Visitors who enjoy urban art while exploring the city should look no further than Downtown Dubai’s Emaar Boulevard, host to a collection of fine public artworks specially commissioned to truly capture the spirit of Dubai. One such artwork, lauding Arab dignity in full artistic flourish, is 'Together'.
Sculpted by Syrian artist Lutfi Romhein, 'Together' features two sculptures – that of an Arab man and an Arab woman, chiseled to perfection. Clad in national dress, the male figure, wearing a flowing white khandoura or dishdasha, has been sculpted in Carrara marble from Italy, while the female figure, wearing an abaya and hajab, has been sculpted in black granite from Africa (and not Sweden as many sources report). Standing at 4.25 meters, pink granite base excluded, the two figures are quite imposing. By positioning the individual sculptures as a single artwork, it attempts to portray the message that there is strength in unity.
Commissioned by Ms Samia Saleh, owner of Courtyard Gallery, for Emaar Properties1, 'Together' was unveiled on the 14th of February, 2011. It resides on Emaar Boulevard, overlooking the entrance to Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building.
'Together', by artist Lutfi Romhein.
EarthCache part 1: Carrara marble
Carrara marble is a white to blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It is quarried in the city of Carrara located in the province of Massa and Carrara in the Lunigiana, the northernmost tip of modern-day Tuscany, Italy.2
The prize yield from Carrara quarries through millennia has been Statuario, a pure white marble (coloring in other marbles arises from intermixture with other minerals present in the limestone as it is converted to marble by heat or pressure). However, by the end of the 20th century, the known deposits of Statuario near Carrara are played out 3. The quarries continue to remove and ship up to a million tons/year of less-esteemed marble, mostly for export.
Marble is the result from the metamorphism of organic sedimentary carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone or dolomite, composed primarily of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the form of the mineral calcite. It commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow marine waters from the aggregation of shell, coral, algal and faecal debris. When subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures, without melting into magma, the calcite forming the original unmetamorphosed carbonate rock (protolith), recrystallises. The resulting marble is typically composed of an interlocking mosaic of equigranular carbonate crystals with primary sedimentary textures and structures of the protolith modified or destroyed.4
The limestone or dolomite protolith (and therefore marble) can contain a variety of impurities. These might include particles of other rocks, sand, mud, or other chemical compounds. These impurities can significantly change the appearance and colour of the marble. Veined, streaked and multi-coloured marble are the result. For instance, limonite and iron oxide in marble will create a yellow to brown hue. Iron and feldspar will create a pink to red hue. Serpentine, silica or magnesium impurities can result in a green hue. The presence of titanium and iron impurities in just the right amount and right crystal structure can cause a blue colour. Porphyry deposits will create a violet hue. If the marble was created of a very pure (silicate-poor) protolith and contained few impurities, it would be white.4
Being composed of calcite, marble has a hardness of three on the Mohs scale of hardness for rocks and minerals. As a result, marble is a comparatively soft stone that is easy to carve. It also has the ability to be polished to a high lustre after being sanded with progressively finer abrasives.4
EarthCache part 2: Black granite
Other than diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, granite is one of the hardest natural stones. The very name suggests unyielding permanence and endurance. Granite is known for its strength; it is extremely resistant to the elements. It is, however, not very cooperative as far as sculpting goes.5
Granite is a medium to coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock that is rich in quartz and feldspar; it is the most common plutonic rock of the Earth's crust, forming by the cooling of magma (silicate melt) at depth. The principal constituent of granite is feldspar. Both plagioclase feldspar and alkali feldspar are usually abundant, and their relative abundance has provided the basis for granite classifications. In most granite, the ratio of the dominant to the subdominant feldspar is less than two. Rocks containing less than 20 percent quartz are almost never named granite, and rocks containing more than 20 percent (by volume) of dark, or ferromagnesian, minerals are also seldom called granite. The minor essential minerals of granite may include muscovite, biotite, amphibole, or pyroxene. Biotite may occur in granite of any type and is usually present, though sometimes in very small amounts.6
The minerals that make up granite give it the unique colors we see in different types of granite. The combination of the minerals below makes up most of the colors we typically see in granite.7
- Quartz - typically milky white color
- Feldspar - typically off-white color
- Potassium Feldspar - typically salmon pink color
- Biotite - typically black or dark brown color
- Muscovite - typically metallic gold or yellow color
- Amphibole - typically black or dark green color
It's important to note that the term 'black granite' is a misnomer, and stones marketed as such are in fact ocellar (orbicular) varieties of gabbro as granite must contain at least 20% quartz within a rock to make it granite. Gabbro is a phaneritic (coarse-grained), mafic intrusive igneous rock similar to basalt. It is formed from slow cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Gabbro is also found as plutons associated with continental volcanism. Due to its variant nature, the term 'gabbro' may be applied loosely to a wide range of intrusive rocks, many of which are merely gabbroic. Gabbro often contains valuable amounts of chromium, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, platinum, and copper sulfides; however, it is primarily composed of minerals pyroxene, plagioclase, and small amounts of olivine (dark green) and amphibole.8
How to claim this EarthCache?
Email me the following;
1. The text "Together" on the first line.
2. The answers to the following questions;
- Which of the two sculptures is made from granite?
- Does the marble qualify as Statuario? Explain your answer.
- Explain the veins on the marble sculpture, why are they that colour?
- How do you see these sculptures evolve in terms of weathering?
- Why were the materials, used to create these sculptures, preferred?
- Explain the colour of the base on which the sculptures stand.
3. Provide a photo of yourself or a personal item to prove you have visited the site.*
References
* Effective immediately from 10 June 2019, photo requirements are permitted on EarthCaches. This task is not optional, it is an addition to existing logging tasks! Logs that do not meet all requirements posed will no longer be accepted.
For additional information, visit; Geosociety.org, Geocaching.com Help Center and Geocaching.com Forum.
1 The Symphony Style File, Downtown Dubai's new sculpture 'Together' celebrates Arab dignity (15/02/2011). 2 Wikipedia, Carrara marble (Retrieved 04/2019-02/2024). 3 Natural Stone Online, The history of Carrara marble. 4 Geocaching, Barnyard Dawg, Queen Victoria Fountain of Kuala Lumpur (GC7YAA0) and Melaka (GC7YAA1), (2018). 5, 6 Geocaching, Barnyard Dawg, Monarch of the Plains (GC7YAAA), 2018. 7 Mossfords, How does granite get its colour? 8 Wikipedia, Gabbro (Retrieved 04/2019-02/2024).
Finding the answers to an EarthCache can often be challenging, and many people tend to shy away from these caches because of this. However, it is my opinion that geocaching is also meant to be a fun family experience that simply aims to introduce interesting and unique locations such as this one. Flexibility on logging requirements, however, can only be applied if it can be established that you have actually taken the time to visit the site. For this reason, a proper log describing your adventure accompanied by a good number of photos would be much appreciated.