Dubai, UAE, 15 March 2021 – Joe’s Backyard, the city’s popular barbecue dining spot at Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City, has unveiled a new staycation offer allowing residents and guests to book a hotel room and redeem the equivalent value on food and drinks.

For AED300, guests will get a night’s accommodation at Holiday Inn and consume the same amount of food and beverages at Joe’s Backyard. Offer lasts until April 30, 2021.

The casual and unpretentious venue is famous for its flame-grilled dishes, with the largest braai in the region situated on the terrace offering guests a backyard dining atmosphere. Families and friends will enjoy the lip-smacking short ribs, the scrumptious lamb chops, juicy steaks and sausages. There are sharing platters for the whole gang to taste a mix of meat varieties.

Whether staying on weekdays or weekends, Joe’s Backyard promises a daily dose of tasty food, a variety of drinks including bubbles, wines, cocktails, beers, spirits, as well as non-alcoholic beverages. Leave room for a delightful selection of mouthwatering desserts to end the meal.

The weekly offers include The Girl’s Club on Tuesday, the Caribbean Brunch Night on Thursday, Joe’s Friday Lunch and Saturday Hubble Bubble. There is a daily happy hour and every Monday, residents and guests can sip on selected beverages priced from Dhs25, all day.

The spectacular views at Joe’s Backyard are captivating and for those who love skyline views, the venue is one to check out.

For a much-needed break with your family or loved one, traveling for business or leisure, Holiday Inn Dubai Festival City is the perfect place to stay. From the modernly designed and airy public areas to the fresh and nature-inspired décor of guest rooms and suites, Holiday Inn caters to all lifestyle comforts.

Joe’s Backyard is open daily, from 5:00 pm to 1:00 am on weekdays and from 1:00 pm to 1:00am on weekends. For reservations, email reservations@joebackyard.com or call 055 709 4509.

Dubai, UAE:  Time Out Market, the world’s first food and cultural Market rooted in editorial curation, has announced that Sandy El Hayek has joined the company as General Manager of Time Out Market Dubai in Souk Al Bahar.

Sandy brings a wealth of experience and industry expertise to the position and will play a critical role in the successful launch and business growth of Time Out Market Dubai. The Market will be the largest food hall in the UAE and fully licensed with a curated mix of Dubai’s famed homegrown culinary and cultural concepts. 

Sandy will manage 17 award winning chefs and restaurateurs, three bars and cultural and entertainment spaces spanning 43,000 sq ft, including a 3,000 sq ft wraparound terrace overlooking the Dubai Fountain and the Burj Khalifa. Sandy will report to Didier Souillat, CEO of Time Out Market.

Sandy’s career spans over 15 years in hospitality across Sweden and UAE, including eight years in Dubai. Sandy is also a certified wine sommelier. Most recently, Sandy served as the F&B Operations Manager for Nakheel Group, launching Depachika Food Hall on Palm Jumeirah and the Food District at The Pointe. Prior to that, she held senior management positions within award-winning dining and retail concepts including La Serre Bistro & Boulangerie in Downtown Dubai and Galeries Lafayette, amongst others.  

Sandy El Hayek said: “I look forward to working with Didier and the wider Time Out team as we prepare the launch of Time Out Market Dubai this year. Having worked within Dubai’s hospitality sector for over eight years, I can confidently say this concept is unlike anything this city’s food scene has ever seen before, and I am proud to be part of the team bringing the Market to life in Dubai. I look forward to welcoming guests to Time Out Market Dubai very soon.”

Didier Souillat, CEO of Time Out Market, said: “Time Out Market Dubai will create a vibrant reflection of Dubai’s thriving culinary scene, offering diners the best food and cultural concepts that the city has to offer. We needed an exceptional General Manager to oversee operations at the Market, and we are confident that Sandy’s experience and passion for this project will make Time Out Market Dubai a great success.”

Time Out Market Dubai, the first to launch in the Middle East, will open in partnership with Emaar Malls in early 2021. 

We all want to be healthy, now more than ever, and luckily many of us have already started making better health-conscious decisions such as consuming plant-based products and switching to natural alternatives in order to lead a healthier lifestyle. That being said, food, by itself, is not always sufficient to provide the body with the nutrients and vitamins it needs. Thus, it’s extremely important to incorporate reliable health supplements in your daily routine to boost the immune system.

If you’re not a big fan of conventional supplements that come in the form of pills, powders or tablets – then you’ll be thrilled to know that rite. has just launched its delicious gummy vitamins, designed to boost energy immunity and promote a healthy digestion – better still, it’s 100% vegan!

Rite is the solution to all recurring problems such as lack of energy, poor sleep, weight control, hair loss and stress. They provide the perfect balance between efficiency, quality and taste using the most premium and healthy ingredients for your wellbeing. 

Meet the duo behind rite. – Guillaume & Sebastien who shared their secrets about this unique supplement they have come up with.

“It all started with a personal need, we found it quite difficult to find all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals in today’s food and especially in the Middle East where most of the food is imported. That’s why one out of two people in the Middle-East consume health supplements on a regular basis, even more during the pandemic, the Health Supplement category has boomed,” said Guillaume & Sebastien.

“As always, the leaders are multinational companies but none of them are local to the region as most supplements are imported from other parts of the world. When we walk into a pharmacy, we usually don’t have a nice experience as most products look like medication, it’s hard to trust them and we don’t really understand their complicated labels. Our mission is to make pill popping fun and delicious, with clean products that are easy to understand,” the two added.

Guillaume & Sebastien said rite. is the first gummy brand to use a mix of premium vitamins and plant extracts: Acerola, Guarana, Ginseng for ENERGY gummies, and Artichoke, Fennel, Pineapple stem and Cola seeds for SLIM gummies. As most brands use synthetic vitamins, additives and sweeteners. We decided to manufacture gummies that are clean and reduced in sugar for Middle eastern people

“As we launched rite. with our own savings, we decided to start with only two products for adults: ENERGY multivitamin, and SLIM for healthy digestion. The idea is to cure two general problems many people suffer from in this region: poor sleep and lack of energy, digestive issues and cravings addiction.

“We also plan to launch two other products for adults, and our first gummies for kids. As you can find the rite. gummies only in the UAE for now, we also plan to expand online in the GCC,” they added.

For more information or to order your rite gummies you can visit http://www.myrite.co/

Life, careers, the genuine way to live an ethically balanced existence, and the radioactive nature of nuclear fuel – all have very interesting similarities, according to renowned Dubai business consultant, Mr. Niranjan Gidwani, director and former CEO of Eros Group Dubai

Consider the very nature of nuclear fuel. Its value is at its peak when in an enriched state. Then it goes into a state called ‘half-life’ and begins to lose energy. After attaining this state, the decay of the nuclear fuel becomes exponential. Thus, at its half-life, much of its utility is over and it becomes what is known as ‘spent fuel’. At that state, it is an environmental liability, Mr. Gidwani said.

“Our life, our existence, and our careers are like enriched uranium. The tragedy, however, is that when we reach our half-life state, most of us do not notice the fact. Other people come to learn of it before we do,” he added. 

Mr. Gidwani suggested that we first ask ourselves: What is the telltale sign that one is closing in on one’s half-life? The answer, he said, is inherent in the ability to answer another question: “What is new and different about myself that I can think of in the last six months that went by?”

“Now take the word ‘new’, and look at every other single word in the dictionary. If you prefix ‘new’ to any randomly picked word, the result will be a term that stands for a more progressed state. New manager. New friend. New movie. New learning. New skill. New city. New physical and mental health. New hobby. New car. New sport. Re-Newed ethics. We could go on and on. If we step back and periodically ask ourselves what was new in the last six months, a few of these ‘new things’ should jump out of the mind to indicate that we are still in a state of enrichment,” Mr. Gidwani said. 

He said the covid and post-covid environment has shown us how millions of lives can turn upside down in a matter of days. How many of us have used this phase to make a conscious effort to de-clutter our thinking. How many of us have re-aligned ourselves towards more meaningful cause.

Mr. Gidwani said almost everyone, at a subconscious level, lives and exists with the belief that whatever new needs to be done, has to be done necessarily with our physical looks, our career re-skilling, material comforts, and generating returns on our financial and material assets. Not realizing that, the only asset that we truly possess to look after all our assets is our own existence.  

Coming from a humble, middle-class, extremely value-based background,  Gidwani is known for his vision, ability and expertise to build regional groups and organizations into brands. 

He is a degree holder in Mechanical Engineering and has an MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Management (SIM), Pune, India. He has also attended several top management courses at institutions such as the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, the Seven Habits program under Dr. Steven Covey and several others across the world.

Mr. Gidwani has over 38 years of senior management experience with a strong exposure to handling international business, out of these 38 years, he has had working stints in India, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore and Dubai. Dubai has been the longest stint of 28 years.

Dubai, UAE: Firetti Contemporary is pleased to present a solo exhibition of monumental artworks by international sculptor Helidon Xhixha for its first opening show. 

Titled, IMPRINT, the exhibition showcases three monumental sculptures: “Earth,” a sphere in mirror polished stainless-steel; “Pillar of Fortitude,” a seven-meter tall stainless-steel column; and “Iceberg,” a floating installation in stainless steel measuring 4 x 2 meters. 

“Iceberg” is by far the most symbolic and impactful work by Helidon Xhixha in support of the awareness of global warming and the melting of polar glaciers. 

An artist whose sculptural practice has gone from strength to strength – Helidon Xhixha’s “Iceberg” installations convey the intense sense of wonder that characterizes his outlook and attitude towards art. 

With an approach that is the result of an artistic upbringing, formal education and the artist’s own instinctive, creative drive, Xhixha presents a grand spectacle: Art that challenges its audience. Not simply through its sheer scale and mass but through its engagement with ideas of fundamental importance.

“While highlighting social and environmental issues, our gallery’s mission is to become a vehicle for social change instilling values in our society through the inspirational power of art. Opening our first exhibition with a focus on what’s considered the greatest threat to humanity,  Helidon Xhixha’s large-scale, stainless steel sculptures are going to make a powerful statement on climate change,” says Mara Firetti, founder.

The floating installation “Iceberg” by Helidon Xhixha was first exhibited in the middle of the Venetian lagoon on the occasion of the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015.  The sculpture, captivated audiences, garnering much attention from industry professionals and the media alike, as it floated through the Canal Grande and the Venetian lagoon. This outstanding reflective sculpture made a statement about global warming and the potential impact it could have on a place such as Venice in the future.

Parallel to the environmental message “Earth” will affect every individual on each of the seven continents of the world.  The installation “Earth” works in conjunction with “Iceberg,” acting as its terrestrial counterpoint, and memorializes the continued damage we inflict upon the planet.

“Xhixha has done his part, creating art that uses its beauty to incite positive dialogues on issues that need to be addressed. It is now up to you, the audience, to make sure the message reaches as far as possible and inspires as many as possible. Art needs its audience to invigorate change,” Firetti said.

Using innovative techniques developed throughout the course of his career, Helidon creates sculptures that captivate with their beauty. The fascinating aesthetics of Iceberg and Earth all serve to communicate its meaning – without them, it would not engage its viewers, its ecological message would be lost. 

Xhixha is an Albanian-born artist, but Italian by adoption, whose monumental sculptures and innovative technique, together with an approach that is the result of an artistic upbringing and a formal education, have granted him international acclaim.

IMPRINT will run from March 22 to May 22 at Firetti Contemporary, Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue – 17th St – Al Quoz – Dubai. For details please call +971 508583442, email mara@firetticontemporary.com or visit www.firetticontemporary.com

Firetti Contemporary is an art gallery highlighting social and environmental issues, creating meaningful and sustainable collections.  Promoting a selection of substantial local and international artists, the gallery is located in Alserkal Avenue.

Dubai, UAE: Ally Salama has many firsts to his name. He was the first Egyptian male youth speaker on mental health at the United Nations. He has built a #1 trending podcast across six countries, and his online magazine EMPWR Mag was among Harvard’s Top 7 Most Impactful Social Initiatives, in 2019. 

But Ally’s most significant achievement is empowering honest and compassionate dialogue around mental health, as a spokesperson and activist.

An ex-pro athlete, a social entrepreneur, and a mental-health ambassador, Ally Salama is using his own experience with clinical depression to help others. With the intent to create a cultural shift and make mental health part of the conversation in every household across MENA, he is creating an ecosystem that fosters trust and hope.       

“My goal is to open minds and create change. Although many people today understand that mental illness is a medical condition, there are still many stigmatizing misconceptions and stereotypes at large,” he said. 

“But the only way forward is to increase awareness, empathy, and compassion for those afflicted. Which is why I created EMPWR. I want everyone to know they are not alone on this journey, and that together, we can instill a renewed positivity among those that have been suffering silently. A supportive and understanding attitude has the power to create compassionate communities that remove the stigma from mental illness and give hope to those who need it most,” added Ally.

In 2019, Ally took to the podium at the World Health Organization (WHO), where he shared his life experience, as well as his journey to help those with mental disabilities overcome the stigma associated with the condition. “Too often, people with mental illness feel trapped, isolated, and discriminated against, because their condition is misunderstood,” he says.

Ally is keen to establish that anyone can be susceptible to mental distress, often despite their perceived success – from an aspiring athlete to an innovative entrepreneur. He points out that for those in highly competitive environments – such as sports, entrepreneurship, and leadership roles – it can become doubly difficult to accept and acknowledge mental health issues.

Research indicates that youth and adults alike find qualified help difficult to access in the Arab world, when it comes to mental health. Focusing on the intersection between mental health, empathy in leadership, and building emotional intelligence, Ally is particularly proactive in engaging with youth and entrepreneurs. Ally is now also partnering with several foundations and charities, and speaking at schools, institutions, and workplaces, to help kickstart the discussion around mental health and wellbeing.

Dubai, UAE: Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has introduced weekly direct flights from Dubai World Central Airport (DWC) to the Seychelles between March 27 and May 29, 2021, starting at USD 343 (AED1,259).

As the first country to welcome inoculated travellers from around the world, the Seychelles is a safe and travel-worthy holiday destination with strict measures in place to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Indian Ocean archipelago has announced it will reopen for all international tourists from March 25, by when 70% of its population will have been vaccinated.  

The seasonal service will operate from the DWC Jetex Private Terminal, renowned for its top-of-the-line experience and unrivalled personalized customer service. The flights, scheduled for eight weeks, will depart Dubai every Saturday morning, arriving in the Seychelles around midday, conveniently timed to provide travellers the opportunity to experience the panoramic views of the unparalleled beauty of the Seychelles’ unique mountains and coastline prior to landing. 

The return flights from Seychelles International Airport to DWC will operate on Friday afternoons, thus providing travellers a full seven days and six nights in the Seychelles. 

All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, must present a negative PCR test upon arrival taken a maximum of 72 hours prior, as well as complete the mandatory Health Travel Authorization at seychelles.govtas.com prior to departure from Dubai. Travellers will not be required to quarantine on arrival, however, must follow the existing health regulations, including wearing face masks in public and social distancing.

The flights will be operated by the airlines’ Airbus A320neo aircraft featuring 12 Business Class and 156 Economy Class seats, as well as a modern inflight entertainment platform allowing free wireless downloads of movies, TV shows and music on travellers’ personal devices. Economy Class travellers can take advantage of the attractive fares starting from USD343 (AED 1,259) with total baggage allowance of 30kg, whilst Business Class travellers can book their seats at the starting fares of USD1,020 (AED 3,743) with total baggage allowance at 40kg. All fares are inclusive of taxes.

Flights are now on sale via Air Seychelles website at www.airseychelles.com and through travel agents.

Tense. Stressed. Anxious. Flat. Emotional. Off balance. 

These are all physical and mental states that have prompted the UAE to seek sanctuary at SENSASIA Spas for 17 years. But never has the multi-award winning group wanted to guide clients to a state of holistic wellness as much as it does right now, which is why the expert team is pioneering the power of exceptional quality essential oils.

Known for bespoke spa experiences and tailoring treatments with an unmatched attention to detail as standard, SENSASIA has used its extensive knowledge of aromatherapy and hi-grade essential oils to ensure clients have even more opportunity to target the exact stressors they are battling in 2021.

“Scent is directly linked to the brain,” explains Salina Handa, founder and creative director of SENSASIA Spas and its consultancy arm, THE SPA PEOPLE. “Essential oils are powerful, potent tools to shift emotions, hormones, stress response, moods, and so much more. They are an intrinsic part of what we do at SENSASIA, but I want to make sure we impart our knowledge and guide clients into crafting their spa time to really provide the elixir they are looking for, when they need it the most.”

To simplify and put to use the extensive knowledge that the SENSASIA team has on results-driven essential oil blends, clients can now select the state that matches them best from the “I Feel…” menu before they begin their treatment, which will determine the bespoke scent that is incorporated into their experience for maximum effect. 

The ‘I Feel…’ Essential Oil Selection is a complimentary addition to any treatment taken at SENSASIA Spas. 

SENSASIA has three unique locations – at Emirates Golf Club, The Village in Jumeirah and SENSASIA Stories at Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates.

These unique essential oil blends can be worked into skin in SENSASIA’s 50-plus massages and total body journeys, or used within the breathing and relaxation rituals that form part of its myriad of facials and body wraps, scrubs and toning treatments.

The key states or feelings clients can select as their driving force to overcome are Tense, Stressed, Emotional, Flat, Anxious and Off Balance, leading to the following essential oil antidotes being added to their experience, completely free of charge.

SENSASIA’S ‘I FEEL’ ESSENTIAL OIL SELECTION

Available for all treatments, across all locations, free of charge.

I Feel… Tense
SENSASIA blend: Signature
Lemongrass, geranium and lavender to target joint aches, muscle tension, improve blood circulation and reduce inflammation.

I Feel… Stressed
SENSASIA blend: Pick-me-up
Lavender, orange, ylang-ylang and geranium helps manage physical tension, depression, insomnia and headaches, unwinding the tight/suffocating feeling stress creates.

I Feel… Anxious
SENSASIA blend: Urban Essentials
Rosewood, ylang-ylang and lavender relax and restore body and mind, silencing anxieties, and offering holistic balance.

I Feel… Flat
SENSASIA blend: Urban Revival
Lavender, geranium, eucalyptus, neroli put the zing back in. Energising and anti-inflammatory, this mix relieves sore muscles and stress to revitalise and refresh.

I Feel… Emotional
SENSASIA blend: Living
Ylang-ylang, geranium and lavender provide an energy boost, improve blood circulation promote healing and offer clarity of mind.

I Feel… Off Balance
SENSASIA blend: Urban Balance
Juniper, rosewood and lavender have therapeutic properties to heal and balance the body, and usher in calm to a stressful lifestyle.

For more information and bookings, visit www.SensAsiaSpas.com