Food & Beverage
The largest chopsticks were manufactured in the Marco Polo Hotel in Dubai, UAE. At 6.73 metres in length, they were certified at the Dubai Shopping Festival in early 2008.
The most expensive cocktail ever made to date, was in he Skyview bar in the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai. The cocktail, named ‘27321’, actually costs 27,321 Dirhams (7,439 USD). It consists of 55 aged spirits, dried fruit bitters and passionfruit-scented sugar, and served in a glass produced in the French town of Baccarat.
Animals & Nature
The planet’s longest river is actually the Nile, which runs through Egypt. It measures a whopping 6,695 km in length. The second longest river is the Amazon.
The Camel Reproduction Centre in Dubai, gave birth to the first hybrid cama, which is a cross breed between a camel and a llama. The breeding project was funded by Dubai’s Crown Prince H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
The sandiest desert in the world is the Arabian Desert, which covers a colossal 2,600,000 squared km. A third of this desert is made up of sand, and it covers Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait and Yemen.
Iraq was once home to the earliest known zoo, dating back to 2097 BC. The collection of animals was showcased at modern-day Puzurish, Iraq.
Structures
The tallest building in the world is Burj Dubai, which currently stands at around 700 metres. The towers height upon completion has not yet been announced, but is expected to stand at 950 metres. However, there are other towering projects underway, which are set to surpass Burj Dubai’s height.
The tallest hotel in the world is Burj Al Arab, situated 15km south of Dubai. It stands at 320.94 metres. The hotel, built on a man-made island, has 202 suites and 28 double-storey suites.
The largest mosque in the world, is al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The prayer area surrounds the Kaaba, which Muslims around the world pray towards. It covers an area of 356,800 square metres, and can accommodate up to 4 million people in Hajj – which too is a record, as it is the largest annual public gathering in one area.
Unveiled at the Dubai Shopping Festival in 2007, was the largest inflatable structure in the shape of a bottle. With a volume of 1,500 cubic metres, Japanese company Vitaene C were the creators behind it.
The tallest pyramids are of course the legendary Egyptian pyramids, built by the ancient Egyptians. Khufu at Giza, also known as the Great Pyramid, was initially 146.7 metres tall, but due to erosion and damage, it now stands at 137.5 metres.
Radiocarbon found on specimens in the lowest levels of the town of Jericho on the West Bank, revealed that a population of more than 2,000 lived there as early as 7,800 BC – making it the oldest walled town.
Sports
Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nations 6 times, giving it the title of the ‘most wins of the Africa Cup of Nations.’
Hicham El Guerrouj of Morroco has won several records in the field of athletics for both outdoor and indoor events. He set world records in the 1,500 metre, 1 mile and 2,000 metre races.
Saif Saeed Shaheen from Qatar had the fastest record in the 3,000 metre steeplechase race, at 7:53.63.
Hosseni Rezazadeh of Iran, weighing in at 105+ kg, set weightlifting records of 213kg in the snatch and 263kg in the clean & jerk.
The First…
The first recorded signature dates back to 2600BC, to the Dynastic III period in Iraq. It was made by scribes on clay tablets.
The first castle is found in the ancient city of Sana’a in Yemen. It was built before 200AD and once had 20 storeys.
The Oldest…
The oldest church in the world was discovered in Aqaba, Jordan. Archaelogists from North California State University dated it back to 290 AD.
Over the river Meles in Izmir, Turkey, lie the remains of a slab-stone single-arch bridge. The bridge dates back to 850 BC, making it the oldest datable bridge in the world.
The oldest love song is in fact Assyrian, written to an Ugaritic god, and dates back to 1800 BC.
The oldest current monarch is none other than King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. He was born in August 1924 making him 84 years old.
The Largest…
The largest kite flown was made by two Kuwaiti nationals, Abdulrahman and Faris Al Farsi. The kite’s area measures 1,019 squared metres and was flown at the Kuwait Hala Festival in Flag Square, Kuwait.
The largest bed ever created was showcased at the 2007 Dubai Shopping Festival. It measured 14 metres in length, 12 metres in width and 2.10 metres tall.
The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman, is home to the world’s largest chandelier made of Swrovski crystals. It is 14.1 metres tall, 8 metres in diameter, and has 1,114 light bulbs. Built by Kurt Faustig SAS of Munich, the chandelier weighs 8,500 kg.
Weighing in at roughly 64 kg, is the largest ring, made by a Saudi Arabian jewellery company. ‘Najmat Taiba,’ as it was called, is set with 5.17 kg of precious stones in a 58 kg 21-carat gold framework. 70 cm in diameter, it took 55 workers, 45 days to build.
Last but not least, the largest royal family is the house of Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. With over 4,000 royal princes, and 30,000 royal relatives in 2002, it is also the family with the most siblings in government.
Miscellaneous
Mohammed Yahya Al Aseeri of Saudi Arabia has the biggest rosary (masbaha) collection, with 3,220 as of 31 August 2007. He also has the biggest number of license plates, with 80 different ones in his possession.
Lowest Death rate is in the UAE, with 1.3 deaths per 1000 (2005).
One of the most expensive charity auctions was that of a telephone number, when an anonymous Qatari bidder paid 2.75 million USD for the mobile number 666-6666 during an auction hosted in Doha.
And some we found….
The largest stone in the world is that in Baalbeck, Lebanon. It remains a mystery as to how this 21.5 metre block of crystalline limestone, weighing in at over 1,000 tonnes was transported to its current location.
The biggest commercial plane turned private jet is owned by none other than H.R.H Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, and is an Airbus 380, regularly seating more than 800 passengers.
The world’s giant carpet was made by the Iranians for the UAE. At 6,000 square metres, it costed 8.5 million USD to make, and now can be found in the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
