The Collectors, a Dubai Summer Surprises mega-event, is enjoying high-profile participation in light of the distinguished memorabilia and artifacts showcased in its current edition. Among those participating in the display is Sawsan Al Rahma, a UAE citizen, who presents a large collection of rare and ancient artifacts she acquired from her family members.
Her collection is of great historical importance, as it mirrors the unique aspects of the Gulf region's heritage. Some of the items date back to the post-Second World War period. There are also some postage stamps issued by the Qatari Postal Authority carrying Sawsan's picture.
"As a reporter, I always cover many of the activities hosted by Dubai, one of which was an exhibition where I covered the Qatari pavilion therein. In appreciation of my efforts, the Qatari Postal Authority issued a collection of memorial postage stamps with my picture printed thereon," said Sawsan.
She also showcases a 100-year old dagger. The pearl-decorated dagger was owned by her late grandfather and has a handle made of white alabaster. She also has a porcelain tea jug whose ownership dates back to the grandfather of Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed, in addition to a number of custom-made coffee cups designed in Japan 70 years ago.
Included in her collection are also some wall clocks that were used to hang on the walls of what was called Dareesha in the past, ancient in-wall closed windows. These clocks were often imported from China via India by merchants during the 1940s. They were often decorated and embellished by pictures of well-known personalities. Her collection also features old genuine gold-painted Swiss hand watches in good condition.
Sawsan's collection also includes a 40-year old projector and a number of 60-year old small photography cameras. She also presents an old travel document issued in 1934 in Dubai during the British mandate era. Such documents were used as passports at that time.
"I believe that such items are of paramount importance due to their spiritual and material value. Each one of us who possesses such invaluable memorabilia should keep them in a very good condition so that others can see and benefit from them," said Sawsan.
"I have an insatiable desire for collecting such items and I always find such exhibitions an ideal opportunity to present my rare collections to the largest possible number of audience. As a reporter at Emarat T.V. Station, I cover the DSS every year, and therefore I could not participate in the past editions because I was always busy. But this year I decided to devote all my time to the event and showcase my collections to the DSS visitors."
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Note to editors:
Launched in 1998, Dubai Summer Surprises was conceived as the foremost family entertainment event during the summer season for the whole of GCC. Targeted at visitors from outside the UAE and within the country, DSS has been a major entertainment and shopping attraction since its inception and witnessed 1,875,000 visitors in the year 2006 compared to 600,000 in 1998. The event has succeeded in positioning Dubai as the leading summer destination in the region.
The ten-week event is a celebration of different surprises that offer visitors and shoppers the perfect family entertainment opportunity and the ideal combination of shopping and adventure. Over the years DSS has hosted numerous surprises such as Food, Water, Global, Ice, Flower, Sports, Heritage, Arts, Techno, Cartoons, Colour, Sweets, Knowledge, and Back-2-School. The summer event lays special emphasis on children, who are provided all the opportunities to hone their skills while enjoying a fun-packed ten weeks of activities. DSS also has its own mascot, Modhesh, the ever smiling brand ambassador who embodies everything that the event stands for - fun, excitement, brightness and unlimited joy for children.
Dubai Summer Surprises as a venture has contributed significantly to the economy of Dubai and continues to do so by enhancing different economic sectors during a lean period of economic activity in summer. An increase in visitor expenditure from AED 850 million in 1998 to AED 2.57 billion in 2006 is a clear indication of the event's ability to drive economic growth during summer. Into its tenth year, Dubai Summer Surprises has come a long way by building on the successes of the previous editions and aims to create a benchmark for future years to provide the three most important characteristics of the event - shopping, winning, and entertainment.
For more details and information please call:
Laila Suhail,
Executive Project Director,
Tel: 0097142020272,
email: lmsuhail@mydsf.ae
Or the DSF Media Center:
Rana Ghazi, PR Manager,
Tel: 009714-2020275,
email: rghazi@mydsf.ae
Khaled Najjad,
Arabic Editor,
Tel: 2020579,
email: kalnajjad@mydsf.ae
Ahlan Dubai
Tel: 600545555 or DSF Website: www.mydss.ae
© Press Release 2007
