Flying with falcons?

saudi-princes-falcons.jpg

Because of restrictions on the number of birds he could fly with, a Saudi prince boarded 80 of his own birds onto a commercial flight, each in its own seat. The few spaces not taken by a bird were occupied by humans, one of whom snapped the scene and posted it on social media. According to […]

Read more

Qatar’s Temporary Rio +20 Pavilion is Shaped Like a Soaring Falcon

Grimshaw-Architects-Qatar-Temporary-Pavilion-1.jpg

Everyone who constructed pavilions for the recently-completed Rio +20 conference in Brazil was required to source their materials locally and to employ members of the Rio de Janiero community to build each structure. But the New York-based industrial design firm Grimshaw Architects distinguished Qatar’s pavilion from the crowd by modeling its shape after the wingspan […]

Read more

Gulf people ridicule female falconry association

800px-Saker_Falcon_Falco_cherrug_image.jpg

Join the debate: is the world’s first all-women falconry association in Qatar a bad idea?  Falconry is a time-honored tradition in the Gulf, but like more recent sports such as race-car driving and rugby, it is a male-dominated sport. So when the Katara cultural village in Qatar recently announced the launch of the world’s first female […]

Read more

Prized UAE Falcons Have Hospitals and Passports

saker-falcon.jpg

Unlike many wild animals in the UAE, prized Saker Falcons receive first-class protection. Residents of the United Arab Emirates are frequently caught with illegally-procured wild animals, including an injured cheetah found limping along a road in Abu Dhabi, but Saker Falcons receive first class protection mostly thanks to programs initiated years ago by the late President […]

Read more