DUBAI: World Expos have a long and illustrious past, not least for their lasting contributions to urban skylines and architectural world-firsts. The Eiffel Tower and Chicago’s Ferris Wheel are two of the most recognizable examples.

Despite such permanent contributions, expos have mostly been temporary events, with elaborate pavilions representing countries from every corner of the world for a limited time, only to be unceremoniously removed at the end of the duration.

Chicago built an entire temporary city in grand neo-classical style for its expo in 1893. The famous White City ultimately provided planners with a blueprint for future growth — however, the buildings themselves were not retained.

This has been a common narrative of World Expos, with pavilion structures either unused or destroyed afterward.

Not so in Dubai. The Expo 2020 organizing committee has designed the site to include a dedicated pavilion for each nation, in addition to other participating organizations, which are intended to remain long after the event draws to a close.

Its novel concept has resulted in more than 200 pavilions across a site twice the size of Monaco, the sovereign city state on the French Riviera.

The site is divided into three “thematic districts” that mirror the sub-themes of the event: Sustainability, mobility and opportunity.

Some of the pavilions have been designed and built by participating countries, showcasing their own national architecture and design. (Supplied)

Some of the pavilions have been designed and built by participating countries, showcasing their own national architecture and designs, while others occupy standardized buildings assembled by the host.

Many Arab countries have built their own pavilions and put substantial resources and effort into their development (with assistance from the UAE, in certain cases).

All Gulf Cooperation Council member countries — as well as Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt, among others — have self-built pavilions.

Many of these are in the Opportunity District, with prime locations close to the UAE and Saudi pavilions.

Since this is the first expo to be hosted by a Middle Eastern country, Arab states have pulled out all the stops to make their mark on the event.

Architecture across the site incorporates many elements of traditional Arabic design, but the overall impression is perhaps not as visually cohesive as Chicago’s White City would have been.

All Gulf Cooperation Council member countries have self-built pavilions. (Supplied)

Each country participating in Expo 2020 Dubai has been given the freedom to bring in its own unique design, with regional touches such as latticework, courtyards and shade structures applied throughout.

The result is a selection of powerfully individual pavilions designed to capture visitors’ interest.

Arab pavilion designs and their associated architecture can be broadly defined as falling into two camps: Traditional yet innovative, with an emphasis on history and culture; and the expressive and inventive, with an emphasis on the abstract and experimental.

Falling into the former category is Algeria’s pavilion, modelled on the Casbah (citadel) of its capital Algiers.

In a nod to the host city, the iconic blue and white palette of Algiers has been traded for desert shades.

The design of the pavilion references traditional Algerian style, with an interior courtyard and design elements to maximize air flow.

While the pavilion’s interior courtyard provides a quiet protected space, the facade is dramatically stylized with designs resembling traditional Berber tattoos.

Each country participating in Expo 2020 Dubai has been given the freedom to bring in its own unique design. (Supplied)

Also occupying the traditional-yet-innovative camp is Kuwait’s pavilion, an eye-catching gold structure in the Sustainability District, constituting the Gulf kingdom’s most ambitious expo contribution to date.

The design evokes the ecology of the desert, with video of camels and rolling sand dunes displayed on large external screens.

Textured gold exterior panels form a modern take on its desert terrain. In the center of the pavilion is a reproduction of a local water tower, used for the conservation of natural resources.

Another of the traditionalists is Morocco, which drew inspiration for its pavilion from its scenic earthen villages.

At 34 meters in height, spread across seven floors, it is among the tallest buildings at the expo.

The facade was built using rammed-earth construction methods, common to Morocco and inherently sustainable as the thick earthen walls keep the air inside cool.

The UAE has the largest pavilion. (Supplied)

The rooms are arranged around a central courtyard, complete with hanging gardens and other tributes to Moroccan regions and ecosystems.

Oman, too, pays homage to its traditional roots with a focus on the ancient frankincense tree, native to Dhofar governorate.

The exterior resembles the tree, with rich curved frankincense beams that required two to three years to create especially for the expo.

Oman also has among the most creative visitor experiences, with frankincense-scented sanitizing mist at the entrance and a photo area where floor panels emit sudden jets of faintly scented mist, so that the surprise of visitors is captured on camera.

Bahrain’s pavilion is among the most striking and experimental of the expo. Designed by Christian Kerez Zurich AG, the pavilion appears from the outside to be a windowless metal box bristled with long metal rods, with no discernible entry or exit.

Instead, visitors are directed down a long ramp that takes them deeper and deeper underground, where the air becomes cooler and the sounds of the surface world recede.

Morocco drew inspiration for its pavilion from its scenic earthen villages. (Supplied)

The descent is described by the architect as “a transition between the outer and inner worlds of the pavilion.”

When visitors enter the pavilion proper, they are greeted by a cavernous ceiling and bright light.

The metal rods visible on the outside are revealed to be part of a forest of floor-to-ceiling columns.

The pavilion design is intended to explore the concept of density — both in reference to the world’s growing urban density, and as a nod to the densely woven fabrics of Bahraini craftspeople.

Another nation whose pavilion design has pushed the boundaries is Saudi Arabia — the expo’s second largest after the UAE’s and an obvious crowd favorite.

The structure is a ramp angled up toward the sky, implying the ambition of the Kingdom but also doubling as a kind of window.

The underside of the ramp, which faces visitors as they enter the pavilion, features the world’s largest LED display, depicting Saudi Arabia’s spectacular natural scenery, offering visitors a glimpse into parts of the Kingdom most have never seen before.

The pavilion has earned a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certificate in recognition of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to using sustainable construction materials and recycling waste during the construction process.

In a marked departure from past expos, country pavilions will remain a permanent feature of the Dubai landscape.

Some pavilions will be repurposed to house an Expo 2020 Dubai museum, while others will remain tied to their country of origin as venues for cultural exchange.

Kuwait’s pavilion has an eye-catching gold structure in the Sustainability District, constituting the Gulf kingdom’s most ambitious expo contribution to date. (Supplied)

In 2010, the UAE became the first country ever to relocate its pavilion to home soil after the Shanghai Expo (in the form of 24,000 individual steel pieces). In 2015, the UAE also repatriated its pavilion from Milan.

Now the country is continuing this tradition of sustainable reuse on a far grander scale. In the legacy period after the event, the site will evolve into a residential and commercial community named District 2020, retaining around 80 percent of its existing buildings.

In the meantime, millions of Expo 2020 Dubai visitors are getting an exposure to a global environment awash with new ideas, cultural experiences and entertainment. The wide variety of architecture is a source of awe and inspiration.

And thanks to the foresight of its planners, the expo will not disappear once its six-month run expires, but will live on as a sustainable community for decades to come.

TUNIS: Tunisian voters have approved a referendum on a new constitution that gives more powers to the country’s president. It’s a step that brings hope to many in the struggling North African nation. Some people interviewed by The Associated Press this week celebrated the result of Monday’s referendum and expressed support for President Kais Saied, who spearheaded the project and proposed the text himself. Others said they worry about what the changes could mean for the future of democracy in the country. The overhauled constitution gives sweeping executive powers to the president and weakens the influence of the legislative and judicial branches of the government. Adel, a 51-year-old plumber who refused to give his last name due to fear of political reprisals, said that while he supported Saied, he did not participate in Monday’s referendum because he thought the proposed changes gave the executive branch too much power. “This constitution he made was not for the long-term. Those who will come after Saied will do whatever they want without being held accountable,” he said. Saied won the presidency in 2019 with over 70 percent of the vote. He continues to enjoy widespread popular support; recent polls put his approval rating at well over 50 percent. The referendum took place a year to the day after Saied froze Tunisia’s parliament and dismissed his government. Opponents derided the moves as “a coup,” but many Tunisians supported the president’s actions due to exasperation with political elites and years of economic stagnation. In the same way, many citizens think the new constitution will end years of political deadlock and reduce the influence of the country’s largest political party, Ennahdha. Others saw a “yes” vote as a vote for Saied and a chance to change their fortunes. Saida Masoudi, 49, a fast-food seller in a Tunis suburb who voted for the revised constitution, said she hoped the changes would pave the way to economic reforms and lower living costs. “We just want the country to improve and reform. That’s why I participated in this referendum, so that the country will return to how it was before” she said, adding that she thinks Tunisians lived better under former President Ben Ali than they do today. However, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director, called the constitution’s adoption “deeply worrying.” She said in a statement that the revisions were drafted behind closed doors in a process controlled by Saied. “The new constitution dismantles many of the guarantees to the independence of the judiciary, removes protection for civilians from military trials and grants the authorities the power to restrict human rights or renege on international human rights commitments in the name of religion” Morayef said. Official preliminary results showed about one-third of registered voters cast ballots, with 94.6 percent giving their approval. Opposition leaders had called for a boycott of the referendum, saying the process was flawed, and they argue the turnout reflected discomfort with the changes to Tunisia’s system of government. “The referendum was rigged from the start, with no participation threshold provided for,” International Commission of Jurists regional director Said Benarbia said. “The low turnout and the opaque, illegal process by which the adoption of the constitution was made possible do not give the president any mandate or legitimacy to change Tunisia’s constitutional order.” Several people the Associated Press spoke with said they did not vote in the referendum. Some said they were uninterested in politics, while others said a new constitution would do little to change their quality of life. Several did not understand the changes it would introduce. “I didn’t vote because none of this interests me,” Khalil Riahi, a 26-year-old DJ, said. “Whether it’s Kais Saied doing this or someone else, it’s all the same to me. Nothing will change.” Monica Marks, professor of Middle East politics at NYU Abu Dhabi, says that many Tunisians have grown tired, disillusioned and cynical in recent years but that they “never called for a complete up-ending of their political system”. “What they’ve been calling for, for years, is for effective leadership from government that makes a real tangible difference in their everyday lives and solves the economic challenges that they’re desperately grappling with” says Marks, explaining that many are attached to the idea that “one man alone can take the system, break it and maybe fix it.” “There are still a lot of Tunisians who believe that Saied is Mr. Fix It ... They believe he is the man who will clean up everything, even though he’s ruled by powers of personal decree for an entire year, and their situation tangibly hasn’t changed.”

LONDON: The UAE said on Friday that it is continuing efforts to return residents who have been evacuated to government-provided shelters and that 80 percent of those affected have returned to their homes. “Authorities are continuing their gradual recovery efforts, in light of the recent rain- and wind-induced weather fluctuations, and deal with the resulting damage,” Brig. Gen. Ali Salem Al-Tunaiji, director-general of Federal Central Operations at the Ministry of Interior. He was delivering a statement on the developments related to rescue and assistance operations in areas affected by the turbulent weather conditions in the country, especially in Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al-Khaimah. The ministry mourned the death of seven people, of Asian nationalities, and expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy with the families of the deceased. The ministry said that all the entities and parties involved are working together to facilitate return to normalcy and open closed roads, noting that there is only one road that remains closed, with work currently under way to dispose of remaining water. Moreover, community police have made relentless efforts in providing psychological support to those affected, he added.

DUBAI: In January, the drought which has stalked Iraq for the past three years caused water levels at Mosul dam in the north of the country to drop to their lowest levels since it was built in 1986. But, as the water receded, something unexpected emerged from beneath the surface.

To the amazement of onlookers, there stood the ruins of a 3,400-year-old city of the Mitanni Empire that had once occupied the banks of the Tigris River.

However, the settlement, located in present-day Iraqi Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region, emerged for just two months before it sank into the waters once more. Archaeologists had to race against time to excavate as much of the site as possible while it stood exposed.

Working intensely for six weeks, the team uncovered more than 100 clay tablets etched with cuneiform script dating back to the early Assyrian period.

A team of German and Kurdish archaeologists were able to date the site to the Bronze Age, around 1550 to 1350 BC. They believe the settlement could be the ancient city of Zakhiku, once a bustling political center.

Although undoubtedly an exciting discovery, the same extreme weather events that caused the water levels to drop are also damaging ancient sites in other parts of Iraq, frequently referred to as the “cradle of civilization.”

Scientists believe that the recent cases of extreme weather around the world, including flash floods in Europe and dust storms across the Middle East, are evidence of man-made climate change that will only become worse and more frequent unless carbon emissions are cut quickly and dramatically.

What is less well understood is the impact these extreme weather events are having on the world’s heritage sites. What is more certain is that in the Middle East and North Africa, a fearsome mixture of desertification, drought and climate change is damaging artifacts and excavation sites and undermining conservation efforts.

In Yemen, for instance, intense rainfall is damaging the mud-brick highrises of the 16th-century walled-city of Shibam, a UNESCO World Heritage site nicknamed “Manhattan of the desert” by British explorer Freya Stark in the 1930s.

At the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bagerhat in southern Bangladesh, salt water from severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall is damaging the foundations of the city’s numerous Indo-Islamic mosques.

In Egypt, high temperatures, heavy rains and flooding are damaging the ancient stonework on monuments in Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria, and elsewhere.

Granite that was once rose-colored has faded to a pale pink or even light grey over the last 15 years, Abdelhakim Elbadry, a restoration expert who works at Karnak temple, told Reuters. “In every archaeological site here in Luxor, you can witness the changes.”

In central Iraq, meanwhile, strong winds have eroded many hilltop sites that are still difficult to reach for security-conscious archaeologists.

According to a study by UNESCO, the UN Environment Program and the Union of Concerned Scientists, climate change has become one of the most significant threats to historic sites and monuments.

The joint 2016 report, titled “World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate,” examined the increasing climate vulnerability of these sites and its likely impact on global tourism. According to the UN, Iraq is the fifth most climate-vulnerable country in the world.

“We have three factors that affect cultural heritage in terms of climate change: Dust storms, rising temperatures and salinity — the salt in the soil,” Jaafar Jotheri, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Al-Qadisiyah in Iraq, told Arab News.

“Most of the sites are outside the cities in the desert, such as Ur. Dust storms don’t just affect people and other forms of life, but also heritage buildings. Dust gathers inside the site, affecting its structure, just as high winds create cracks and destroy surfaces.”

Additionally, extremely high temperatures during the day and cooler temperatures at night cause bricks in old structures to expand and retract, creating cracks.

Then there is the problem of increasing salinity. “People living in or outside cities, including farmers, are increasingly relying on ground water because there is no more fresh water in the rivers,” Jotheri said.

* Climate change is now a top threat to world heritage, says UNESCO.

* Marshlands of southern Iraq among the most vulnerable, the UN warns.

“The groundwater is more salty. We are taking the groundwater and using it for everyday life as well as irrigation, so we are increasingly exposing all kinds of surfaces to salt and saltwater.

“The more we use the salty groundwater, the more salty exposed surfaces will be. People use drains but then the salt also accumulates in the drain canals and reach the foundations of heritage buildings, creating cracks in the bricks and the walls.

It was not until recently that Iraq had to contend with what many regard as telltale signs of man-made climate change. “The temperature was mild, sandstorms were less harsh and less frequent, and we had fresh water, so we didn’t have to use groundwater,” Jotheri said.

Suspected climate change has also taken a toll on Iraq’s natural features. Entire lakes have disappeared, such as Sawa, known as “the pearl of the south,” located in the Muthanna governorate, which lies close to the Euphrates River.

The country’s once verdant wetlands in the south, which had been drained by Saddam Hussein and later reflooded after his fall, are disappearing once again — this time owing to changing weather patterns.

Bedouin communities who had lived in these areas for generations have been forced to leave as a result. “We are losing everything in Iraq, our natural landscape, our heritage and our traditions,” said Jotheri.

In Nov. 2021, the World Bank warned that Iraq could suffer a 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050 due to climate change.

In May, the Iraq News Agency reported that the number of dusty days had increased from 243 to 272 a year over the past two decades, and the country could experience up to 300 days of dust storms a year by 2050.

“Over the past two months I have personally witnessed over a dozen sandstorms in such a short period,” Lanah Haddad, regional director for Tarii, the Academic Research Institute in Iraq, told Arab News.

“The desertification and the increasing number of sandstorms is affecting the erosion of excavated sites or heritage buildings, which are already in ruins and have not been restored yet.”

Mark Altaweel, a reader in Near East Archaeology at University College London’s Institute of Archaeology, is convinced that climate change poses a dire threat to world heritage.

“This includes more frequent sandstorms, weathering of sites, sometimes harsh and drastic rains, and other events that can damage or lead to degraded sites,” he told Arab News.

For instance, Iraqi sites such as Taq Kisra, the remains of a Sasanian-era Persian monument, have been significantly weathered, and the structure has partially collapsed as a result.

“Mosques and old houses have collapsed in villages and different sites when you have sudden and violent rain events,” said Altaweel.

“The sandstorms disrupt our work, mostly affecting visibility and our equipment, but they can affect archaeological sites. For archaeologists, the main challenges are working in a place like Iraq with frequent sandstorms that also disrupt flights and work.”

To prevent further damage, Altaweel says the main thing that authorities can do is to tackle the immediate man-made causes, including overuse of groundwater and poorly managed surface water.

“There needs to be a re-greening effort, but it has to be done carefully to ensure plants survive, and plants can prevent sand from becoming airborne,” Altaweel said.

The international community also has a responsibility to protect heritage sites. Adam Markham, deputy director of the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told TIME magazine in 2019 “that if the world wants to save these sites, countries will also need to share financial resources.”

Additionally, architects and archaeologists have discovered that adhering to traditional craftsmanship and knowledge is the best way to repair, restore and maintain the heritage of such sites. However, precious few individuals have such skills today.

In Cairo, at the Jameel School of Traditional Arts, the only school in Egypt dedicated to the study of traditional Islamic craftsmanship, students passionate about preserving centuries-old techniques are seen as essential for the restoration of Egypt’s multitude of ancient sites.

They are locked in a race against time as the suspected effects of climate change accelerate the destruction.

There are also prescient lessons for present-day societies as extreme climate events batter modern infrastructure, stretch resources and destroy livelihoods, creating the conditions for displacement and even conflict.

“If we look at locations of ancient sites situated in deserted areas, it shows clearly that climate change was an important factor for forced migrations, resulting in the abandonment of a settlement,” said Haddad.

“Societies always face challenges in providing water for agriculture and to their growing communities in urban spaces. We need to learn these lessons from the past to avoid conflict over water in the near future.”

Jotheri worries that the palpable effects of climate change, if not addressed urgently, could lead to further violence, particularly in societies such as Iraq.

“It will lead to tribal conflict, between the southern Iraqi tribes themselves and between other provinces in the country,” he said.

“We have a fragile government, and we need a strong one to face the threat of climate change. If water, for example, is cut or reduced in the Tigris or Euphrates over the next few years, people will begin to fight over water.”

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LONDON: Iran has stepped up the production of military-capable drones, delivering its technology to militant groups across the Middle East as well as to countries such as Venezuela and Sudan, the US has warned.

The New York Times cited Iranian media outlets, satellite images and US defense experts to suggest that Tehran is trying to increase its influence in the drone market.

Last week, Iranian state media quoted the head of the military, Brig. Gen. Kioumars Heydari, as saying Tehran is “ready to export weapons and military equipment to friendly countries,” and its drones are already “being operated far away and beyond our borders.”

Seth Frantzman, a drone expert and defense analyst, told the NYT: “Iran is increasingly becoming a global player in terms of drone exports. The fact that newer drones, such as the Mohajer-6 (a military-capable Iranian drone with a range of around 125 miles) are now being seen in places like the Horn of Africa, shows that countries see them as a potential game-changer.”

Iran’s drone program has increasingly concerned its regional rivals. Despite sanctions, Tehran has been able to produce a range of machines for both surveillance and offensive operations, to the point where Israel has targeted and sabotaged Iranian drone production facilities. 

Iran still lags behind the likes of Turkey in drone production, however, with Ankara’s Bayraktar TB2 proving decisive on battlefields from Azerbaijan to Ethiopia in recent years.

In August 2020, though, a UN embargo on the purchase and sale of weapons by Iran expired, making it easier for the country to become a bigger player in the drone market.

On July 21, the US Department of Defense said the drone program was a key topic of conversation at a recent regional security conference in Qatar. 

Since the lifting of the embargo, Iranian drones have been spotted in various military theaters, including the civil war in Ethiopia, where a Mohajer-6 was filmed behind Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a visit to a military base, armed with air-to-surface missiles.

In February, the sale of Mohajer-6 drones to Venezuela was confirmed by Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz, citing footage of President Nicolas Maduro standing next to one in 2020.

Venezuela’s Ministry of Defense later confirmed that the country had been purchasing an earlier model, the Mohajer-2, since 2007, when the UN arms embargo was imposed. 

Iran has also supplied drones to Sudan, despite Khartoum also being subject to an arms embargo.

“The Islamic Republic has long reached mass production level in the production of various drones including military surveillance and suicide drones and now has a very large stock,” Iranian military analyst Hossein Dalirian told the NYT.

Tehran has been able to build a network of customers among nations and proxy groups, including in Yemen and Lebanon, outside the West’s sphere of influence.

That policy has included the offshoring of production to other countries, including Venezuela and Tajikistan.

Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces, traveled to Tajikistan in May to inaugurate a factory making Ababil-2 drones — the first designated factory of Iranian drones abroad.

Tehran’s drones have been used extensively in attacks against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen and Israel, as well as a US base in Syria in October last year.

Farzin Nadimi, a military analyst and associate fellow at the Washington Institute, told the NYT: “They (Iran) have created this viable drone capacity, so it is no surprise that other countries are interested in obtaining such technologies. Iranian drones should be taken seriously as a weapon.”

LONDON: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has derided Iranian women protesting against wearing of the hijab as victims of a Western conspiracy orchestrated by the UK and US, The Times reported on Friday.

He said Britain and “especially” the US had deployed their media to “attack” the strict dress code imposed by authorities upon women in Iran.

“The enemies’ goal is to spread doubt among the people and shake their faith, which is the main factor in maintaining the country and the Islamic system,” Khamenei told imams.

The strict dress code imposed in the wake of the 1979 revolution has faced decades-long protests by women in Iran.

On July 12, the National Day of Hijab and Chastity, activists called on women to take off their hijab in a campaign of civil disobedience.