Planned neighborhoods of Sharjah

Brief history of Sharjah (pre 1970s)

Before discussing some of Sharjah's planned neighborhoods it's worth taking a quick look at the city's history. Sharjah's urban form owes a lot to its historic status as a modest port city. Prior to the formation of the UAE in 1971 the city took the form of a linear settlement along the creek opening up onto the Arabian Gulf. The outer limit of the settlement was defined by a wall gated by Al-Hisn fort.

Renovated Al-Hisn Fort
Source: http://www.timeoutabudhabi.com/images/content/a_road_trip_to_every_emirate/gallery/2012_roadtrip_6_gallery.jpg

The intermediate space between the creek and the wall formed the core of the settlement’s activities. Port dwellers took up residence in traditional Arabic residential complexes and merchants traded in the intricate souks that ran along the creek.

Partially reconstructed historic area of Sharjah
Image source: http://www.e-flux.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/dc8ae_nov7_sharjah_img.jpg?b8c429

The discovery of oil in the early 1970s was the major driver for the change in Sharjah’s urban form. The government needed to expand the city beyond the wall in order to provide good quality modern housing for its residents. As a result, the immediate desert outside the boundaries of the wall was the natural direction for expansion. What I find interesting however is not so much the direction of expansion but the form of it. Sharjah’s planned neighborhoods, built at various periods since the 1970s, reveal a lot about the changing trends in urban planning in the city. Below is a closer look at two of Sharjah’s planned neighborhoods that capture these trends.

Illustration of Sharjah's post 1970 expansion

A note on Sharjah’s government housing  

Before discussing the two neighborhoods below it’s worth mentioning a few points about planned communities in Sharjah. The government of the UAE is the main provider of housing for Emiratis by way of subsidized house building programs (see Sheikh Zayed Housing Program for an example). One form of housing provision is for the local government to carry out the entire planning and construction of neighborhoods and then offer UAE nationals interest-free loans to buy a house. Alternatively UAE nationals can opt to build their own houses elsewhere and are given a free lot to do so.

Maysaloon: Sharjah’s first planned neighborhood

Maysaloon was built in the mid-1970s and was Sharjah’s first government planned neighborhood. The pioneering development is a compact community of small villas with narrow tree-lined streets loosely resembling what later became defined as New Urbanism in Western urban planning. The neighborhood sits less than a mile from the historic outer boundaries of the old city and starkly contrasts the traditional Emirati houses of the city like Bait Serkal and Bait Shamsi. Maysaloon’s new houses were modern detached villas with modest garden space. Individual lots were allocated for each house and a setback ruling seemed to be applied in most cases. In terms of facilities Maysaloon has a neighborhood park, three mosques, and a school. Corner shops and other independent retail stores can also be found throughout the neighborhood.

Illustration of Maysaloon's location

Maysaloon: Strong corners with active frontages
Image source: Here.com

Maysaloon: Mosque opening up onto street
Image source: Here.com

Maysaloon: Narrow tree-lined streets
Image source: Here.com

Maysaloon: Compact houses (abandoned)
Image source: Here.com

Maysaloon: Accessible neighborhood park
Image source: Here.com

What’s great about Maysaloon is its walkability and human scale. Everything feels close. The streets are narrow and intimate, the houses are compact and cute, and branches of adjacent trees actually touch. For me, the novelty of Maysaloon’s design has not been replicated enough in Sharjah. This isn’t just an airy retro infatuation. I’m not asking for a patronizing pat on the back commending this neighborhood for its efforts. Maysaloon is still completely relevant.

What constitutes a good plan in contemporary urban design and planning can no longer be explained in terms of land use and hectares per 1,000 people. We’re now more into finding inventive ways to meet loosely defined design principles such as public realm, character, and pedestrianism. One example of this is the city of Atlanta beltline in the US, where disused railway tracks surrounding the city have been boldly transformed into paved walkways with programed activities. The beltline is in every definition a park, an exhibition center and a transit corridor, to name a few. Maysaloon may not be inventive in its approach, there are no rooftop gardens or bicycle bridges with linear parks and art installations, but this no-frills neighborhood is still awesome. Oh, and it does have a delightful Indonesian restaurant where all the hipsters from Ajman flock to (jk, but there is actually an Indonesian restaurant, and it doesn’t look that nice).

Maysaloon: Indonesian cafeteria
Image source: Here.com

Al Qarrayen: Contemporary planned neighborhood

Enter the new millennium and we are now seeing a new trend in planned neighborhoods. 7 miles West of Maysaloon and billions of oil barrels later comes one of the newest additions to Sharjah’s ongoing Western expansion, Al Qarrayen. Today most new planned neighborhoods are built in blocks of 4-12. Al Qarrayen is actually 5 planned neighborhoods that are being built over a short period of time. In contrast to the gritty Maysaloon the neighborhoods of Al Qarrayen appear to be more of an assemblage of lavish villas on excessively big lots. Here sidewalks are just an awkward formality lining the streets funneling tinted Nissan Patrols. Trees, if any, are a blessing. Streetscape? (Crickets perform herein).

Al Qarrayen: Lifeless streets
Image source: Here.com

Al Qarrayen: Dispersed facilities
Image source: Here.com 

Al Qarrayen: Large separated houses
Image source: Here.com

So how has the quality of Sharjah's planned neighborhoods declined at a time when money is most available? The philosophy is not difficult, Al Qarrayen and the likes are a metaphor for what it is to live a better life in the Emirates and a cowardly embracing of vanity in lieu of sound urban planning principles. The houses may be nicer and newer, gardens may be greener and bigger, but the neighborhoods lack any real sense of place. It really is difficult to find any positives from Sharjah's newer planned neighborhoods.

Some thoughts on future trends

What then is next for Sharjah's planned neighborhoods? Firstly, there is definitely a case for harking back into the city's past and observing some fine urban planning, as seen in Maysaloon. Secondly, in terms of public realm, there is a need for a lot more inventiveness from the government of Sharjah's house building plans and programs. All of Sharjah's planned neighborhoods (old and new) distinctly lack pedestrian boulevards/high streets. It would be good to have designated retail lots lining the main streets of neighborhoods to activate dead spaces. Thirdly, in terms of urban form, there is a need to rethink lot sizes, setbacks, and build-to lines. It's understandable that it might be difficult to convince people to live in more compact neighborhoods, but there are compromises that can be made. For example, lots facing main streets can be reduced in size and buildings can be closely packed adjacent to each other. Such property can be built to target low-income families or young bachelors, university students, or expats. These are just some suggestions as to how Sharjah's planned neighborhoods can be improved.

Palestine: Border Crossing

An infographic I've made in collaboration with Jono Milnes detailing the process of border crossing for Palestinians attempting to leave the West Bank. Have a look and share.

Spatial impressions of Sharjah

If Sharjah’s profile of property development is observed it would be said that the more South you go the newer and higher the buildings are. This trend is largely correlated with the fact that Dubai lurks just South-East of Sharjah. Beneath or within these developments however there are some interesting and revealing phenomena on both the socio-spatial and built environment dimensions.

The North and South

Al-Taawun, Al-Nahda, Al-Khan, and Al-Majaz are the Southern neighbourhoods of Sharjah most characterised as Arab (bar UAE nationals, who tend to live in the Eastern suburbs of the city) and middle class. When I first arrived in Sharjah I stayed in a sharing flat in Al-Taawun with a few other young expats. The simple explanation of my decision to live in Al-Taawun was mostly down to the quality of housing, my budget allowed me to access the newer and higher quality houses and so I made the somewhat rational decision to live in an area with better housing. It might be slightly deterministic to extend my rationale for choosing a house and apply it on a larger scale so as to explain the racial patterns of housing in the city, but I think that at least on some basic level it would be a reasonable deduction. It’s quite noticeable in Sharjah (and the UAE as a whole) that social class is racially patterned; Arabs and non Asian expats appear to be better off and generally live in better quality housing. To that extent it can be said that as a result of the racial patterns of social class Arabs have more choice when it comes to accessing better housing. Thus over the years Sharjah’s neighbourhoods have become increasingly delineated along racial lines.

New buildings in Al-Khan
Image source: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/03/b0/81/8c/al-qasba.jpg

In contrast to the prosperous and more Arab southern neighbourhoods there’s the more historic ‘original’ Sharjah in the northern neighbourhoods of Rolla, Shuwaiheen, Al Mareija. These areas were where the city of Sharjah grew from and thus expectedly they are older, they are however markedly less Arab with a much stronger South Asian character. The lower rents in these neighbourhoods make it a more attractive destination for low income groups who are often young South Asian bachelors or families who have recently arrived in Sharjah.

Old buildings in the Northern parts of Sharjah
Image source: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/86263725.jpg

Spatial features of Sharjah

The contrasting centers of the city

Sharjah has a few centers but Rolla and the Majaz Waterfront are the two core nexuses that typify the contrast of the north and south.

Rolla is probably the most popular area in the Northern parts of the city and is a strong cultural center for the South Asian community in Sharjah. Old and bad quality physical environment aside Rolla is brilliant, and a walk along Al-Arouba street would testify to that. The Rolla area is full of shops, restaurants, and markets, notably Souk Al Ghuwair which sells textiles imported from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India, and Korea. Another great feature of the area is Rolla Square Park which is an excellent example of a good functioning open space in the middle of a densely populated area.

Rolla Square Park
Image source: http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/86263725.jpg

Majaz waterfront: If there is one development that typifies the geist of the southern part of Sharjah it is the Majaz waterfront. The waterfront is a relatively new development that has transformed a stretch of open space in front of Khalid Lagoon into a multi-use leisure destination, and it’s actually good. The development features a lot of food and bev brands aimed at middle-income consumers like Tim Horton’s and TGI Friday's, however the space is still free in the sense that anyone can access it and enjoy it. Nevertheless the Majaz Waterfront, much like the Southern neighbourhoods of Sharjah, still appears and feels more Arab than the rest of the city.

Majaz waterfront at night
Image source: http://shurooq.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/shurooq_almajaz_img_001-660x660.jpg

To conclude my own perspective and general impression of Sharjah I’d like to again stress that it is always easy to fall into the trap of being over deterministic; to suggest that housing patterns are exclusively formed by income may be an overshot, as people may still to choose to live in the older parts of the city for cultural reasons. The contrast of the Northern and Southern parts of the city should ideally be celebrated as offering a rich cultural experience in Sharjah, but it's still difficult to ignore how income markedly affects spatial patterns in Sharjah.

Sharjah Autozone

Since I moved to Sharjah in the UAE last August for work I have tasked myself to understand how the built environment is shaped differently 5000km from the UK where I did my Bachelor's degree in Urban Planning. Previously a lot of my perceptions on space and place have been shaped by what I've read on European cities with little reference to cities in the Middle East or elsewhere. To be fair on my course it was never really designed to study planning outside of the UK and it never implied that the meaning of space and place is objective, it just taught us how to analyse it.

One of the first few interesting things I have encountered here as an amateur urbanist is author Yasser Elsheshtawy. A lot of his work is to do with researching the urban form in Arab cities and he touches upon the meaning of space/place a fair bit in his books and publications. One of the objects he has used to delineate the meaning of place in the UAE vis-à-vis the global narrative on cities is shopping centers. Traditionally a shopping center is viewed as a haven for hyper-consumers running around in a less than spectacular concrete structure. Elsheshtawy however suggests that for people in the UAE shopping centers are seen as vibrant public spaces, much like a public plaza. This would make practical sense as there's only so much you can do outdoor when it's 40+ degrees, and having been to a few shopping centers in the UAE I can definitely feel a different vibe from the malls I have been to in the US. Ultimately I think there are different ways public indoor spaces can be created that shouldn't be restricted to shopping centers, but the fact remains that the meaning of a public place in the UAE needs to be appreciated differently.

Mercato mall Dubai. Link: http://inzumi.com/images/destinations/AE_Vereinigte-Arabische-Emirate_Mercato_Shopping_Mall.jpg 

Mercato mall Dubai. Link: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcROH1IhaYM9oxguU2bF9ZLb_AQ4gDhONUpt-NW-YfxQac_doAyD17Lgn_qeIlscQH8MtNau1S2Bo3Mcey_TYzued744Vukj6MRhAkW-NxAT1u6JOvRvZkZbknPIVwlCW28S977_SJSRo/s1600/DSCN5903.JPG

During my first week at work I encountered another situation where I had to recalibrate my thoughts on what place means here. One of the planners was briefing me on the Sharjah Autozone development they have been working on with the government, a massive business and leisure facility dedicated to used-car dealerships at a rumoured cost of 300-400 million USD, in many senses it as an oasis for petrol-heads. The government of Sharjah appears to be interested in creating an entertainment automobile retail facility much like Abu Dhabi's concept plan for Motor World, which apparently is meant to house a 3 star hotel, office space, retail podiums and a range of fine dining outlets! I found it ridiculous that the government would invest so much money on such a development. Amazingly though the motive of this investment is urban improvement.

Abu Dhabi Motor World. Link: http://abudhabiliving.net/system/files/07.jpg

In a relatively small neighbourhood in Sharjah called Abu Shagara right behind my office building around 500 used-car dealerships form the biggest center for used-car trade in the Middle-East. The areas isn't even commercial, it mostly consists of residential buildings with the basement of almost every building occupied by used-car dealerships. Apparently if you drive through the neighbourhood merchants sometimes walk up to your window and ask to buy your car on the spot and in some cases they will also invite themselves into your car to pitch their offer. It might be an interesting and successful used-car trade hub but the quality of living in Abu Shagara is unpleasant, mostly due to bad traffic and congestion caused by the car dealers, and the neighbourhood just feels like it's suffocating.

Used-cars for sale in parking lots. Link: http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1230328!/image/1210161183.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/1210161183.jpg

Traffic jam Abu Shagara. Link: http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1230328!/image/1210161183.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_475/1210161183.jpg

There is thus a justification for relocating the car dealers out of Abu Shagara to improve the neighbourhood's quality of living, but what of the 400 million USD cost of Sharjah Autozone? In the words of my co-worker cars are an extension of people in the Emirates. People in the UAE appear to value cars a fair bit, apparent in the amount of money some would spend on buying a specialised number plate and on decorating their cars for the UAE National Day celebrations.

UAE National Day car decoration. Link: http://gulfnews.com/polopoly_fs/1.547350!/image/487009351.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_640/487009351.jpg

To some degree Sharjah Autozone can be seen as a development intrinsically rooted in aspects of UAE culture with regards to car consumption, which makes me feel a bit more sympathetic towards the development although I'd still argue money can always be spent on more urgent things in the city such as improving public transport and alleviating traffic congestion. Nevertheless if you're a car lover and a frustrated resident of Abu Shagara I think you might just see Sharjah Autzone as a necessary development.

Qustandi

Christopher Andrew Mazen Qustandi Karam. One thing that stands out is perhaps my Western appearing given name, Christopher Andrew, which feels out of place and awkward. To sort this mess out I decided to dive into a bit of onomatology. The results were not exactly surprising:

Christopher: Greek origin (Christóforos) meaning carrier of Christ.
Andrew (maternal grandfather's name): Greek origin meaning manly and strong.
Mazen (dad's name): Arabic origin, most likely meaning rain clouds.
Qustandi (paternal grandfather's name): Latin origin (very similar to Constantine) meaning steady and firm.
Karam: Arabic origin meaning generous.

I say not surprising not for the (admittedly) sublime accuracy the names bestow upon my personality, but for their accurate reflection upon my ethnic background. Situated in the Eastern Mediterranean, Palestine has long been exposed to the Greco-Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires, all of which have used the Latin, Greek, and Arabic languages. So really it's no surprise that my name represents an amalgamation of the Classical, Medieval, and Modern eras. I am however particularly interested in one part of my name, Qustandi. The name got me thinking when I was reading about Constantine the Great and the Roman empire. Constantine is regarded highly in Orthodox Christianity due to the influential role he played in sponsoring the underground religion and its eventual spreading across various continents from 400AD onwards. I come from an Eastern Orthodox Arabic background (colloquially referred to as 'Ruum' Orthodox - meaning Roman Orthodox) so expectedly the name Constantine eventually filtered through cultures and regions to become Qustandi.

Away from onomatology and my personal history and closer to something of more interest to me; how does Qustandi and Eastern Orthodox Christianity translate into the built environment form in Ramallah? This warrants a visit to the Ruum Orthodox church. I only had to drive less than a kilometre from my house to reach this site in Al-Tireh suburb:

Picture courtesy of Mazen Karam

If you look closely at the picture you might notice that there is in fact no church; so much for built environment. This is the site of the first place of Orthodox worship in Ramallah. The picture shows remnants of a monastery where Saint Stephen (the first Christian martyr) was said to be buried. More than a century ago Ramallah was home to seven Christian monasteries, one of which was St. Stephen's monastery. Back then Ramallah was not exactly a city let alone a town. In fact the name Ramallah did not even appear until the 15th century, when the modern day city was inaugurated. The monasteries were thus a defining characteristic of the area at one point in history. Today only ruins remain and they are conserved by local municipalities in Ramallah and the adjacent city, Al-Bireh.

Another monastery site in Al-Bireh, picture courtesy of Mazen Karam

The site of St. Stephen's monastery is still used till this day for ceremonial worship amongst Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Eastern Orthodox ceremonial worship, picture courtesy of Mazen Karam

Last summer (2013) new artefacts were discovered and so the site has been gated as archaeological work continues.

Artefact from St. Stephen's monastery, picture courtesy of Mazen Karam

I continued my drive towards Ramallah and arrived at the Church of Transfiguration, the current site of the Ruum Orthodox Church in the historic district of Ramallah-Al-Tahta (literally lower Ramallah).

Ruum Orthodox Church Ramallah

Church interior

Church interior

The church was built in the traditional architectural style of the Basilica, with a large rectangular interior split into three rows by large columns. The construction of Basilica churches was the result of a direct order by Constantine the Great. If it weren't for him Basilicas or even churches might have never had existed. The church thus stands as a testimony to the strong and lasting influence of Constantine's Christianisation of the Middle East.

The church is decorated with a selection of Christian artwork of Jesus, Mary and various saints. In Eastern Christianity religious artwork is referred to as 'icons' or 'ikonat' in Arabic, regardless of its form. Expectedly the artwork is very characteristic of traditional Eastern Christianity and Byzantine art. Here's a few pictures of some of the icons found in the church today:

Image source: http://www.tajalli.ps/EN/frames.html	Image source: http://www.tajalli.ps/EN/frames.html
Last Supper, image source: http://www.tajalli.ps/EN/frames.html	Image source: http://www.tajalli.ps/EN/frames.html

If you think these icons are ugly, well done, you've probably complimented their respective artists. Byzantine Christian art departed from the sexualised fascination with the body epitomised in Pagan Classicist art and instead demoted humans to a more rudimentary, almost intentionally ugly form. Up until the Renaissance Christian artwork was very much about conveying religious meaning and disregarding pagan traditions of glorifying the image of human beings.

L'Ultima Cena by Leonardo Da Vinci, image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg

If you compare Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper portrait to the Byzantine version shown before you can notice a stark contrast in style. The former portrait was drawn during the Renaissance period, when there was a reemergence of Classical art. The faces in the portrait are much more rounded and feel more 'real', in fact most of the concentration in the picture is on Jesus and his disciples. However the Byzantine version in the Church of Transfiguration chooses not to concentrate on the human figures, instead the icon is essentially trying to tell the story of the Last Supper with no frills.

The East-West Schism during the Middle Ages might well have had a massive influence on Christian art in Ramallah, and Orthodox Christianity in general. After the schism, Orthodox Christianity remained highly conservative in its art forms and icons. When the Renaissance eventually came about in later years the Catholic church was more recipient and gradually re-adopted the Classical models of architecture and art, unlike its Orthodox counterparts who remained closer to the Byzantine models. What makes the Church of Transfiguration in Ramallah very Orthodox is thus the lack of any artwork resemblant of the Renaissance/Enlightenment/Modern eras.

The Church of Transfiguration is probably only one dimension of the influence Constantine the Great has had on Ramallah's culture and built environment, however it is perhaps the most vivid living example in the city.

Constantine the Great: Ancient selfie

Wherefore Rawabi?

Ramallah has been expanding rapidly over the past few decades and particularly in the last 10 years. Immigration (especially from the north of the West Bank) is making this city more and more populous and even causing social tensions at times. Recently there have been several incidences of prejudice towards people from the north, particularly Jenin. The prejudice slur "Thai" has been used to insult northern people and the government moved quick to ban this word and punish anyone who uses it in a discriminatory form. The word Thai has nothing to do with Thai people per se, however it's referencing Thai people's immigration to other Asian countries in search for work, often earning very low wages. Immigration from the north has angered people as this has caused an increase in the supply of low-wage labour, which affects people's earnings.

The property development sector is now capitalising on the increase in housing demand and are building at will, with minimum regulation and scrutiny as to what is being built. Of course that's an exaggeration, there are probably procedures for acquiring permits and planning permission etc., but what is actually happening in my opinion is sporadic construction of buildings with an indifference to the look and feel of the city's built environment.

I figured I can make use of my dad's SLR and take some pictures to illustrate my thoughts. I was actually a bit surprised because some of the pictures don't really make the buildings look that bad. In fact from a distance the buildings look nice.

But I'm more concerned about what things look like on the neighbourhood level. If you drive around the Al-Tireh suburb (one of the areas subject to massive urban expansion) you start to notice how buildings are crammed next to each other like a Sim City fail.

NYC?

Property developer advertising their 4th housing project

Hotel built right in front of a house

The picture above shows a once empty valley in front of my house (where in the past you could spot deer). The 5-6 buildings you see in the front literally appeared over the past 10 years.

Maybe I'm sounding hyper-critical and reactionary as I moan about all the new buildings. It is true that the West Bank has limited land to build on, and there is only so much construction skills and quality available. But surely some sort of coordination between property developers could be facilitated to make the built environment look more appealing, and I don't think that's being too idealistic. Even taking into consideration that there aren't many resources at the disposal of developers, individual buildings still aren't the problem. There are some very nice buildings that are well built like the ones in the two pictures below, this further supports my point that the problem lies in planning and coordination.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a possible solution to some of the problems faced by property development in the West Bank: Rawabi. Rawabi (http://www.rawabi.ps/index.php), currently under construction, is set to be the first Palestinian planned-city, consisting of 10,000 homes with a population of 40,000 people. It will also have schools, hospitals, and shopping centres. I visited the construction site with my family a few weeks ago and we were given a demonstration about the development.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130703232412-rawabi-park-story-top.jpg

I can see why Rawabi looks appealing, it's offering affordable housing developed in conjunction with the internationally acclaimed Qatari Diar real estate company. It's considered a public-private partnership but is funded almost exclusively by private investors. According to the Rawabi website the master plan includes feedback from "months of surveys and focus groups among targeted homeowner groups". The project also aims to be environmentally responsible. This of course is a step up from the current practice of property development.

Construction site

Rawabi visitors centre 

Model

Model 

Model building

Model mosque

Model

Despite the novelty and perhaps progressiveness of the Rawabi project it still felt eery to me. Bizarrely, it was *too* planned. I think the development has good intentions, but I think there's a fine line between good planning and outright commodification of people's lives. I think Rawabi objectifies the meaning of neighbourhood by saying on its website "the city is comprised of 23 neighborhoods...Each neighborhood will have a unique name and a special identity". For me, neighbourhoods cannot be preset and certainly cannot be bounded. What's also annoying is the objectification of the meaning of culture via the The Rawabi Cultural Center, which is set to be the nexus of culture in Rawabi. Is this supposed to mean culture is produced and spit out of a building every now and then? Finally Rawabi is relatively far from Ramallah, the closest major city. This might be a problem for mobility in the area.

Video demonstration of Rawabi...Life as a commodity

Again I admit that I'm being hyper-critical, I do hope that the project is a success as there is a lot of money being invested in it. Maybe planned cities might turn out to be a good solution given the geography and politics in the region. But for me personally I don't see Rawabi as the best alternative for the current practice of property development, not least because I simply don't like how it looks. What's more, planned cities have not been a major success internationally, see for example Peterborough or Northampton. One things's for sure, I won't be putting a downpayment on an apartment in Rawabi!