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Where Sheikh Mohammed stays after a long day

Dubai - "I recall that one day at noon, I was sitting on the sandy ground in the room, proudly looking at my new heaven."

In this chapter, Sheikh Mohammed talks about his little cave, the private place he wanted to stay in after a long day filled with noise and difficulties.
"Many men prefer to have a private cave, where they can go for practising their favourite hobbies, or to relax after a long day."
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"This feeling grew inside me when I was young."
"We had a small room with a sandy ground in the western part of Zaabeel Palace. My father kept falcons in this room, and after he became so busy, he asked me to take care of the room. I did, but in my own way."
"I recall that one day at noon, I was sitting on the sandy ground in the room, proudly looking at my new heaven. I couldn't wait to show it to my father."
"He passed by the door, and I noticed his shadow. When I looked at him, I saw his serious facial features turning into a smile, followed by a long laugh. He called my mother."
"The room changed from a place for falcons to a room filled with all types of animals as I used to catch many scorpions, put many boxes of snakes, and in the small part left, I placed seashells and fish skeletons I collected during beach trips."
"My parents stood by the entrance laughing so hard that I couldn't understand what they were saying."
"When my mother caught a breath, she said: "So, it was not a thief taking jars from my kitchen. At least give me the bottle of cosmetic, it has ?Aoud (aloes) that is far more valuable than the birds' feather you keep in it."
"After that incident, this room was the first place to be searched if any one lost any jar or bottle."
"And when I became so angry for giving up many 'valuable' things from my collection, my mother gave me small notebooks to write my discoveries about animals, birds and seashells."
"This little cave taught me that empirical learning stays with you forever."
In what he is calling his "incomplete biography", His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has broken his latest book, Qissati (My Story), into 50 chapters, narrating 50 stories in his 50 years of serving the nation. Khaleej Times got a signed copy of the book from the Dubai Ruler and everyday, we will be featuring excerpts from each of the 50 chapters.