Photography by Tom Maarseveen

Gabriella Cilmi in concert, July 2009, Netherlands

2009-08-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Dubai Fashion Week - 2009

2009-04-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

Dubai Fashion Week autumn-winter was held in the Godolphin Ballroom, Jumeirah Emirates Towers from April 5 to 9th.

It brought together more than 30 designers including Walid Atallah, Reem Ali Beljafla, HSY, Amal Murad, Salma Khan and Mariam Al Mazro.

Collections ranged from couture to prêt à porter.

Deep Purple

2009-03-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

The team at Dubai Bike Week promised bike enthusiasts an even louder and raved up weekend as they announced Deep Purple as the headline artist at the Dubai Bike Week. Known for their thunderous performance, Deep Purple will interrupt the revving of bikes with a hard-rocking live concert set to blow the minds of their fans in the Middle East. This rocking concert took place on the second day of the Gulf Bike Expo, Friday the 20th March 2009.

Lumi at the Dubai Bike Week

2009-03-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Dubai experienced a fantastic combination of Dubai Bike Week , Gulf Bike Expo and a great host venue of Dubai festival City with all its convenient facilities. The 3-day bike festival was set for more exhilarating entertainment featuring Scorpion Customs leading stunt team and celebrated disc jockey DJ GQ with his stunt team of bikers, local bands including Juliana Down, Abri, Lumi, The Meerkats, Paul Akiki and Jonas Desai playing in the Piazza daily, DJs, bike competitions and much more. The Gulf Bike Expo 2009 showed the latest in bikes, ATVs, apparel, accessories, custom-designed bikes and motorcycle-related products from all major international brands from Europe, the USA, Canada, Italy and Japan.
PICTURE: LUMI interviewed by MTV

Victory for Venus

2009-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sixth seed Venus Williams won her 40th career Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title with a 6-4 6-2 win over unseeded Virginie Razzano in the final of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Venus Williams, currently ranked 6th, will move back to the world’s Top 5, for the first time since August 2003.

Muscat Festival

2009-01-31T08:38:00.000-08:00

Muscat Festival is an annual celebration of traditional arts & culture.
Jam packed with activities and events the festival plays a significant part in boosting Oman’s tourism and hospitality industry. It also provides Locals with a month long extravaganza of fun, adventure, excitement and entertainment.
The festival has been running since 1998 and growing in popularity every year. In 2006 over two million visitors attended the various event. This year Muscat Municipality, the Festival’s organizer, expects attendances to top three million.
Muscat Festival is a unique showcase for Oman’s distinctive Arabian cultural heritage. In 2006 Muscat was designated UNESCO Arab Cultural Capital.
WWW.MUSCAT-FESTIVAL.COM

Dubai Ladies Masters (Golf) Dubai

2008-12-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

Annika Sorenstam's farewell tournament on Sunday, shooting a final round of four-under-par 68 for a three shot victory at the Dubai Ladies Masters, the season-ending event on the Ladies European Tour. The 38-year-old Sorenstam signed off in joint seventh place after a final round of 71. In typical style, she rolled an eight foot birdie putt into the cup on the 18th hole before a packed gallery of her golfing colleagues.

Model and professional golfer Anna Rawson(pictured below) is on a mission to raise the profile of women’s golf, making it more attractive and more fashionable.

Maroon 5 press conference & concert

2008-12-30T11:09:00.000-08:00

Maroon 5 in Dubai. Press conference held in the Shangri-La hotel.
December 10th. 2008. Maroon 5 in concert at Festival City, Dubai - UAE

Julian Sas

2008-10-30T22:22:00.001-07:00

Julian Sas.
July 2008, Nijmegen - Netherlands

Turtles in Oman

2008-10-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

End of July 2008 a turtle was found on the beach of Sohar (Oman). This mature female Green Turtle, weighing approx 150 KG, was in distress. The diagnosis is called "Turtle Floating Syndrome". After transporting the patient to a small observation pool at Marine Sience and Fisheries Centre (Ministry of fisheries)in Muscat, a recovery treatment was started.
Due to her condition the turtle was unable to dive-feed. with help of a vet and several volunteers a tube feeding process was started. The process involved three people jumping in the pool lifting the 150 KG turtle vertically out of the water, another keeping the turtles mouth open, and a fifth inserting a tube down the turtles throat and into the stomach to deliver the medicine.
In October she showed signs of improvement and was given her first meals, consisting of green vegetables.
As her appetite became stronger, her floating reduced, and reached the point where she is fit enough to release her.
On Oct 28th. the turtle was released on a local beach near Muscat.
Bon Voyage!

The Scorpions rocking Dubai Festival City

2008-05-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

After a meeting with the event organiser at the Dubai Festival City I had a chance to see the final preparations for the Dubai concert.
Another sunny day in Dubai with temperatures exceeding 40+ C.
By 07.00 PM the crew is ready to rock 'n roll.
The Scorpions played to an exited crowd on Thursday night, May 22nd. at the Festival City, continuing to head bang until the wee wee hours.
The concert which began promptly at 10pm included all the old favourites such as, 'Are you the one?' and 'Rock you like a hurricane,' as well as their most recent hit, 'Humanity,' after which the tour was named.

Having been rocking since the mid-sixties, (Klaus Meine turns 60 this week!)the band's sound and members seemed as fresh as ever playing to the crowd with their rock and roll antics at every opportunity.
The event attracted a broad audience with all ages being well represented. Some came from as far away as Iran specifically to see their favourite band.
It appears the spirit of rock is alive and well in Dubai.

The Olympic torch in Muscat, Oman

2008-04-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

About 80 torchbearers carried, under tight security, the flame down into the heart of Mucat.
The carnival-like atmosphere in tightly controlled Oman was a welcome respite for Olympic organizers after protests over China's human rights that marked torch stops in Paris, London and San Francisco.
Officials said they expected a smooth relay of the flame, adding that any attempt to disrupt the parade would be dealt with severely.
Dozens of policemen were deployed along the torch route, where streets were closed off and parking was banned. An army helicopter hovered overhead.

The vice chairman of the national Olympic committee said Oman was chosen for the relay because of the "excellent relationship that goes back a long way between Oman and China and the economic ties that bind us."
Oman has strong economic ties with China, a major importer of its oil.

Carlos Santana

2008-02-22T10:52:00.000-08:00

Latin rock legend Carlos Santana played a sold-out concert of 15,000 fans at Festival City in Dubai on Friday February 15th. Showing his unique guitar style and impressive solo's.
At 60 years old, Santana showed that his age wasn't holding him back.

During the press conference earlier in the day, Santana captivated the Dubai media for more than 25 minutes as he passionately spoke about his music, life, collaborations and spirituality.

He said:
I owe my passion and talent to the women in my life. My mother and four sisters and my wife are the people who inspire me in life. It's all about the women. Music is made of two things - melody which is the female and rhythm which is the male.
I am definitely a melody man. Even my guitar is female, it has a female sound."

On the same note, Carlos briefly touched a delicate subject; He stated: women should have the room to develop themselves, regardless their culture or religion. Surprisingly I cound not find this statement in any of the Middle East newspapers.

Although Santana made it clear that women are very important to him, he says it was his father who taught him the most important lesson in life.
He added: "When I was younger my father pulled me aside and played a quick tune on his violin. A second later a tiny bird flew down and sat on the edge of the violin and repeated the tune in his whistle. My father played a different tune and the bird sang it back. I was utterly amazed and thought "my father can speak to birds", but he looked at me and said "that is the most important thing to remember in life - to communicate with people."

Speaking about working with younger artists, he said: "For me there is no compromise when working with other people. They come to me with a song or idea and we make it happen. For me there is a difference between a real artist and an entertainer.
Lots of the newer music is about showbiz and Hollywood. It is only the true artists and musicians who will be around for years to come. Music is real - it's a sound to make your hair stand on end, make you cry, dance or laugh.

Carlos finished by addressing the whole press conference. He said: "Take five minutes each day to connect with your own light and the world will be a better place. Let's love, show tenderness, graciousness and be kind. These qualities aren't only for women - we could all do better by living with these things."

Dubai Desert Classic 2008

2008-02-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

Tiger Woods underlined his status as the world’s greatest player with a mesmerising final round performance to win the Dubai Desert Classic, conjuring a sizzling 65 to take the title by a shot from Martin Kaymer.
On a day of thrilling drama at the Emirates Golf Club, Woods emerged the victor after a quite sensational back nine of six under par 31 that culminated in a stunning up and down for a title winning birdie on the 18th green. It was a classic Woods moment, the kind of finish that only a man of his peerless mental fortitude could produce.

Dutch National Ladies Hockey Team

2008-01-27T06:45:00.000-08:00

The Dutch hockey ladies are preparing for the 2008 olympics.
The current European- and world champions visited Oman in January 2008.
Several friendly matches were played against the Azerbaijan and Indian national teams.
In addition a clinic was held for the Dutch youth players, who are resident in Oman.
Scores: NL-AZ: 3-2, NL-AZ: 11-0, NL-IN: 4-1, NL-AZ: 5-0, NL-IN: ??

Mohammed bin Rashid Int. Football Championship

2008-01-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

2008 took off in full speed. The first week of January I've attended the Mohammed bin Rashid Int. Football Championship in Dubai. Four teams were invited. Inter Milan, Internacional Brazil, Vfb Stuttgart and Afc Ajax.

Ajax played two matches; first against Inter Milan and second against Vfb Stuttgart. Ajax lost both matches and ended 4th. Coach Adri Koster stated at the press conference, it is questionable if the organisers are inviting us (ranked 4th.) again next year.
For Ajax this was their first experience in the Middle East.

Motorshow 2007, Essen Germany

2007-12-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

A visit to the annual Motorshow in Essen Germany.
For those who are interested in vehicles in all sorts and sizes, this is the place to be.
besides the regular cars which you can find in the showroom, there were F1 racing cars, 4X4's, sports cars, "pimp my ride"shows and many more......
However, after a while my attention for cars faded.........

Wahiba Challenge 2007

2007-11-30T03:37:00.000-08:00

The Wahiba Challenge - November 23 & 24, 2007. An exciting off-road desert adventure for the eager teams that undertook the journey from the Eastern margin of the Wahiba Sands to the Western margin. As a member of the DuneDrivers team I joined the 10th anniversary of this event and the biggest ever, with over 200 participants divided into 25 teams.
The DuneDrivers team, consisting of 10 Dutch guys and 5 Jeep Wranglers, arrived well prepared at the startline.
It was a fantastic sight to see more than 100 off-road cars set off from Al Kamil on Thursday morning.

At the end of the first day we arrived 6th. at the camp.
The teams gathered in the middle of Wahiba Sands, at the pre-arranged check-point. Out of the 25 teams that set out, 16 made it to the camp site, where they enjoyed a fantastic barbecue.
The next morning all remaining teams set off to the second check-point at the Western margin of the Wahiba Sands before returning to Muscat. At the end of the gruelling weekend, everyone gathered at the PDO Recreation Club to compare their stories of the journey whilst enjoying the final dinner event sponsored by Nawras.

Oman Vs Maldives - Football

2007-10-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

On Oct. 2nd. the Omani national football team played a friendly match against the Maldives. Surprisingly not many spectators. In the 25th. minute of the match, the Omani team scored the first and only goal. (1-0)

Casey Stoner wins MotoGP 2007

2007-09-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

Good to see that Casey Stoner won 2007 GP title.
I met Casey in March during his stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar.
A nice and friendly guy, ready to start of the 2007 GP season.
That same week I've witnessed his first GP victory at Qatar's Losail circuit.