Yerablur: The Price of War

by David Zenian DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — When Haigaz Tahmasian left his native Iran 25 years ago as a 17-year-old escaping the draft in Shah Reza Pahlavi’s army, his new home across the Persian Gulf was nothing but a vast desert. The desert Sheiks have since come together to form the United Arab Emirates, the Shah has died in exile, his nation transformed into an Islamic Republic, and Haigaz Tahmasian has become one of the leading builders in his adopted country.

by David Zenian SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates — The airports at Sharjah and neighboring Dubai and Ras el Khaymah at times look more like Moscow’s Sheremetyevo than the desert airfields of the oil rich United Arab Emirates. And if traffic to and from the republics of the former Soviet Union is on the increase, Yerevan flights proportionately have the lion’s share both in frequency and the dollar value of goods they carry.

by David Zenian

by David Zenian

by David Zenian DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates is ranked among the richest countries in the world, but it’s the smooth working relationship between the ethnic Emirian minority and the country’s overwhelming majority of foreigners that makes the UAE unique in the region.