Fi is now available on board more than 120 of our aircraft, and we are pressing ahead to make this available across the rest of our fleet. In July, we received delivery of our latest Boeing 777 aircraft which has many enhanced features such as larger personal inflight enter tainment screens in all cabin classes and an even broader selection of media content.

This will become the new standard offering in future 777 and A380 deliveries as well.

We will keep investing in our fleet, our products, and the services that we offer to our customers. Because that is what competitive, customer-centric businesses do.

Thank you for flying with us.

Sir Tim Clark President, emirates airline

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Louvre Abu Dhabi Presents

Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories displays a selection of the museum’s artworks creating a window to a universe of various artistic forms and sculptures reflecting the museum’s universal narrative and mission to build bridges between different cultures and aesthetic concepts.

LOUVRE ABU DHABI STORIES: IMMORTAL FIGURES 28 JULY - 30 AUGUST 2015 09:00 - 20:00 Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi

louvreabudhabi.ae @LouvreAbuDhabi #DiscoverLAD

For more information on public programmes, including talks and workshops, or to book a guided tour, please visit our website, call +9712 657 5800, or email manaratalsaadiyat@tcaabudhabi.ae

Portrait of Fayum, Egypt, Antinoopolis, 225-250 CE, Encaustic on wooden panel, LAD 2014.024 © Louvre Abu Dhabi, Photographer: Jonathan Gibbons

E D I T O R ’ S

L E T T E R

ON THE COVER

ANDREW NAGY

R

egardless of where you’re going, I always feel that at least one journey on public transpor t is essential. It gives you a real sense of a city and, if only for a moment, makes you feel like a bona fide local.

Now, at the risk of incurring the wrath of all Londoners following the recent strike action, I have to admit that I’ve always enjoyed riding the Underground. Perhaps it’s because I’ve rarely had to use it during rush hour, so skilfully avoided the nine-to-five’s big squeeze, but to me, the old tiles, the disused stations – that on rare days you can visit – and those black and white images of people crammed inside taking cover during the Blitz, just seem to lend a romantic air to it all. Even as a child I loved it, heading down into a subterranean world, carefully working out your route on the map and then rushing down the escalator to make sure you made it on time; ever ything about the journey was exciting.

These days, if you’re heading to a subway station in order to simply get somewhere, of course, then you’re a fool, as an underground revolution has been rumbling along for some time.

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The station is now the destination, which is why we have some beautifully shot images from the Stockholm Metro on this month’s cover.

At closer examination, you discover that most stations offer a fascinating insight into the city that they ser ve.

Whether it’s the neoclassical underpinnings of Komsomolskaya Station in Moscow, the trials and triumphs of Chilean histor y chronicled on the walls of Universidad station in Santiago, or the patriotic murals of the subway system in Nor th Korea (ably assisted by the rumours of secret lines to underground militar y facilities), it’s clear that these vital hubs are becoming installations at the beating hear t of ever y great city.

So wherever you are this month, take a look underground and see what you find.

Probably best to give yourself plenty of time though – there’s a good chance you might just miss your train.

THE STOCKHOLM METRO This month, we sent Australian photographer Geoff Brokate underground in search of art for our cover story. The Stockholm Metro is home to the world’s longest art exhibition – 110km at the last count – revealing rugged, sandblasted rock adorned with mosaics, carvings and installations dating back 65 years. geoffbrokate.com

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“NORTH KOREAN STATIONS HAVE PATRIOTIC MURALS AND RUMOURS OF SECRET LINES TO MILITARY HUBS”

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LOOK OUT FOR THIS ICON ON EACH STORY IN OPEN SKIES FOR AN INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF EMIRATES

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Dance The Team Members of LUX* help people to celebrate life with the most simple, fresh and sensory hospitality in the world.

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62 72 80 88 Underground In Stockholm

Nicaragua: The Fire Within

Words And Wanderlust

Rise Of The Megatropolis

BRIEFING

96 102 104 106 108 Emirates News

Inside Emirates

Destination

Comfort

112 114 120 122 UAE Smart Gate

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The Fleet

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Entertainment

Visas, Quick Connect & Quarantine Information

C O N T R I B U T O R S

AUGUST Some of the people who helped create this issue of Open Skies ANDREW BIRBECK

GEOFF BROKATE

MARINA CHETNER

THOMAS MESTER

Andrew is an Edinburgh-born author, writer and blogger who contributes regularly to a broad range of international and national titles. This month he writes on five of the most stunningly unique bookshops in the world.

Geoff is an Australian photographer based in the UK. This month he went underground in Stockholm for our cover story, to discover the longest ar t exhibition in the world.

Marina is an Australian-born writer based in Los Angeles.

This month she went to Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, to find ‘Little Moscow’ as compelling as ever.

Thomas is a New York-based photographer, specialising in people and corporate work. He believes that great creativity is often the result of team effort and values.

This month he shot Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach.

“Bookshops are a way into the heart of a destination. Often quirky, beautiful and run by independent souls who frequently swim against the tide. Why do they do it? I think the answer is simply: love.”

“Normally when I’m on the metro I’m in a rush to get somewhere by a certain time. But when I was on Stockholm’s subway I was forced to slow down, forget my timetable, and discover the original art that is each station.”

“If you can’t get to Russia, Brighton Beach is the next best thing.

Every time I walk past the stalls selling piroshki I can’t resist buying a few.

Deep fried hand-held pies filled with meat, mashed potatoes, or cabbage – their taste transports me straight to Moscow.”

JOE MORTIMER

GARETH REES

REBECCA REES

SANDRA TINARI

Joe is a travel writer of no fixed abode, currently roaming around Central America and Mexico.

He writes for magazines, websites and his blog, somewhereinthebetween.org.

This month he travelled to Nicaragua to see what the fuss was about.

Gareth is a UK-based freelance writer with a repertoire ranging from food to travel and celebrity profiles, including Tony Blair’s spin doctor Alastair Campbell, and football legend Pele. This month he enjoyed a spot of lunch with writer William Skidelsky.

Rebecca is a UK-based photographer whose work has appeared in titles including the Financial Times and Brownbook. She has also worked with Gap, Bentley and Maserati. This month she photographed the writer of the book, Federer and Me, William Skidelsky.

Sandra is an Australian freelance journalist and photographer, based in Dubai.

This month she wrote about one of the most respected tailors in Dubai.

“Nicaragua always conjured to mind flaming volcanoes poking through dense juangles and pristine Caribbean beaches. I wasn’t to be disappointed.”

“St John is one of my favourite London restaurants, and I love sport, so chatting to William about his new Roger Federer book was a wonderul way to spend a summer afternoon.”

“I love shooting with natural light and using a limited colour palette, so Fergus Henderson’s St John was the ideal location to photograph William.”

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“Over an hour from Manhattan by subway, yet a light year away in atmosphere, Brighton Beach is a jackpot for a photographer offering an easy to find target for the camera and a colorful, unusual food mix.“

“Lobo Tailors was an enthralling Aladdin’s cave, with walls filled with rows of colourful buttons, threads and fine fabrics, while the buzzy whir of old German sewing machines hummed of an inspirational Dubai success story.”

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FRONT

E x p E r i E n c E

August 7 – 31

Edinburgh FEstival FringE Edinburgh, Scotland

If you’re performing, the festival means months – if not a whole year – of anxiety and nervous excitement. It also means shor t-term financial ruin. Even to the shows that succeed.

When I first went with my show, The Ginge The Geordie And The Geek, we used credit cards and our flat deposit to finance it, and consequently slept on sofas for the next 18 months, unable to afford the deposit on another flat… and we did well, selling out all 3,500 of our tickets that year.

So why do we do it? Well, it’s quite simply the place that ever y performer

should cut their teeth. The atmosphere is electric and for the first few years, as a performer, it’s just so exciting.

For audiences it’s thrilling. So much choice and so many great shows. With that in mind you should plan your trip with almost militar y precision – but then, paradoxically, be prepared to throw that plan right out of the window if the flow takes you somewhere else.

I’m not performing this year, but I can tell you with full confidence that you should see James Acaster for the standup comedy (book a ticket in advance, his shows sell out fast). Then for

theatre go and see Vox Motux – they’re inventive and engaging stor ytellers.

But while you should have your favourites lined up, also be prepared to take a punt on an unknown quantity.

Somebody with hunger who’s out there for the love of their ar t, with belief in their ability and the hope that they might just make a name for themselves. That’s what we did and it ultimately led to a TV series with the BBC. Without those people taking a chance on our show we really wouldn’t have achieved anything. edfringe.com

emirates began daily service to glasgow in 2004. Today it operates two non-stop daily flights, having introduced a second daily glasgow service in 2012.

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AS TOLD TO AnDrew nAgy. IMAge: cOrbIS

ThIS MOnTh’S FeSTIvAL FrInge hAS The SurreAL AnD The STupenDOuS In equAL MeASure. AcTOr, wrITer, AnD TwO-TIMe FrInge FIrST wInner Paul Charlton expLAInS hOw TO negOTIATe The MADneSS

E x p E r i E n c E

August 22

EscApE from thE rock San FranciSco, US

Despite the rumours, a Hollywood film and the best efforts of Clint Eastwood, the reality is that in 30 years as a federal prison, it’s unlikely anybody actually made it out and away from Alcatraz Island.

The waters in the San Francisco Bay area are too cold and the currents just too powerful. Most who made it as far as the water were probably pulled under, which kind of makes the annual Escape From The Rock event – where people swim from the island – all the more intriguing.

Unsurprisingly, this one’s not really for novices. It might only be 2.5km, but with

an undercurrent that can rapidly pull you off course, and a temperature of around 60 degrees at best, you’ll need to be prepared. Most will practise for months until they can comfortably swim in open water for around 90 minutes.

On race day you’ll ride the ferry from Fisherman’s Wharf in the early morning Frisco fog. Once at the Island, and in the shadow of the famed ‘Indians Welcome’ sign, your actions will be dictated by two blasts of a horn: one that says jump into the water, the other that means start swimming.

Once you’ve mastered the cold, you’re

left with what lies beneath. Leopard sharks are known to frequent these waters, but the best rumour came from its time as a prison, and involved a shark bred with only one fin, so it was doomed to swim around the island in perpetual menace.

Of course, you’ll need a plan, and with the current pulling you hard, you’ll need to aim for something far left of the beach – like Coit Tower or Bay Bridge itself.That way your efforts should eventually guide you home to dry land and the glow of satisfaction that only a prison break can provide. raceroster.com

san francisco is a city which Emirates has served since 2008. as a world-renowned corporate and tourism destination, it offers global travellers access to incredible culture and cuisine. Emirates’ ties to the city extend beyond the airport, as a proud supporter of the san francisco symphony orchestra.

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words: andrEw nagy. imagE: corbis

This monTh’s EscapE from ThE rock racE offErs ThE chancE To brEak ouT from ThE lEgEndary maximum sEcuriTy prison island of AlcAtrAz. icy dEpThs, sTrong currEnTs and myThical sharks awaiT

F O R

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M A D R I D / D I AG O N A L

DEPARTMENT STORES SPAIN & PORTUGAL

BA R C E LO N A

F L A S H B A C K

AUGUST 28, 1977

PELE RETIRES IN GLORY WINNING THE LEAGUE IN 1977 REPRESENTED A PERFECT STORM FOR THE NEW YORK COSMOS, PROVIDING GLORY FOR A TEAM CREATED WITH HOLLYWOOD FIRMLY IN MIND The New York Cosmos were more of a movie than a sporting team. Part football, part showbiz, they brought the game to the US through superstar names and outrageous behaviour. You were just as likely to see them in the legendary Studio 54 as you were on the pitch, and the world loved them for it.

It was no secret that the North American Soccer League was dying a slow, painful death in 1975, only eight years after it began. Its resurrection, however, can be pinpointed to June 10, at the 21 Club… immediately following Warner Communications president Steve Ross’ announcement that the Cosmos had just signed Brazilian superstar, Pele.

The change was immediate. Pele’s debut against the Dallas Tornedos was screened live on CBS and 10 million people tuned in, although the pitch was so poor that they had to to paint it green ahead of the match. In an instant, attendances grew – the Cosmos’ tripled – and newfound TV exposure meant that the NASL was, for a while at least, big business.

The undisputed kings of the league acted accordingly. Cameras followed them everywhere, and club secretary Steve Marshall described their trips away as like “travelling with the Rolling Stones”.

By 1977, and with Pele now allied upfront alongside the Italian superstar Giorgio Chinaglia, they eventually got the title that their expenditure demanded, taking the trophy with a 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders.

More significantly, however, this would be the last professional match of Pele’s career, and the league would fall into decline quickly as a result. But nobody can deny the unadulterated glamour of those two astonishing years in NYC, when football and fantasy collided and the self-proclaimed ‘most glamorous football team in the world’ won hearts, minds, and trophies.

Emirates became a shirt sponsor of the New York Cosmos in 2013. In 2014, Emirates announced a two year extension to its sponsorship of the club.

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GO COSMOS! NO, SERIOUSLY, GO AND SEE THEM, THEY’RE STILL PLAYING The tale of the New York Cosmos post-Pele is a curious one. Two further championships came before the league collapsed in 1985. With the emergence of Major League Soccer in the late ’90s, numerous approaches were made to take the Cosmos’ name, all of which were rebuffed.

The side was eventually relaunched in 2010 with MLS football the aim. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, leaving the club to, rather forlornly, languish in the second tier of US football.

However, if you’re in NYC this month take in a game, even if only for nostalgia’s sake. They have home matches against Fort Lauderdale Strikers on August 5, and Ottawa Fury on August 30. nyccosmos.com

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E n t r E p r E n E u r

WeDubYou Monflanquin, aquitaine, france

M

Words: AndreW BirBeck iMAGe: WeduBYou

any dream of escape. But the call of a better life in a preferable climate, more often than not, remains just that, an unanswered call. Not so for ex-media executive Tony Martin, wife Yvette and son Scooter. The birth of a child often brings new perspective and a re-evaluation of what’s important. Almost

immediately the new parents felt that they wanted, or perhaps needed, a change. “We were pretty successful but it always felt like the more we earned, the more we needed to earn,” Tony explains. “We decided to step off the conveyor.”

Tony, Yvette and Scooter upped sticks, left the UK and headed for France in their | 26 |

trusty VW Kombi. “Travelling by VW made perfect sense,” says Tony. “That way we had everything we needed, a roof over our heads, we could stop wherever we wanted, take time to explore and househunt all at the same time.” The family went on a six-week journey and “ended up buying the very first property we’d

E N T R E P R E N E U R

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE To eat like a local…

We love Sesame on Rue Gambetta, St Cyprien – a great menu with vegetarian options When hitting the road…

Travel light, you’ll get through the airport quicker and into your camper sooner The ultimate road music is…

Neil Young, Lorde, Talking Heads, Buena Vista Social Club The best advice I can give is…

Know your audience. If lots of people like what you like then you’re really selling to yourself. So, ask yourself, “What would I like?”

seen, a 400-year-old rural water mill – hopefully to help us off grid one day, too.”

Although Tony carried on for a while with what he describes as his “grown-up job”, he and Yvette kept reflecting back to that road trip and the joy of slow travel.

“We realised that people may just like the idea of dawdling around in an old van, taking it easy and really taking in the beauty of a place.” And so it was that WeDubYou was born, although no one could have foreseen just how quickly the business would flourish and grow.

“From that first van we’re now aiming to have a fleet of 35 by the end of this year,” says Tony. It’s pretty clear, however, that none of this happened by accident.

Tony’s background in tech, strategy and development were invaluable from the outset. “It made sense to build a great website and create a recognisable brand, something that’s fun, evocative and memorable.” PR was key too and, from a first small piece in The Guardian newspaper,

enquiries and bookings flooded in.

Fast expansion needs funding and borrowing from banks simply wasn’t an option. Once more Tony’s business experience and acumen came to the fore as he successfully raised vital capital from private investment. “Incredibly, there is an upside to the banking crisis,” he explains.

“We found out that there are companies out there keen to invest in new business who have stepped into the breach. It means that businesses like ours, which may never have seen the light of day, are able to get off the ground and, in time, expand.”

Technology has played a large part too in the success of WeDubYou, not only from their strong online presence but also in the vehicle’s kit-out. “We wanted to keep the all-important retro-feel but with a technological edge. So, although each van is a genuine ’70s camper and we keep the original interiors, they also come with iPads, and iPhones that include travel guides, games, great road music, navigation and

various other tools.” Plans are in the pipeline for mobile Wi-Fi and other innovations so watch that space. When I ask Tony how customers have found the WeDubYou experience, he tells me with an infectious grin, “You know what, we often have people saying it’s the best holiday they’ve ever had.

And, it’s really surprised us just how much we love hearing that. It’s a real buzz.”

From that first foray in France the business has now expanded into neighbouring Spain and faraway New Zealand. Tony has his sights set on California, too, for 2016. Clearly the concept has captured imaginations in a unique way, perhaps tapping into the 1960s dream of hitting the open road with no particular destination in mind. Tony sums it up, “We want our customers to shift down a gear, enjoy the ride and take in the scenery. We reckon WeDubYou is one of the best antidotes to modern life.” When you look at it that way, I think he’s right. wedubyou.com

Through Emirates’ partnership with SNCF you can combine your Emirates flight and a TGV train journey between the TGV station at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and 19 train stations across France. Learn more at emirates.com

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WILLIAM SKIDELSKY He recovered from a ten-year obsession with Roger Federer by writing a book about his fascination. We spoke to the author of Federer And Me over lunch at London’s St John WORDS: GaReth ReeS imaGeS: ReBeCCa ReeS

W

illiam Skidelsky wanders through the doors of St John in London’s Smithfield at precisely 2.15pm.

Right on time. Wearing a slightly rumpled blue suit, with the air of a man who doesn’t wear a suit that often, and carrying an unremarkable black rucksack, he does not stand out

from the other diners as he checks our reservation with the maître d’ and is shown to our table, where I greet him moments later and he explains that the suit is his chosen attire for the official launch of his new book, which is due to take place shortly after our lunch.

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what was incredible, revealing, and liberating about that foster wallace piece was that you could be clever, really subtle, and intellectual about sport It’s fair to assume that if Roger Federer, winner of 17 Grand Slam titles, arguably the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen, and subject of Federer And Me, walked into St John on a Tuesday afternoon it would cause a stir. William is not Roger Federer. In fact, he’s not a celebrity at all. He is someone who, in many ways, is a lot more interesting. He’s a fan.

William may not have won any Grand Slams, but he’s had his fair share of success as a writer, star ting his career as literary editor of the New Statesman, where he also wrote food columns, before becoming deputy editor of current affairs title Prospect and then books editor of The Observer newspaper.

He’s now a freelance writer.

William has written one previous book, Gourmet London, which, paired with his former incarnation as a food columnist, explains his restaurant preference: St John is a foodie’s choice.

Opened in 1994, it’s located in a former smokehouse a short distance from London’s famous Smithfield Market, and is the home of deservedly revered chef Fergus Henderson’s “nose to tail” involving eating parts of an animal you normally don’t.

“I love all parts of animals and this is just one of my favourite restaurants,” enthuses William, as he runs a hand through his schoolboyish helmet of brown hair, rubs a day’s worth of stubble and greedily scans the menu.

The slightly flustered and awkward looking chap (he will later confess that he hasn’t finished his speech for this evening yet) who sat down opposite me a few moments ago becomes a lot more jovial the moment the waitress arrives to take our order.

Once done, we delve into William’s difficult relationship with tennis. As a child, he loved the sport and reached county level.

In Federer And Me he says that between the ages of five and 11 it was “the most important thing in my life”. Yet he chucked it all in at 17. “I was obsessed as a child, but I started to become disillusioned with it at a certain point.”

He explains that one reason for quitting was the advent of what author David Foster Wallace described in his seminal 2006 Roger Federer essay for The New York Times: Federer As Religious Experience, as the “power-baseline game”. This essay, as William later explains, inspired both the renewal of his fascination with tennis and the writing of Federer And Me. “I think the 1980s was quite an interesting time in tennis, and that’s when I became interested in the game,” William continues. “Then, by the end of the 1980s, the 1990s, stylistically there was much more uniformity.”

The other reason for giving up the game in his late teens, which William outlines between difficult mouthfuls of his starter – “it’s like a scratching crouton” – is far more interesting. “There

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was a sort of family psychological dynamic to it all,” he says.

William’s father is the renowned economic historian Robert Skidelsky (Baron Skidelsky), author of an award-winning three-volume biography of the highly influential 20th century economist John Maynard Keynes. His older brother, Edward, is a distinguished philosopher. Although both his father and brother also played tennis, William describes being “very torn” as a child between the intellectual life his father “worshipped” and his natural sporting ability and preoccupation with tennis.

“My older brother was a very intellectual child, he was somewhat precocious in that way,” says William. “He read Nietzsche and Kant at the age of 12. So I felt that he was the clever one and I was the spor ty one, and that was an identity I became uncomfor table with, because I felt it was inferior, in a way, and that it was viewed as inferior by my father and by all his friends, who were all in the intellectual mould. In a way that was the conflict of my childhood, between different sides of myself or different sides of my family, and I think it meant my spor tiness always had a sense of… I couldn’t really place it. It had a mark of something inadequate.”

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the truth is that a fixation of this kind involves watching the matches and caring about them.

It’s wIthIn the range of normal... I’m not a stalker

So he quit. “By the time I was 16 or 17, I thought, I don’t want to do that, I want to try and be really clever and go to a good university, get a good degree and prove I am just as intellectual as my father and my brother,” he says.

So that’s exactly what he did. He went to Oxford and earned a degree in history before embarking on his fruitful career in journalism – and he didn’t play tennis, or even follow the game closely, until 2006. William had admired the 21-year-old Federer at Wimbledon in 2003, the fledgling star’s game reminding him of his childhood heroes McEnroe, Edberg, Mandlikova and Graf, but he roughly pinpoints the bir th of his obsession with the Swiss star and his rapprochement with tennis to the day he read David Foster Wallace’s Federer essay more than three years later. In Federer As Religious Experience, widely and justifiably regarded as one of the most beautiful and insightful pieces of spor ts writing in the canon, Foster Wallace talks of the “Federer Moment”, the occasions on which the player appears to achieve the sublime, the superhuman.

“What was revealing and liberating and revelatory about that Foster Wallace piece was this idea that you could be really clever, really subtle and intellectual, but about sport. So I’d always compartmentalised the two things, and here was the sense that you could bring them together, with Federer as a subject,” says watch real-time sport on ice tv live. sport 24, the inflight channel, airs top international sporting events such as barclays Premier league and the emirates airline us open series. ice tv live is now available on more than 70 emirates boeing 777 aircraft, and more aircraft with ice tv live are coming soon.

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William, greedily demolishing his plate of what, judging by the writer’s head nodding and reply of “mmm” when I ask for his verdict, must be superior sweetbreads.

“I thought he [Federer] kind of brought tennis back in some way,” he continues. “It had been going down this one path that was very much cut off from its roots, its history, and I feel that he effected some kind of change in the evolution of the game.

That as an idea, almost as a metaphor, resonated with my own personal history. Some idea that I’d gone off course, I’d tried to run away from my sporty side and actually, finally, as an adult I could embrace it. That was a path to feeling more myself as an adult. That’s what I was trying to explore. I wanted to find out why this guy had such a hold on me.”

Federer And Me has impressed most critics, and it has received a lot of coverage in the UK press, but Simon O’Hagan, writing in The Independent, did question the accuracy of the book’s subtitle, A Story of Obsession. How strange did it get?

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“It mostly didn’t get too odd,” admits William, taking a sip of his drink. “The truth is, a fixation of this kind mostly involves watching all of his matches, and caring a lot about those matches, and thinking about him. It’s within the range of normal… I’m not a stalker.”

Federer And Me is not about a deranged loner, and perhaps O’Hagan was right when he questioned its subtitle. But it is, as Williams says, a very personal book; he had no interest in writing a straight biography of Federer. “The angle I wanted to explore was fandom and obsessive fanship, and it seemed like quite an intriguing thing that had happened to me, that I had become so ensnared, obsessed by this particular player, and I was also aware that it was a phenomenon that had happened to lots of other people. I think Federer does inspire a particularly obsessive kind of fanship. There are people of all ages and social backgrounds all over the world, so it seemed to me that this was a phenomenon worth exploring, and my feeling about fanship is that it’s not often explored.”

We discuss how as an adult William has managed to combine the cerebral and the sporting, thinking about his game far more than he did as a child, but also to enjoy it. “I’m much more adept at keeping my emotions in check,” he says, savouring a spoonful of something. “It’s that thing where as an adult one’s not striving for that much really. There’s only so much I can achieve. I can endeavour to be the best player in my club. Those goals keep one interested, but it’s not too serious.”

At some point we have ordered desserts – a small and uplifting trifle for me and buttermilk pudding for William – and as they now arrive, the conversation meanders: how tennis is not just like riding a bike; how American Vogue’s infamous editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, a fellow Federer obsessive, has requested a copy of Federer And Me; how unlikely William thinks it is that Federer will read his book; and, finally, how William is no longer a Federer obsessive.

“I didn’t mind so much when he lost to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open. I was less upset than I am usually,” he says. “A few years ago not winning a Grand Slam seemed terrible, but now, you know… Federer’s changed, he’s just happy to keep on playing. I don’t think he cares so much about winning anymore. I think for a long time he thought, I am the best, I should be beating everyone, and he was prepared to fight for that and it was awful for him when he lost. Now you get the sense he doesn’t care.”

But William is not Roger Federer, and I get the distinct impression that he does still care a little bit. He’s still a fan.

The Bill 1 x Shrimp and cabbage (US$12.20), 1 x Roast pigeon (US$27.40), 1 x Lamb sweetbreads (US$28.40), 1 x Jersey Royals (US$7.65), 1 x Buttermilk pudding (US$12.30), 1 x Trifle (US$12.45), 1 x Fronton Reserve (US$48.30), 2 x Sparkling water (US$1.15)

Total: US$158.85 | 35 |

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MANDARIN ORIENTAL Tokyo, Japan

Words: AndreW nAgy ImAge: mAndArIn orIentAl Perched 38 floors off ground level, the Mandarin Oriental is the perfect way to get your bearings in a city as chaotic as Tokyo. Your arrival prepares you for the spectacular, as the check-in desk has the sublime city skyline as its backdrop and, on a clear day, you’ll be able to see Mount Fuji from your breakfast table.

Much like the city itself, it marries

contemporary with classic rather well – kimonos in the room are a nice touch.

Three of the eight restaurants are Michelin-starred – Sushi Sora’s eightseat place is a must, but then the pizzas on 38th are as good as you’ll find in New York – and the location is ideal as the Mitsukoshi-Mae subway is in the basement and big stations such as

Shibuya are only 20 minutes away.

Finally, the best way to judge a hotel is by its staff. In Tokyo, a city that views tipping as something of an insult, the service is generally way above that of the rest of the world. In the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, they take that level of service up a notch. mandarinoriental.com/tokyo

This June, Emirates opened its 38th dedicated lounge in Terminal 2 at Narita International Airport in Tokyo. The lounge is open to First Class and Business Class customers as well as Platinum and Gold Emirates Skywards members.

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Charming house V e n i c e , i t a ly

Words: Geoff Brokate ImaGe: CharmInG house Any trip to Venice should be complemented by stylish accommodation, and Charming House, a boutique hotel with three sites across the city, has this in abundance.

Two of the hotels, DD724 and DD694, whose names are an abbreviation of their address in the Sestiere Dorsoduro neighbourhood, are placed

at the ver y epicentre of the enchanting Venetian ar t district.

The third, Charming House, is found in-between Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, and is the perfect base from which to explore the unfathomable canals and streets of ancient Venice.

Despite being three separate hotels there is an arc of unity that joins them,

lovingly created through the vision of owner Chiara Bocchini, who focused on contemporary Italian ar t and design to create luxurious living spaces and unique, individual touches. You will not find a front desk or lobby at any Charming House hotels; you are given the keys and invited to make yourself feel at home. thecharminghouse.com

Emirates launched its non-stop daily service to Venice in 2007. Emirates also became the only airline in the world to offer a water limousine airport transfer service, for First Class and Business Class customers arriving and departing from this city world-famous for its canals.

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S t a y :

C o n t e m p o r a r y

Sir Albert AmsterdAm, NetherlANds

Words: Kaye Martindale iMage: geoff BroKate The intriguing Sir Albert Hotel in Amsterdam’s hip, multicultural de Pipj neighbourhood has taken the design hotel concept into new territory. Hoteliers Liran Wizman and Bram van der Hoek came up with the idea of Sir Albert: someone who could personify the qualities of oldfashioned sophistication, along with the

modern approaches to service and luxury.

From the moment you walk into the hotel, you’re welcomed like old friends at what is referred to as Sir Albert’s private residence. An old-world study with a modern chic twist invites visitors to lounge by the fire or peruse the well-stocked library. During the informal check-in you’re

Emirates serves Amsterdam Airport Schiphol twice daily, including a daily A380 service.

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offered a glass of prosecco, before being whisked to your room by an amiable member of staff.

The rooms combine cool contemporary styling with dashes of opulence, perfect for those who see themselves – as Sir Albert would say – as modern aristocrats. siralberthotel.com

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Brighton Beach, new York Words: Marina Chetner iMages: thoMas Mester

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Download The Emirates App – now available for iPhone, iPad and Android. Your personal journey planner makes it easy to view and arrange your trips when you’re on the go. Designed to complement the iPhone app, there’s also an Emirates App for Apple Watch.

For a taste of Russia in New York, head to Brighton Beach. less than an hour’s subway ride from midtown Manhattan, the seaside neighbourhood – once a luxurious resort, then blighted by the Great Depression – received its first wave of arrivals from Odessa, Ukraine, in the 1940s.Then, around the time of a collapsing Soviet Union, in the late ’80s, early ’90s, a second wave of immigrants settled in the area. Initially developed to evoke England’s Brighton

Beach, today the enclave is affectionately referred to as “Little Odessa” or “Little Russia

By The Sea” and is home to America’s largest Russian-speaking population.

Located in southern Brooklyn on the Coney Island peninsula, Brighton’s main artery, Brighton Beach Avenue, is lined with restaurants, food markets, bookstores, and gift shops signposted in Cyrillic. The surrounding residential streets are filled with redbrick apartment blocks and single-family

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homes, all within walking distance of the beach and Atlantic Ocean. Over the past decade, luxury condominiums have drawn more affluent residents, including Russian officials and local celebrities.

In summer, the neighbourhood buzzes with a cacophony of Russian and American accents as day-trippers join in oceanside revelries. No visit is complete without tasting the traditional piroshki, rich plombir ice cream, smoked fish on rye, and caviar.

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N e i g h b o u r h o o d

Gourmanoff

Entering Gourmanoff, you’re instantly taken by its cornucopia of produce: persimmons and pears piled high; an ar tisan baker y lined with rye loaves, fruit breads, and bunches of baguettes; decadent tor tes displayed under glass to lure sweet tooths; and a delicatessen brimming with sausages, salamis and cheese cuts, ranging from Finnish Havar ti to Rossiyski Slavia. On the opposite side, a prepared food station tempts with shashlik skewers; chebureki – a deep-friend turnover filled with minced meat; and mounds of salads, including the popular vinaigrette, tinged pink from chopped red beets. Housed in a former nightclub, the highend supermarket opened in August last year and quickly established itself as the go-to place for smoked fish and caviar. Under the gaze of chandeliers, packaged goods like the ‘CCCP’ plombir ice cream and pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings) inspire nostalgia.

1029 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | 718-517-2297 | gourmanoff.com

KalinKa Gifts

Reminiscent of the tchotchke-filled booths that line Moscow’s underground pedestrian walkways, Kalinka Gifts is a veritable cabinet of curiosities. Opened 20 years ago, the shop is popular with locals, given its eclectic and colourful displays of traditional Russian gifts and European finds. Fair maiden matryoshkas stand alongside similar wooden dolls painted in tribute to John Lennon; samovars produced in Gzhel, a Russian village renowned for its blue-and-white porcelain, make for a lovely collector’s item; and lacquered eggs decorated à la Fabergé glimmer under diamante and gold trim. Elaborate icons and art works made with amber hang upon the walls. Russophiles will immediately recognise the wooden Khokhloma handicrafts – chopping boards, soup spoons, and bowls – depicting summer and autumn; the red-and-gold painted images of berries, flowers, and butterflies stand out against a black background.

524 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn NY 11235 | 718-743-4546 | 45 |

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La Brioche café

It would be remiss to say that Food Network put La Brioche Café on the map – the shop’s been open for about 30 years – but celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s endorsement of its smetannik – a sour-cream layered cake – on The Best Thing I Ever Ate show hasn’t gone unnoticed. Food tour groups frequent the bakery; demand for the assor ted varieties of turnovers, slices, and slabs of tortes is kept up with a constant rotation. Inhale the heady scent of just-baked doughy goodness while perusing racks of cherry strudel; trays of tea biscuits; and a refrigerator case lined with the custard-heavy Napoleon, Black Forest, caramel, and nut-filled cakes. What to choose? Many of the goods can be purchased by the pound, so the best bet is to buy small por tions of each.

The most popular item, babka bread, is by far the simplest: it’s a honey-sweet loaf dotted with sultanas.

1073 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | 718-934-0731

homemade cooking café

Not only is this alfresco stall convenient for a snack or lunch on the go – it’s located right by the entrance to the B and Q subway – but as the fast-food extension of Homemade Cooking Café, it’s one of the tastiest spots for Russian fare. Roadside stands selling piroshki are ubiquitous in Russia, and stopping here for a deep-fried handheld pie filled with meat, chicken liver, cabbage, or the local favourite, potato, conjures up images of similar pop-ups on the bustling streets of Moscow. Shop assistant Vera has worked at the stall for five years and recommends the echpochmak, a hearty triangular pastry filled with roughly chopped potatoes, onions, and minced meat – a staple in the Tatar culture. For tea, there’s a selection of sweet breads like mak pirog (strudel layered thick with poppyseed).

504 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | 718-513-0075 | 47 |

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The Boardwalk

The Coney Island Boardwalk is rarely referred to by its official name, Riegelmann Boardwalk, named after Edward J Reigelmann, the Brooklyn Borough president from 1918 to 1924. Built in 1923, it initially ran along the southwest por tion of Coney Island peninsula until 20 years later, when construction extended it east to Brighton’s 15th Street. Today, much of the Atlantic-fronted way is lined with apar tment buildings and luxur y condominiums; the section between 4th and 7th streets is the liveliest thanks to patio-fronted cafés and restaurants. Benches draw groups of Russians, young and old, for gossip sessions and some shut-eye under the afternoon sun. Recently, protests have ensued against the boardwalk’s renovation as preser vationists feel the use of recycled plastic lumber in place of wooden planks will destroy its historic character.

At Brighton 15th Street and Brightwater Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | nycgovparks.org

TaTiana resTauranT and nighTcluB

Dining on Tatiana Restaurant’s four-course lunch menu means spending a few hours on its boardwalk patio while lingering over a table laden with Russian staples like Olivier salad, Ukrainian borscht, potato-filled vareniki, and beef Stroganoff. Named for its Odessa-born owner, the oceanfront spot is par tly alfresco and perfectly poised for people watching. By night, the main dining room transforms into a dressed-up affair. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, groups of friends feast on the Tatiana Special banquet menu, which includes a seafood platter, traditional ‘Tsar’ beef stew, and layered Napoleon cake based on a family recipe (it’s also referred to as mama’s signature cake). The band star ts up at 9pm, followed by a Vegas-style live show at 10pm that translates into a spectacle of glitter and sequins until dawn.

3152 Brighton 6th St, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | 718-891-5151 | tatianarestaurant.com | 49 |

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Master theatre

Russian culture is rich in ar t, music, literature and dance, and a love for live performance makes Master Theatre, formerly Millennium Theatre, a thriving par t of this Slavic-centric neighbourhood. Ray Charles, Engelber t Humperdinck, and Russian violinists Vladimir Spivakov and Yuri Bashmet have graced the stage of the 1,326-seat venue. Most recently, the theatre hosted Mikhail Efremov’s Grazhdanin Poet, renowned journalist Vladimir Pozner, and The Nutcracker ballet to sold-out audiences. Ar tists popular since the days of the former USSR make regular appearances, including singer Tamara Gverdtsiteli, and actors Tatyana Vasilyeva, Leonid Kanevsky, and Klara Novikova. During Christmas and New Year, the theatre comes alive with jugglers, clowns, magicians, acrobats, and animal acts from the acclaimed Big Apple Circus, Ringling Bros, Cirque Du Soleil, and Barnum & Bailey.

1029 Brighton Beach Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11235 | 718-732-3838 | mastertheater.com

st Petersburg global trade house

Retro lovers of print, DVDs, and CDs will appreciate browsing this 10,000-square-foot souvenir shop. Works by Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Alexander Pushkin are at the fore of a librar y’s wor th of books that also includes romance novels, cookbooks, detective stories, and an extensive selection of children’s literature. Soviet-era movie classics including Moscow Doesn’t Believe In Tears, and the popular Office Romance are hard to pass up (check for English subtitles) as is the historical drama, Russian Ark, famous for being filmed in one 96-minute take. By the store’s entrance, display cases show off beautiful ceramics by Imperial Porcelain, a St Petersburg-based factor y founded in 1744. Intricately painted with mineral cobalt and 24K gold, the tea set in ‘Cobalt Net’, a pattern inspired during the reign of Empress Catherine II, is just exquisite.

230 Brighton Beach Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11235 | 718-891-6778 | fromrussia.com | 51 |

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Penelope Cruz autumn 2015

ITALIAN FEELING

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Al BAsTAkiyA A small heritage quarter of cobbled stones, secluded courtyards and art galleries has been welcoming visitors and shaping the city since the 1800s words and IMaGEs: sandra TInarI

T

he cool, flat flagstones along the shaded narrow lane ways of Al Bastakiya offer welcome relief from the summer for the visitors wandering Dubai’s oldest district.

The architecture belongs to its place; founded waterside along Dubai’s creek, with shaded protected cour tyards, thick walls, its iconic roof-top wind towers and cool, meandering streets (sikkas). Al Bastakiya, also known as the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, was built to withstand the deser t heat and sands.

Dating back to the mid-1800s, the district has been painstakingly restored since 2005 to offer visitors and residents a glimpse into the early life of one of the Middle East’s fastest growing cities. It’s now a charming, and a little bohemian, historical and cultural quar ter, occupied by museums, independent ar t galleries, not-for-profit organisations and secluded cafés.

For architects in the region, the restoration of Al Bastakiya not only provides insight into an earlier way of life but is also helping to inform the future development of the fast-

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The reSToraTion proviDeS inSighT inTo an earLier way of Life buT aLSo informS on fuTure DeveLopmenT, aS arChiTeCTS now Look To CreaTe STruCTureS ThaT reSponD To The CLimaTe

growing city, as they now look to create structures that respond to the climate.

Of the preservation of Al Bastakiya, Richard Fenne, a Dubaibased architect at the international firm Woods Bagot, said, “The story goes that a British architect, Rayner Otter, came to the area in the late 1980s and campaigned for the preservation and restoration of Al Bastakiya. He personally appealed to Prince Charles, who was scheduled to visit later that year and the Prince’s suppor t ultimately led to a rethink by the municipality and the implementation of a conservation strategy.

“In a nation that had become accustomed to looking forward and embracing new technologies and architecture, this provided a watershed moment where the importance of built heritage was acknowledged, much to the benefit of many future generations.”

Explore the Dubai Museum, which is housed in Dubai’s oldest building, the beautifully restored Al Fahidi For t. Erected circa 1787 the fort defended the city against invasion and was opened as a museum in 1971. Enjoy tea at the Arabian Tea

House and experience a traditional Emirati meal at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre For Cultural Understanding.

Once a small village of an estimated 60 traditional Arabian homes for impor tant officials, and pearl and textile traders, the remaining Al Bastakiya area is a now a proud testament to a rich trading past – an oasis of calm in a fast-paced world.

For Richard Fenne, Al Bastakiya’s impor tance to Dubai will only continue to grow. “A well attributed quote to the late visionary leader, Sheikh Zayed, proposed that those who do not know their past cannot possibly understand the future.

“In a culture where intangible heritage prevails, the buildings of Bastakiya physically encapsulate architectural history and provide a blueprint for the design of climatically sensitive buildings. Conservation areas like this are essential ingredients, which enrich any modern city, par ticularly one such as Dubai where the pace of development is so rapid that the impor tance of the past can go unheeded.” dubaiculture.gov.ae

The City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus is a great way to explore Dubai. Learn more about City Sightseeing Dubai, and all the routes and stops at citysightseeing-dubai.com

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Lobo TaiLors A Bur Dubai mainstay since 1978, Lobo Tailors is a city institution, clothing generations of local dignitaries, famous cricketers and high-flying businessmen

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eafing through Mushtaq Shaikh’s old photographs of his store, the faded pictures tell the tale of a city and business transformed – Lobo Tailors was once a lone building in a quiet street. Now, the area known as Meena Bazaar in Bur Dubai is a hive of activity and Lobo Tailors has grown from a staff of three into a larger store location and a corporate warehouse near Dubai’s airpor t, employing more than 200 tailors.

“They now call Lobo’s the Savile Row of Dubai,” the goodnatured businessman proudly says.

Shaikh arrived in Dubai from India in the 1960s as a young man. He first worked on Dubai’s roads, helping to build the UAE’s early infrastructure before some time later moving to a position with a government depar tment. He had no background as a tailor but, borne out of a frustration at a lack of quality craftsmanship and service, he spent his life savings on buying his first store.

Lobo Tailors has since grown into a mini empire. Shaikh’s store is lined with rows of fine wool suiting fabric, impor ted from Germany, Italy, England and India, while his crisp cottons, | 57 |

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he had no background as a tailor but, borne out of frustration at a lack of quality craftsmanship, he spent his life savings on buying his first store

for clients’ business shir ts, are flown in from Switzerland. Lobo Tailors handcrafts tailor-made suits for men and women, as well as gowns and silk blouses for his female clientele. The store has been welcoming many of the same clients for more than 20 years and all of Lobo Tailors’ suits, shir ts and gowns are made in Dubai.

Shaikh says: “Our clientele are the crème-de-la-crème, Dubai residents and international visitors, while, our first corporate client was Dubai Duty Free.”

As Lobo’s skilled tailors busily and meticulously sew and press the soft fabrics chosen by clients, it’s clear the store is in demand. But what makes a good suit?

“The fabric and stitching are ver y impor tant and so is obviously the fit. If you buy an off-the-peg suit, the fit is always a compromise. Our tailor-made suits are always ver y good quality,” Shaikh says.

An elegant gentleman who has arrived for his final fitting tries on a crisp charcoal suit, cut to perfection. Adil Toubia, a group chief executive in Dubai, says he always buys his suits at Lobo Tailors: “I’ve been coming here for 25 years. We all come here for the quality of the service.”

Shaikh, who has made suits for the likes of Ian Botham and Viv Richards, and who has just completed a corporate order of 200 suits for the International Cricket Council, says this is why Lobo Tailors in still in business more than 25 years after first opening its doors.

The businessman says: “Our clients come here for the quality of work and our ser vice. Sometimes, they may tr y someone else, who offers a suit a little cheaper, but they always come back to me. I have had clients who told me that even after seven years they are still wearing the pair of trousers that we made them.”

| 59 |

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A collection of stories from around the world

Nicaragua: The Fire Within

Underground In Stockholm

Words And Wanderlust

Rise Of The Megatropolis

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MAIN

UNDERGROUND IN

THE WORLD’S LONGEST ART EXHIBITION SPANS DECADES AS WELL AS KILOMETRES. A METRO SYSTEM THAT BORROWS FROM THE ARTISTIC PIONEERS OF THE ’50S AND HIGHLIGHTS THE AVANT GARDE ARTISTS OF THE NOW. WARNING: YOU MIGHT JUST MISS YOUR TRAIN…

WORDS & IMAGES: GEOFF BROKATE

STOCKHOLM

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RÅDHUSET

The Swedish artist Sigvard Olsson has created what has now become the signature style of the metro station. The bare blasted rock, painted a browny-orange, gives the feeling of a deep cave, as though you’ve just entered the very bowels of the Ear th. Olsson called his artwork The Findings and was inspired by Kungsholmen’s historic evolution. Farmland that was donated by the crown to the military and ar tisans, in the 19th century the area became industrialised and is now predominantly an urban residential landscape. Olsson has planted into the walls of the station imaginary architectural finds that char t the island’s evolution, none more impressive than the large cement column at the base of the escalators. | 65 |

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The standout feature of this incredible station has to be the bright red bedrock ceilings that double as the foreboding sky in Anders Åberg’s political murals. Environmental issues such as deforestation, pollution and population migration were impor tant topics during the ’70s and Aberg daringly broached these tough subjects by painting a kilometre-long spruce forest with various scenes playing out around the station. Farmers can be seen fer tilising their crops while the infrastructure of industry begins to loom in the distance. Stuffed elk and models of old traditional villages inside glass casing have been built into the walls of the station, in an attempt to preserve something that has been lost. | 67 |

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Found in the Frescati district nor th of central Stockholm, this area is known for its botanical gardens and the Museum Of Natural History. It’s this that inspired the Belgian ar tist Françoise Schein to create frescoes – including maps and texts, statistics and images – designed to reimagine the journey that the influential Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus, made to Lapland in 1734. Schein said of her work: “I wanted to question how, from a gaze on things of the world, one reaches a better understanding of the consequences of our actions on the planet.” The station is also known for its playful take on emergency exits that appear on the platform, showing a repeated pattern of a man running as though late for the train. | 69 |

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In an act of solidarity, the ar tist Helga Henschen opted to address the social issues faced by the Tensta district with her ar twork.

Known as an area that houses a high number of immigrants, it faces social isolation as a result of its ethnic diversity. In Henschen’s work A Flower To The Immigrants, the walls are painted with murals of animals, flowers and plants. They appear as old cave paintings, recalling a time when humanity was less complicated and life was simpler. Throughout the station are quotations written in 10 different languages. One, found on the wall of an American cell, reads: “Freedom is the most impor tant thing man has. You can jail a man but never jail the thought of freedom.” | 71 |

Less of a weLL-kept secret, more a sLowLy awakenIng gIant, nIcaragua draws on Its tumuLtuous hIstory to offer a unIque vIsIon of centraL amerIca words & Images: Joe mortImer

I

t’s been more than 500 years since anyone was thrown into the crater of a volcano in Nicaragua, a fact that gives me some comfort as I lace up my hiking boots and set off for the summit of Volcán Maderas, one of two ruptures that protrude through the mineral-rich waters of Lake Nicaragua to form Ometepe Island.

But it’s a small comfort. Two days previously, Volcán Telica erupted 200 kilometres away in northern Nicaragua, covering local towns and villages in ash. It was only a minor rumble by Nicaraguan standards, but it doesn’t seem like an opportune time to start dabbling in volcanic exploration.

If there is one thing that Nicaragua is not short of, it’s volcanoes. The Central American republic is dotted with 40 of them, curving in a vast arc along the Pacific side of the country.

It was because of seismic activity below the Nicaraguan soil that plans to build a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were abandoned a century ago. Instead, the Herculean task was carried out in Panama, which is now the wealthiest country in Central America – a source of some bitterness for Nicaragua.

Successive Nicaraguan governments, both democratically elected and those established by military force, have revisited the idea, but it has never materialised. Now, after more than a century of deliberation, the dream appears to be becoming a reality.

In June 2013, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega announced that a 50-year concession to construct the canal and various sub-projects, including ports, a free trade zone, hotels and an international

airport, had been awarded to HKND, a Hong Kong-based holding company led by Chinese telecom billionaire Wang Jin. If you haven’t heard much about the Nicaraguan Interoceanic Grand Canal, you’re not alone; very little is known about the project, other than the party line that it will create thousands of jobs, and the proposed route, which has caused some consternation among land owners and environmentalists.

The 260-kilometre canal will run from the Atlantic coast to Lake Nicaragua | 74 |

– the largest lake in Central America.

From there it will continue to the Pacific, loosely following the path of the Brito River, meeting the ocean less than five kilometres from the gleaming greens and prime real estate of Guacalito de la Isla: Nicaragua’s first purpose-built community for the super-rich.

Carlos Pellas is one of Central America’s richest men, with a business empire that includes banking, insurance, real estate, media and sugar, as well as the wildly popular Flor de Caña rum company.

After a lifetime spent building up his family business, the philanthropic billionaire opened, in 2013, what he calls his “legacy project”, Mukul Beach, Golf & Spa. The 37 ocean-facing villas of Mukul form the backbone of Guacalito de la Isla, which is Nicaragua’s first mixeduse luxury hospitality and residential development. Inland, an 18-hole David McLay Kidd-designed golf course and 600 luxury residential villas will eventually become the nation’s most exclusive community, complete with a beach club,

private security and a fleet of golf carts to whisk residents and guests around.

Watching the sun drop below the horizon from Mukul’s infinity pool, the monstrous roar of the Pacific in the background, it seems unfeasible that the skyline might soon be dotted with the world’s largest container vessels. The 1.2-kilometre beach in front of the resort is one of the best spots in Central America for surfing and sport fishing, and the rugged cliffs against which the six-foot waves explode beckon hikers and mountain bikers. | 75 |

This entire stretch of southern Nicaragua is an intrepid traveller’s adventure playground. The laid-back surfer haven of San Juan del Sur is just 20 kilometres to the south, and a collection of picturesque beaches and boho boutique hotels is strung all along the coast, from sleepy Playa El Gigante down to the Costa Rican border.

But the canal plans don’t seem to have dampened the enthusiasm for developing Nicaragua’s tourism credentials – quite the contrary. In mid-May, it was announced that Asia’s eco-chic Six Senses hotel company would take over Aqua Wellness Resor t – a sustainable eco-lodge a few kilometres up the coast from Mukul – and open up to five more resor ts in Nicaragua with local par tner Lionhear t Nica.

Trevor Barran, who founded Aqua in 2010 and now heads up Lionheart Nica,

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N i c a r a g u a :

doesn’t seem worried about the canal, “There have been something like 70-plus plans to build a canal in Nicaragua’s history, so we’re not really thinking seriously about what the new plans for a canal will bring,” he says from his Managua office. “If and when it does move forward, it will certainly be good for the tourism and economy of Nicaragua.”

As well as the Pacific Coast, he says Six Senses hotels will appear in the colonial city of Granada and on the volcanic slopes of Ometepe Island, where I was about to climb a volcano.

Walking through the foothills of Volcán Maderas, a wealth of bird and animal life makes its presence known: white-throated magpie jays and blue-crowned motmots sing overhead as iguanas and lizards scurry about. My guide spots a brown vine snake camouflaged on a branch, and I disturb a red and black banded false coral snake, which slithers over the toe of a boot and into the twisted roots of a ficus tree.

Howler monkeys exchange throaty roars in the treetops and a lone whitefaced capuchin scampers nervously across a branch as we reach the edge of the crater rim. The path descends into a lush green bowl half-filled with a crystal clear

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volcanic lake; it’s like a scene from The Lost World and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a dinosaur crash through the undergrowth.

On the way back down, we’re treated to an epic panorama of Volcán Concepcion, the larger of the two on the island, framed by the silver Lake Nicaragua. Off to the right, somewhere over the misty horizon, the dry land of western Nicaragua gives way to the jungle-covered interior, and a few hundred kilometres beyond, the coconut-strewn shores of the Caribbean coast.

A one-hour flight from Managua, the Corn Islands are like another world. Here, palm trees bend lethargically over buttery yellow beaches, reflected in water that dazzles in shades of jade and turquoise.

Locals shimmy up trees to cut down fresh coconuts and call out to each other in a lilting Creole dialect, while beachside restaurants serve platters of hand-caught lobster tails dripping in butter and garlic sauce, all to the soundtrack of reggae music.

At Yemaya Island Hideaway, an ecoretreat on the north coast of Little Corn, private cabins are dotted along the palm-lined beach, a few steps from the lapping waves of the Caribbean. There are no roads on Little Corn, so guests

LocaLs caLL out to each other in a LiLting creoLe diaLect, whiLe beachside restaurants serve pLatters of hand-caught Lobster, aLL to the soundtrack of reggae music

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are plunged feet-first into island life when they jump off the back of the skiff, Miss Yemaya, and wade on to the beach. It’s barefoot luxury at its rustic best.

Daily yoga and meditation sessions on a beachfront deck, as well as free use of kayaks, snorkelling gear and SUPs make Yemaya a hit among fans of healthy living, but it’s just as inviting for those who like their travel to involve spa treatments and long afternoons sipping fresh coconut juice while lolling in a hammock.

Here, no one seems too concerned about the canal. Locals spend their days fishing, playing baseball or making lobster pots, while many of the foreigners who own dive shops, hotels and lodges on the island consider it too far-fetched to worry about.

“We all hope that the growing pains of a poor country and the influx of foreign money into projects like the proposed canal will not undermine the thriving tourist economy,” says Adam Clarke, who runs Dolphin Dive Little Corn, one of two PADI-licensed dive shops on the island.

Change is evidently underway on the Caribbean coast: from where we sit on the terrace of Tranquilo Café, illuminated by the screens of at least a dozen laptops, tablets and other devices, the crowd presents a cosmopolitan mixture of backpackers, divers, affluent travellers and bright-eyed young things in yoga gear.

The Corn Islands feel like their own secret world, more Caribbean than

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Nicaraguan, but judging by the extensive development, with new hotels and expatriate homes sprouting all over, everyone wants a slice of island life.

In the early afternoon, when bright sunlight pools in every corner of the city and only fools and tourists leave their shaded hammocks, the sound of a brass band cuts through the thick still air of Granada.

The charming colonial city slopes from west to east down to the shores of Lake Nicaragua, its grid-patterned streets bursting with architecture in the style of its Spanish namesake: ancient convents, magnificent churches and leafy parks that provide some shade from the afternoon heat.

From the bell-tower of Granada’s Iglesia de la Merced, I soak in the 360-degree views: Lake Nicaragua shimmies to the east; Volcán Mombacho rises to the south; and Volcán Masaya and the picturesque Laguna de Apoyo beckon to the west Two hundred kilometres away in León, Granada’s long-term rival, it’s a similar story, but the characters are different.

Volcán Telica has stopped erupting by the time I arrive, but its dome is clearly visible from the roof of Asuncion Cathedral, a baroque masterpiece that looms over the ice cream vendors and souvenir stalls of the city’s Central Park.

León is the liberal counterweight to conservative Granada; it was here that student protests and radical opposition groups stood up to the dictatorship of

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The Corn Islands feel lIke TheIr own seCreT world, more CarIbbean Than nICaraguan, buT wITh new hoTels and expaTrIaTe homes sprouTIng up everywhere the US-backed Somoza family, who lorded over Nicaragua for 43 years.

In the Museum Of Heroes And Martyrs, dedicated to those killed during the struggle for independence and the civil war that followed, my guide, who identifies himself only by his former nom de guerre, Juanito, explains the whole bloody history of 20th century Nicaraguan politics. In between the rhetoric, Juanito shows me how to operate a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile, and explains the risks of using Molotov cocktails in a combat situation. It’s gritty stuff.

Nicaraguan history is so recent that its after-effects are tangible in León, where political slogans are inscribed on almost every wall, and murals depicting Nicaraguan and foreign revolutionaries such as Che Guevara, Simon Bolivar and Emiliano Zapata appear all over town.

Revolutionaries and rocket-launchers aren’t the only explosive things in León.

It’s been 12 days since Volcán Telica erupted, but it’s still on red alert and overnight tours to the upper slopes of its cone won’t resume for some time, so I opt for the next best thing.

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Volcán Cerro Negro, the youngest and most active volcano in Nicaragua, is a stone’s throw from Telica. From the summit of the former, you can clearly see its restive neighbour, but Cerro Negro’s two gaping craters, each speckled with yellow and red sulphurous rocks that ooze eggy gas, are far more immediate.

At the north face, the black scree slope pours away from the ridge at a 40-degree angle that seems extremely steep from where I’m standing, dressed in a green boiler suit and clutching a rudimentary sledge. “Just lean back and keep your feet in the air,” says the guide, before disappearing over the rim.

I briefly reflect on the liberal approach to health and safety in Nicaragua and wonder for a split-second what impact the Grand Canal will have on León and its tourism industry, then take a deep breath, shuffle forward and look to the sky.

Nicaragua is no untouched wilderness by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a country that has emerged battered and bruised from years of civil strife, reeling with PTSD and stricken with poverty. But it’s that historical baggage that makes the nation so compelling – that and its Dante-esque topography and a predilection for the spectacular. Whatever its appeal, the secret’s out and Nicaragua is marching towards a future that seems, from where I’m sitting at least – on top of a volcano – to be brighter than it has been for the last five centuries.

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In addition, Emirates SkyCargo operates freighter service to Quito in Ecuador and Campinas in Brazil.

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Words and Wanderlust WORDS: ANDREW BIRBECK

A JOURNEY THROUGH SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST BEATUIFUL BOOKSHOPS WILL LEAVE YOU WITH MEMORIES THAT LAST A LIFETIME, AND HOPEFULLY, OF COURSE, WITH A BOOK OR TWO TUCKED UNDER YOUR ARM

shAkespEare anD coMpany PARIS, FRANCE

It’s best to star t at the beginning, as the shop you now see is not the original. That was located on nearby Rue de l‘Odeon and run by Sylvia Beach, an American who had moved to Paris in 1917. Without her we would not have James Joyce’s Ulysses. Following its rejection by numerous mainstream publishing houses Beach took a leap of faith and in 1922 published the modernist masterpiece. And it wasn’t only Joyce that benefited from her philanthropy. As a golden literary age flourished in Paris, the shop became a magnet for the likes of Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and TS Eliot.

Tragically the shop closed during World War II never to re-open. Enter another American in Paris, the essayist Walt Whitman, who became a Left Bank bookseller with a shop called Le Mistral. Following Sylvia Beach’s death in 1964, and in tribute to her, Walt re-named his business Shakespeare and Company and the legend continued.

A tradition exists to this day of giving struggling writer lodgings in exchange for a few hours work and the interior is a shrine to the written word.

Up the rickety staircase you’ll find a reference library, typewriters, battered sofas and some of the most evocative views in Paris. Basking as it does in the shadow of Notre Dame.

Walt’s legacy has now been handed on to his charming and dedicated daughter, also called Sylvia – what else? Make sure to get your book stamped at the till. No Parisian memory will be more precious.

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liBreriA aquA altA VENICE, ITALY

Some say when in Venice you should ‘walk away from the crowd’ as that’s when you’ll discover hidden gems. This couldn’t be more true than in the case of Libreria Acqua Alta, a labour of love that has to be seen to be believed.

Looking as if it’s been here almost as long as Venice itself, the shop opened less than ten years ago. Its larger-than-life owner, Luigi Frizzo, embarked on a search for somewhere really special that could house his vision of the perfect space in which to sell and swap books, and large enough for his huge literary collection. Eventually that space was found with one small drawback, the shop floods.

Not to be deterred Luigi did what Venetians have had to do for centuries, he re-invented and adapted to suit the circumstance.

Books are piled high in every nook and cranny, but best of all are bathtubs brimming with various tomes and a gondola brought in specially to protect the stock. The shop floods, the books float.

Once inside you won’t want to leave. There’s a great selection of new and antiquarian so take time to rummage through the rarities.

Out in the cour tyard you’ll find Luigi’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’, a staircase made entirely out of old encyclopedias with a magnificent view of the canal from the summit. The staircase is now almost as famous as the shop, with visitors from all over world coming to take an all-impor tant photograph. But don’t just visit for a picture, linger a while.

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el atEneo granD spLendiD BUENES AIRES, ARGENTINA

For a literary and architectural wow-factor look no fur ther.

Indeed a trip to Buenos Aires would not be complete without a visit to this mind-boggling bookshop and former theatre. A playhouse it remains and a visit there is to take a walk-on par t in a spectacular literary showcase.

Although the extravagant 100-year-old building is dramatic enough from the outside, the real treat lies within. Here some of the most renowned tango performers and singers of the Roaring Twenties would perform to a capacity audience of over 1,000.

Such was the popularity of the teatro that a radio station was set up here in the late 1920s as well as a recording company to capture the fervour and fever of tango in its heyday.

Set aside a couple of hours to soak up the atmosphere. In the afternoons a pianist plays on the former stage area where you can relax with your latest book and a coffee or two. The ceiling frescoes have been lovingly preserved and restored along with ornate rounded balconies, magnificent pillars, gilded stucco plasterwork and theatre boxes where you can grab a seat and peruse at leisure. The acoustics are superb which all adds to the general buzz.

If you can’t find that book you’re looking for there’s a comprehensive music section. In that case my advice is to grab some Argentine trango. Perhaps you’ll find a forgotten classic that was recorded at the very spot where you bought it.

| 85 |

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liVrariA lellO & irmaO PORTO, PORTUGAL

Rightfully proclaimed as one of the world’s most stunning bookshops Livraria Lello & Irmao dates from the late 1800s, is one of the oldest in Por tugal, and was purpose built, and the neo-Gothic exterior with splashes of Ar t Nouveau hints at what awaits inside.

The interior is quite simply breathtaking. The timber shelves alone are works of art and overhead a magnificent stained glass ceiling complete with store motto Vecus in Labore – Honour in Work – draws the eye skyward.

However it’s the truly magnificent staircase, rumoured to be the inspiration for the stairs at Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter movies, that’s the star of the show.

The shop oozes a sense of academia; hardly surprising as this is the university quarter, and is consequently home to numerous students. Indeed a visit here is more akin to spending time at a museum than dropping by your local bookseller. Having said that all visitors are warmly welcomed and there’s an intimate café upstairs where you can take time to browse through your latest purchase and even sip a glass of fine port.

When searching through the volumes watch out for tracks on the floor used by staff to car t books to-and-fro. You’ll notice, too, bronze depictions of various giants of the Por tuguese literary world throughout. Suffice is to say that an hour or two spent within these majestic walls, away from the hustle and bustle of the modern world, will stay with you for a lifetime.

atLantiS bookS

SANTORINI, GREECE Idealism, the optimism of youth, and a dream that refused to die all lie behind what is now one of the world’s most iconic bookshops.

Back in 2002 Craig Walzer and Oliver Wise took a break from studies to go island hopping. With no par ticular plan, they jumped on a boat to Santorini. It was April, the island was quiet, and there wasn’t much to do except read. After a few days the pair ran out of books and went in search of more. There was no bookshop in Oia so they went for a drink instead.

Contemplation, desperation and alcohol are heady bedfellows.

Heading back to their rooms late one night Craig jokingly said to Oliver that they should really open a bookshop in the village. Oliver leaped at the idea and came up with the name there and then – Atlantis Books.

In January 2004 they returned to Oia with four friends and a van full of second hand books and lived where they worked until they had to vacate their new shop, as re-development was taking place. It could have been the end, until a new premises was found in a ruined cellar once belonging to a grand old house destroyed in the catastrophic 1956 ear thquake. This is the serene store you see today.

Atlantis now has its own publishing wing, sells rare and antiquarian titles and hosts the annual Caldera Literary Festival attracting writers from across the globe. Take in the terrace above the shop as it boasts some of the finest views on the planet.

If you’re after a good book on today’s flight, check out the Audiobooks collection on ice. Highlights this month include Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief and Nick Hornby’s Funny Girl.

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One Of The wOrld’s mOsT icOnic skylines is changing

wOrds: marina cheTner images: ThOmas mesTer he Chrysler Building glimmered as the world’s tallest building for a mere year in 1928, before plans were announced to build one even taller: the Empire State Building. Without its antennae (not considered a permanent architectural feature), it claimed the title at a height of 1,454 feet compared with the 1,046-foot spire-topped Chrysler.

To think that these two iconic buildings were competing for the crown of ‘world’s tallest’ during the Great

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Depression, a time when commercial real estate was at a low, is baffling. Yet their silhouettes are so emblematic of the Manhattan skyline that it would be hard to reckon a New York City without them. Today, developers, relieved of the recession, are riding the trajectory established over the decades and eagerly joining the skyscraper club. With a tradition of ver ticality, New York’s soaring skyline is heralding a new Gilded Age – these sky grazers are getting taller, stronger, and more expensive. | 90 |

New York may have ceded the title of the world’s tallest building to Chicago’s Willis Tower in 1974 – Dubai’s Burj Kalifa currently holds the top spot at 2,717 feet – but it’s very recently thrown it’s hat back into the ring with the opening of One World Trade Centre (1 WTC) in 2014. Deemed the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere by the Council Of Tall Buildings And Urban Habitat, the tapered crystalline skyscraper soars 1,776 feet – a height entrenched more in symbolism than ostentatious ambition.

Gradually, meGa-projects are risinG from manhattan, leavinG an altoGether different view of new york city Standing in lower Manhattan’s reimagined World Trade Center, it is New York’s bastion of power and strength as well the marker of a memorial that identifies its place from almost anywhere in the city.

The height of 1 WTC pays homage to the year of America’s independence, 1776; the 408-foot spire that sits atop is a beacon of light that shines across 15 miles. Chief architect on the project, David Childs, has said that the building fills a void in the sky that people felt was missing.

World Trade Centre has reenergised lower Manhattan and inspired the development of a “new downtown”.

Fifty-five per cent of 1 WTC’s office space is anchored by Condé Nast Publications, whose founder, incidentally, was a pioneer in high-rise living back when the cramped top floors of buildings were relegated to maid’s quar ters. After successfully transforming the top floors of 1040 Park Avenue into a 5,000-square-foot duplex, his conversion sparked a trend. Manhattan’s financial centre now bustles with as many baby strollers as Wall Street bankers.

New York by Gehry, the 76-storey deconstructivist stainless-steel residential tower built in 2011 by the renowned

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architect, was the tallest in the West and one-of-a-kind. Today, surrounding construction is rampant: The Beekman, a historic landmark property, is being converted into a Thompson Hotel conjoined with a modern 600-foot-high 51-storey luxury condominium tower called The Beekman Residences; the Four Seasons Private Residences’ 937-foothigh 30 Park Place is commanding a cool US$29 million for its five-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom penthouse with terrace views; and ten-minutes away, 56 Leonard, a 60-storey building standing 830-feet at the intersection of Church and Leonard Streets, will be Tribeca’s tallest building.

Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, the cantilevered apartments will offer 145 residences, each with their own unique floor plan and private outdoor space.

A renaissance of a different sort is happening on 57th Street. Dubbed Billionaire’s Row, the Midtown corridor houses the priciest and loftiest real estate in Manhattan, thanks to non-restrictive zoning laws and its prestigious location

by Central Park – views that become exponentially more expensive to build once they pass the 50-storey threshold.

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One WOrld Trade CenTre has re-energised lOWer ManhaTTan and inspired The develOpMenT Of a “neW dOWnTOWn”

One of Midtown’s most domineering skyscrapers, One 57, is a blue, 1,040foot undulating glass-panelled tower whose proper ty and air rights took about ten years to assemble. Anchored by the Park Hyatt from the ground floor to level 25, the residences located directly above the hotel boast front-and-centre park views: In 2015, the 1,000-foot-high duplex sold for a record-breaking US$100 million. Next door, inter twined with the landmarked Steinway Hall, 111 West 57th Street has broken ground on what is said to become the slenderest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.

In contrast to the stockier post-war architecture that gave rise to the United Nations Secretariat and MetLife buildings, its feather-shaped design with an ornamental terracotta and bronze filigree exterior echoes the gilded era.

While Extell Development Company’s yet-to-be constructed mixed-use commercial and residential 225 West 57th Street is anticipated to pierce the sky at 1,775 feet, at the time of press, the highest residence in the western world sits atop Rafael Vinoly’s skinny condo tower 432 Park Ave: Its 1,396-foot-high

8,255-square-foot penthouse sold for US$95 million. Flanking the billionaire’s belt are the yet-to-be-realised triangular VIA West 57 by the Hudson River and the 65-storey 252 East 57 at Second Avenue, although it would be remiss not to mention Jean Nouvel’s 53W53 a few blocks away. Construction for the supertall tower designed with a black skeletal exterior is taking shape next to the Museum of Modern Ar t. Referred to as MoMA Tower, it will rise 1,050 feet and give residents privileged access into one of New York’s finest ar t spaces.

One World Observatory opened in May, 2015. Located on the uppermost floors of 1 WTC, guests ascend in elevators encased in floor-to-ceiling LED technology to experience a vir tual time-lapse of New York’s skyline, from the 1500s to present day. On the 100th floor, windows open up to the sky, and New York, laid out in front, reads like a map. First, the eyes scan for the Empire State Building, then the Chrysler, and upwards to Central Park, largely blocked by a band of Midtown towers at its southern end. To the right is City Hall and Gehry’s crinkled silver tower ; on Manhattan’s new West side, the under-construction Hudson Yards project – America’s largest-ever private real estate development and NYC’s biggest development since Rockefeller Center.

Ah, New York, she may be the mother of reinvention but in 50 years’ time, the top of One World Trade Center will still be the best place to view her evolution.

fighT The TOWer New skyscrapers have always attracted controversy in NYC In New York, local anger surrounds razing historic buildings in favour of new investment. The 1926-built Drake Hotel, a one-time host to Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Led Zeppelin, was overhauled in a multimillion-dollar renovation by Swissotel in 1999 before being demolished in 2007.

To the anger of preservationists, the New York Biltmore Hotel, part of Grand Central Terminal, was also rebuilt as the 28-storey Bank of America Plaza.

However, the Empire State Building shows that redevelopment isn’t always a bad idea, and although it stands on the site once occupied by the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The reincarnated Waldorf is now located in a historic building on 50th Street, and both continue to live on as National Historic Landmarks and under the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Emirates operates 84 passenger flights per week between Dubai and the US – including four times daily to New York, with three direct services and one via Milan.

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Essential news and information from Emirates The Emirates FA Cup

Inside Emirates

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ThE EmiraTEs Fa cup Q&A Greg Dyke Chairman of the Football Association Tell us about the relationship between Emirates and the FA Cup Emirates has become the lead partner of the world’s most famous cup competition, The FA Cup – to be known as The Emirates FA Cup – from next season until 2018.

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline said, “Football is a truly global spor t, a unifying factor in many communities and nations across the world. Never is this more evident than with The FA Cup, which has

an unrivalled heritage and draws a global audience of more than 1.1 billion people,” he said “The spirit of competition, fair play, and sparking the passions of a global audience, are all values we share at Emirates.”

Next season’s Emirates FA Cup kicks off on 15th August with ExtraPreliminar y rounds and culminates in a showpiece final at Wembley stadium on Saturday 21st May 2016.

Economy class chEck-in changEs arEa 1 101-120

Common check-in

EnTrancE

Online check-in Baggage Drop 151-168

arEa 3 301-320

Common check-in

Qantas check-in 316-320

arEa 5 501-520

US/Canada check-in

Online check-in Baggage Drop 251-268

Families with children check-in

Skywards Silver check-in

arEa 2

201-210 | 211-220

Common check-in

arEa 4 401-420 WALL

Haj/Umrah check-in

Waitlist Area

arEa 6

601-610 | 611-620

Check-in at Terminal 3 in Dubai International airport has been updated making it easier for customers to find their way around.

There are now six numbered zones. Economy Class passengers with online checkin can proceed directly to the bag drop counters in Areas 1 and 2. If you haven’t checked in online, you can use the common check-in counters in Areas 1, 3 and 4.

Families travelling with children can check-in at Area 2 at counters 201 to 210, while Skywards Silver customers can use check-in counters 211 to 220.

Customers travelling to the US and Canada should check-in at Area 5. All Haj and Umrah customers can check-in at Area 6 from 601 to 610, and counters 611 to 620 are for waitlist customers. | 96 |

As a world-leading airline, and with its reputation for supporting football, The FA sees immense value in having Emirates connected with The Emirates FA Cup. We’re keen to protect and promote the history and traditions of what is the oldest club competition in the world, while making sure it remains relevant and dynamic. Emirates understands this perfectly and will help bring the passion of The Emirates FA Cup to life – particularly to younger fans.

Why are the two brands such a great fit?

We both recognise that football brings people together and that the sport has a huge role to play. Football is a truly global game and using our combined forces we can reach many more people and spread the word about The Emirates FA Cup.

Explain the magic of the Emirates FA Cup We often talk about the romance of the cup. The idea that a smaller team can, on its day, play against and even beat one of the biggest clubs in the world. This is a fundamental part of The Emirates FA Cup’s magic.

Tell us some of your own favourite Emirates FA Cup memories I can remember back to some of the great finals of the late ’50s and early ’60s. For many years the final was the only game on TV, and it was a spectacle enjoyed by the whole family. The buildup would last for weeks and there would be blanket TV coverage on the day. In many ways we are getting back to that, it’s just that the media platforms and channels have changed considerably.

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cruise with the stars Emirates Holidays has created an incredible holiday of a lifetime experience with its new “Stars on Board” 2015 cruise packages.

Hosted on the MSC Divina, and in association with MBC TV group, guests will mix with the biggest names in the Arabic and Middle Eastern enter tainment industry, including Kadim Al Sahir, Najwa Karam, Haifa Wehbe, Melhem Zein, Rouwaida Attieh, Mohamad Assaf, Ramy Ayache, Wael Jassar, and the comedy duo Ma Fi Metlo and Im Hussein.

During the five-days/four nights cruise, each star will take to the stage to put on a spectacular show. The cruise itinerary begins in Rome before heading to Marseille, Barcelona and ending in Genoa.

The experience is from October 20-24, and packages star t from Dhs7,200 per person based on two adults sharing on a full-board basis.

Price includes return economy flights from Dubai. emiratesholidays.ae

arsenal: invincibles this month on ice

This month on ice you can watch the new and acclaimed documentary Arsenal: Invincibles which tells the story of their 2003-04 Premier League title-winning campaign.

get to your gate on time

Established since 2004, Emirates’ relationship with Arsenal is one of the strongest and longest par tnerships in world spor t, and in 2012, Emirates fur ther extended its commitment by

renewing its sponsorship until at least 2019. “It had always been my dream to go through a season without losing,” says Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger.

“At the time when you do it, you're living in the moment, so it took time for the full extent of the unbeaten run to fully sink in.

“When I look back at photos and footage today and I see the quality of each of the players, I think that’s when you realise it was an incredible team.

Not only those who played regularly, but also those who were in the squad.

“Going unbeaten had never been done in the Premier League until then and I’m very proud of that, because there’s not a lot of room to better. I’m proud of the achievement and for all the players and staff involved – their quality was absolutely exceptional.”

Arsenal: Invincibles is showing on channel 1200 on ice Digital Widescreen in Spor t TV.

Don't miss your flight Please make sure you get to your boarding gate on time.

Boarding starts 45 minutes before your flight and gates close 20 minutes before departure. If you report late we will not be able to accept you for travel.

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Be There in New York Q&A with Emirates Globalista, Shahab Meet Shahab, a foodie and an Emirates IT project manager. He’s one of seven Globalistas taking you to new experiences around the world as part of the Be There campaign

Just how far back does your passion for food go?

It goes back as far as I can remember, as my earliest memor y of food also happens to be my earliest memor y full-stop! I remember sitting as an infant in a highchair and my mother feeding me baby food, and when I took a bite, I remember my brain thinking how delicious and tasty the food was. I’m not sure if I could express that to my mother back then, but that’s probably the time I took a love for food (early, as possible, as you can see).

What were your expectations of the food in NYC – and did it meet them?

New York continuously surprises me when it comes to its food, even though I’ve visited multiple times before. There are classics, twists on old classics, new trends, and everything in between. It’s an ever-turning carousel of food goodness. I would say my expectations were not only met, but were exceeded in all aspects.

What was the single greatest thing you ate while there?

It’s really hard to pinpoint one food, because it’s all so good, but the pastrami sandwich I had in Katz Delicatessen was an absolute revelation. It was mouthwatering, filling, and full of flavour. I genuinely don’t think that corned beef has ever tasted so good.

What are your top tips for restaurants in the city?

Katz Delicatessen for not only the food, but the histor y (it opened in 1888).

Mighty Quinn’s for the best, meatfalling-off-the-bone barbeque in the

city (tr y the beef brisket). Juliana’s Pizza for some of the best, most flavourful pizza money can buy – although this is a tough one, considering there are so many amazing pizza restaurants in New York. Be prepared to wait in line at Juliana’s for a seat, or do what I did and get a take-out.

Which countries' cuisines are you most excited about trying?

Vietnam and Argentina. I didn’t know much about Vietnamese food until recently, but apparently it has a flavour that is unique for the region. And Argentina because, well, nothing beats a delicious, thick, juicy steak, and apparently Argentina is the motherland for this kind of food!

To follow Shahab and get ideas for your adventures visit emirates.com/BeThere or follow #BeingThere

Watch the Be There Travel Series on ice Digital Widescreen. Go to Lifestyle TV or choose channel 1250.

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The magic of The a380 How dnata ensures that the A380 continues to defy belief with its rapid turnaround time and impeccable standards Words: jamie Knights

Have a look around you. How long would it take you to unload the baggage in the hold, clean the cabins immaculately and restock the plane ready for take-off? If you’re on an a380, you have two floors to deal with and plenty more passengers, which means more cleaning and more luggage. don’t forget to restock the lounge and shower, too.

This mammoth undertaking, which one would imagine would take days, has been completed in just 90 minutes by aviation service company, dnata. But dnata doesn’t just have one aircraft to look after, it ensures the rapid turnaround of all 65 of Emirates’ pioneering A380s and has just reached the landmark of its 50,000th handling. And the efforts and the statistics behind servicing the luxurious giants of the sky are staggering.

As soon as the A380 touches down, there is a hive of activity from dnata employees, who offload and deliver passengers’ baggage, cargo and mail, says Jon Conway, Divisional Senior Vice President – UAE airport operations, dnata.

“They then clean and dress the aircraft, conduct toilet and water servicing, provide electrical power and air-conditioning,” he continues. “For the departure, the baggage/cargo and mail process is obviously reversed, with the load distribution carefully calculated by our Load Control team.”

There is of course a limited amount of ground time, so all these activities, plus the ‘above wing’ activity from Airport Services and Catering are carefully coordinated against a Precision Timing Schedule (PTS). And with the continual growth of Emirates’ A380 fleet, dnata is working closely with airport officials to ensure the impeccable standards and turnaround times are maintained.

“One of the new Emirates two-class A380’s with 615 passengers, could have 1,000 bags, of which 800 could easily be connecting on to over 100 onwards flights," reveals Conway. "We need to have the correct resource in the right place at the right time, so we're investing in new equipment, technology and, of course, our people.”

And when it comes to the human element, Conway is keen to emphasise the importance of dnata’s employees in the massive operation.

“Our colleagues, at this time of year, are working in extremely high temperatures at the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic,” he says. “Doing this safely and professionally day after day, 24/7, requires special people and we are fortunate that many of them have elected to work for dnata.”

Conway says that a before and after photograph of the passenger cabin of a full A380 arrival, especially after an ultra-long haul flight, demonstrates the incredible work done by the dnata aircraft appearance team in just 35 minutes.

But the journey from two years before the first A380 landed in Dubai Airport in 2008 has been just as impressive.

Manual and theoretical training has been accompanied with new procedures, manuals and working alongside airports to ensure smooth operations. Yet it is the “lack of fuss”, that Conway is most proud of when it comes to dnata’s ongoing special relationship with the A380. “Overall, I like to think the introduction of the aircraft here was pretty painless”.

Moving forward, Emirates plans a fleet of 140 A380s, so for dnata and Conway it will be business as usual, only a lot more of it.

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THE A380 IN NUMBERS – 5 YEARS – The amount of time it took to complete Concourse A, the world’s first purposebuilt A380 facility

– 484 – The number of passengers on the first commercial A380 flight out of Dubai – to New York on August 1, 2008

– 15,098 – A380 fights to 39 destinations operated out of Dubai International Airport in 2014

– 2,000 HOURS – The training time undertaken by the dnata team to handle the A380

– US$3.1 BILLION – How much it cost to build Concourse A

– 12 – The team members from dnata on hand for baggage, cargo, aircraft, pushback, and toilet and water servicing on each A380

– 40 – The amount of people dedicated to cleaning the aircraft – 20 for the upper deck, 20 for the lower deck

– 90 MINUTES – The quickest recorded turnaround for a fully loaded A380

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D E S T I N A T I O N

TOKYO Few cities in the world can boast the energy and excitment of Tokyo.

Enjoy our guide to Japan's fascinating capital city Although the bright lights and infectious energy of Tokyo can mean plenty gets lost in translation, there is no confusion when it comes to the incredible sights and experiences on offer. Food and fun are found in abundance, whether eating soba noodles from a hole in the wall outlet or getting up early to eat the freshest sushi at the Tsukiji fish market, the culinary moments are true highlights.

But there are pockets of tranquillity to be found throughout the city, such as the Meiji Jingu Shrine, where culture and calm

combine. Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park is another mustvisit, where the country’s fascinating history comes alive.

When it comes to where to stay, you're spoiled for choice, and everything from basic hostels to luxury hotels, not to mention the famous sleeping pods.

Whatever you do on your trip there, Tokyo is a city that creates memories that last a lifetime and there’s always something new and otherworldly to discover.

EAT

STAY

DO

OBANA Widely regarded as one of the best unagi (eel) restaurants in Japan, let alone the city, be prepared to queue for your food at Obana. But the wait is always worth it and the eel is celebrated in many dishes that bring out the best in the ingredient. A traditional experience with exceptional food, what’s not to like? +81 3 3801 4670

MANDARIN ORIENTAL Modern luxury abounds at Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo’s business district. Ask for a room in one of the Asianinfluenced floors, which also boast commanding views of the city. Breakfast is served in a restaurant with Mount Fuji as the back drop, which is an inspiring way to start the day. mandarinoriental.com/Tokyo

WATCH SUMO WRESTLING The ancient sport of sumo wrestling is more than 1,500 years old. Head to Ryogoku Kokugikan, where different level bouts culminate in the top men facing off against each other. +81 3 3623 5111

KYUBEY Based at Keio Plaza Hotel, Kyubey should be near the top of your list when it comes to experiencing a feast of sushi.

Chefs work their magic at the sushi counter, where you can sit and marvel at their handiwork, before indulging in the freshest servings of sashimi and nigiri. kyubey.jp/en/en_shoplist_keiou

CLASKA This boutique hotel still reigns supreme in the city despite being one of the first of its type. Set in the design district, tourists and locals both use the hotel, its trendy bar and tasteful open spaces. Don’t be put off by the façade of the former business hotel, a Japanese delight lies within. claska.com

TAKAZAWA If you are lucky enough to be one of the 10 people who dine at Takazawa each evening, you will be blessed with an incredible culinary experience. Chef Takazawa takes you on a journey of creativity and taste sensations through the many courses.

Choose the wine pairings to round off a memorable evening. takazawa-y.co.jp/en/

PARK HOTEL TOKYO Based in Shiodome, this property boasts a sleek, modern design, but it's the artist rooms that are the big draw. Themes vary and one of the most recent is the imaginative geisha and goldfish creation. Pillow experts are also on hand to guarantee a bespoke, perfect night’s sleep. en.parkhoteltokyo.com/

MARVEL AT THE MEIJI JINGU SHRINE Tokyo can be a non-stop assault on the senses, so taking the opportunity to find serenity is well advised. One of the most beautiful places to do this is the shrine of Meiji Jingu. Arrive early on a weekday morning for a tranquil and uplifting experience, before delving back into the delights of the city. meijijingu.or.jp SHOP IN SHIBUYA The most famous destination in Tokyo is a mass of colour and seemingly organised chaos.

Boasting one of the busiest crossings in the world, marvel at how nobody bumps into each other. Then hit the shops for all manner of goods and mementos to take home with you. Check out the famous Shibuya 109 shopping mall, where fashion is fun and affordable. shibuya109.jp/en/

EMIRATES STAFF TIPS OUT OF TOWN Take the one-hour train ride to Hakone to enjoy a fantastic Japanese hot spring experience.

Takehiro Kori Sales Manager, Tokyo

GEISHA IN KAGURAZAKA Immerse yourself in the traditional yet sophisticated atmosphere of the Edo period at Kagurazaka slope, in the heart of Tokyo. Geisha, gourmet cuisine and much more!

Yasuko Enomoto Flight Purser

In 2010 Emirates began its daily service to Narita Airport. In 2013 Emirates began a second daily service to Tokyo serving Haneda Airport.

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C O M F O R T

WELLNESS IN THE AIR To help you arrive at your destination feeling relaxed and refreshed, Emirates has developed this collection of helpful travel tips.

Regardless of whether you need to rejuvenate for your holiday or be effective at achieving your goals on a business trip, these simple tips will help you enjoy your journey and time on board with Emirates today.

SMART TRAVELLER

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER Rehydrate with water or juices frequently. Drink tea and coffee in moderation.

TRAVEL LIGHTLY

WEAR GLASSES

Carry only the essential items that you will need during your flight.

Cabin air is drier than normal, therefore swap your contact lenses for glasses.

BEFORE YOUR JOURNEY Consult your doctor before travelling if you have any medical concerns about making a long journey, or if you suffer from a respiratory or cardiovascular condition.

Plan for the destination – will you need any vaccinations or special medications?

Get a good night’s rest before the flight.

Eat lightly and sensibly.

AT THE AIRPORT

USE SKIN MOISTURISER Apply a good quality moisturiser to ensure your skin doesn’t dry out.

KEEP MOVING Exercise your lower legs and calf muscles.

This encourages blood flow.

DURING THE FLIGHT

Allow yourself plenty of time for check-in.

Avoid carrying heavy bags through the airport and onto the flight as this can place the body under considerable stress.

Once through to departures try and relax as much as possible.

Chewing and swallowing will help equalise your ear pressure during ascent and descent.

Babies and young passengers may suffer more acutely with popping ears, therefore consider providing a dummy.

Get as comfortable as possible when resting and turn frequently.

Avoid sleeping for long periods in the same position.

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MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE Loosen clothing, remove jacket and avoid anything pressing against your body.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE Try some light exercise, or read if you can’t sleep after arrival.

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Guide to us customs & immiGration Whether you’re travelling to, or through, the United States today, this simple guide to completing the US customs form will help to ensure that your journey is as hassle free as possible.

CUSToMS DECLARATIoN FoRM All passengers arriving into the US need to complete a Customs Declaration Form. If you are travelling as a family this should be completed by one member only. The form must be completed in English, in capital letters, and must be signed where indicated.

ElEctronic SyStEm for travEl authoriSation (ESta) If you are an international traveller wishing to enter the United States under the Visa Waiver Programme, You must apply for electronic authorisation (ESTA) up to 72 hours prior to your departure.

ESta factS: Children and infants require an individual ESTA. The online ESTA system will inform you whether your application has been authorised, not authorised or if authorisation is pending.

A successful ESTA application is valid for two years, however this may be revoked or will expire along with your passport. apply onlinE at www.cbp.gov/ESta nationalitiES EligiblE for thE viSa waivEr*: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom** * SubjEct to changE ** only britiSh citizEnS qualify undEr thE viSa waivEr programmE. | 108 |

&

q u a r a n t i n e

i n f o r m a t i o n

Cut the queue at JFK with quiCK ConneCt If you’re connecting through New York JFK, you can avoid long waiting times in US immigration and queues for connecting flights with the Quick Connect service. US Customs and Border Protection Agency created the special service for passengers who have a connecting flight within three hours of arrival at New York JFK.

Follow theSe StePS:

1

2

3

4

have your boarding card or ticket for your connecting flight ready for the ground staff as you exit.

You’ll be given a Quick Connect card. Continue to the Quick Connect queue in the Arrivals hall.

After passport clearance, claim your baggage and clear US customs, regardless of your final destination.

If your bag is tagged to your final destination, hand it to emirates staff at the transfer counter for your onward flight.

quarantine in australia Australia has strict biosecurity laws, so when you arrive you’ll need to declare certain food, plant or animal items on your Incoming Passenger Card.

You also need to declare equipment or shoes used in rivers and lakes or with soil attached. All aircraft food must be left on board. Please take particular care when you complete your Incoming Passenger Card – it's a legal document and false declarations may result in a penalty.

quarantine in Japan Japan has strict rules around exposure to livestock and bringing in livestock items.

You will need to go to the Animal Quarantine Counter if: • you have recently been to a livestock farm • are bringing livestock products into Japan • your visit to Japan will involve contact with livestock the counter is in the baggage claim area. If you’re bringing meat and livestock products into Japan without an import certificate, you must see the animal quarantine officer. | 110 |

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U A E

S M A R T

G A T E

BE SMART! USE UAE SMART GATE AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

NATIONALITIES THAT CAN USE UAE SMART GATES

UAE

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Bahrain

Belgium

Brunei

Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Kuwait

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Malaysia

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Oman

Portugal

Qatar

San Marino

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

*UK

USA

GO THROUGH IMMIGRATION IN SECONDS AND GET YOUR VISIT TO DUBAI OFF TO A FLYING START Citizens of the countries listed on the right and UAE residents can speed through Dubai International airport by using UAE Smart Gate.

If you hold a machine-readable passport, UAE Emirates ID card or E-Gate card you can check in and out of the airport within seconds.

Just look out for signs that will direct you to the many UAE Smart Gates found on either side of the Immigration Hall at Dubai International airport.

USING UAE SMART GATE IS EASY

1

Have your UAE Emirates ID card, E-Gate card or machine-readable passport ready to be scanned

2

Place your passport photo page on the scanner. If you are a UAE resident, you can scan your UAE Emirates ID card. If you have an E-Gate card place it into the E-Gate slot

OK!

3

Go through the open gate, stand in the blue footprint guide on the floor, face the camera straight-on and stand still for your iris scan.

When finished, the next set of gates will open and you can continue to baggage claim

*UK citizens only (UK overseas citizens still require a visa)

UAE SMART GATE CAN BE USED BY:

REGISTERING FOR UAE SMART GATE IS EASY To register, just follow the above process and then spend a few moments having your details validated by an immigration officer. That’s it! Every time you fly to Dubai in future, you will be out of the airport and on your way just minutes after you landed. | 112 |

• Machine-readable passports from the above countries • UAE Emirates ID cards • E-Gate cards

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DUBAI EMIRATES TOWERS, 14TH FLOOR, SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD P.O. BOX: 9055, DUBAI, UAE TEL: +971 4 330 4343 | FAX: +971 4 330 3993 contact@emiratesadvocates.com | www.emiratesadvocates.com ABU DHABI Tel: +971 2 6394446 auh@emiratesadvocates.com

RAS AL KHAIMAH Tel: +971 7 2046719 rak@emiratesadvocates.com

DUBAI INTERNET CITY Tel: +971 4 3900820 dic@emiratesadvocates.com

SHARJAH Tel: +971 6 5728666 shj@emiratesadvocates.com

JEBEL ALI Tel: +971 4 8871679 jafz@emiratesadvocates.com

DIFC Tel: +971 4 4019562 difc@emiratesadvocates.com

WITH AFFILIATE OFFICES IN SAUDI ARABIA, QATAR, BAHRAIN, KUWAIT AND OMAN

FOR 24 HOUR LEGAL ASSISTANCE, PLEASE CALL +971 (50) 328 99 99

THE FLEET Our fleet contains 238 aircraft made up of 223 passenger aircraft and 15 cargo aircraft BOEING 777-300ER

Emirates is the world’s largest operator of this aircraft, which joined the fleet in 2005.

Number of Aircraft: 106 Capacity: 354-442 Range: 14,594km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 64.8m

BOEING 777-300

Since 1999, Emirates operates two and three-class versions of the 777-300.

Number of Aircraft: 12 Capacity: 364 Range: 11,029km Length: 73.9m Wingspan: 60.9m

BOEING 777-200LR

Number of Aircraft: 10 Capacity: 266 Range: 17,446km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m

BOEING 777-200

In 2005, the Boeing 777-200LR set a new world record for distance travelled non-stop when it landed at Heathrow airport, London, after a journey of 21,601km (11,664 nautical miles) from Hong Kong - the long way round. Emirates received its first 777-200LR in August 2007.

Emirates’ first Boeing 777-200 joined the fleet in 1996.

Number of Aircraft: 6 Capacity: 274-346 Range: 9,649km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 60.9m

BOEING 777F

Number of Aircraft: 13 Range: 9,260km Length: 63.7m Wingspan: 64.8m For more information: emirates.com/ourfleet | 120 |

The most environmentally-friendly freighter operated today, with the lowest fuel burn of any comparablysized cargo aircraft. Along with its wide main-deck cargo door which can accommodate oversized consignments, it is also capable of carrying up to 103 tonnes of cargo non-stop on 10-hour sector lengths.

AIRBUS A380-800

Emirates has operated the A380 since 2008, and is the world’s largest operator of this aircraft. In 2014, 13 Emirates A380s joined the fleet.

Number of Aircraft: 65 Capacity: 489-517 Range: 15,000km Length: 72.7m Wingspan: 79.8m

AIRBUS A340-500

This ultra-long range passenger airliner was introduced to the Emirates fleet in 2003. This saw the launch of the First Class Suite which has since been rolled out on the Boeing 777 and Airbus A380.

Number of Aircraft: 1 Capacity: 258 Range: 16,050km Length: 67.9m Wingspan: 63.4m

AIRBUS A340-300

Similar in many respects to Emirates A330-200s, the A340-300 is equipped with four engines giving it an enhanced range.

Number of Aircraft: 4 Capacity: 267 Range: 13,350km Length: 63.6m Wingspan: 60.3m

AIRBUS A330-200

First added to the fleet in 1999, this aircraft operates predominately on shorter-haul routes.

Number of Aircraft: 19 Capacity: 237-278 Range: 12,200km Length: 58.8m Wingspan: 60.3m

BOEING 747-400ERF

Number of Aircraft: 2 Range:9,204km Length: 70.6m Wingspan: 64.4m Aircraft numbers through end August 2015 | 121 |

This aircraft is capable of carrying up to 117 tonnes. The deck-side cargo door, with a height of approximately three metres, allows the uplift of oversized shipments that cannot be accommodated in the belly-hold of passenger aircraft. The nose door allows the carriage of long pieces.

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