ARCHAEOZOOLOGY OF SOUTHWEST ASIA AND ADJACENT AREAS

9th Meeting of ASWA
15-20 November 2008
Al Ain, Abu Dhabi emirate, United Arab Emirates

organised by:
Marjan Mashkour (Muséum national d'histoire naturelle / CNRS, Paris, France) &
Mark Beech (Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, Abu Dhabi, UAE)

sponsored by the:

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH)
French Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Bank of Sharjah
Dassault Aviation
Thales
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Mercure Hotel - Jebel Hafit

ASWA IX 3rd Announcement

Dear ASWA participants

We would like to bring you up to date with the necessary arrangements for the 9th ASWA conference due to be held in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi emirate, UAE from 15-20 November 2008.

Participants should book their plane tickets to arrive on Saturday 15th November and to depart on Friday 21st November (unless they are staying longer in the UAE and wish to make their own separate accommodation arrangements). You can book your plane tickets to either Abu Dhabi or Dubai, as the distance and price for a taxi from either airport to Al Ain is similar. Flights from Europe are sometimes slightly cheaper coming into Dubai.

Reservations have been made in the Mercure Hotel for all participants for the nights of Saturday 15th until Friday 21st, with everyone departing on the morning of Saturday 22nd. We have successfully negotiated a discount rate for only these aforementioned dates.

The price of a single room will be approximately 865 UAE Dirhams per day/single room (equivalent to 240 USD / 130 GBP / 160 EU per day). Please note that this is the net price and includes the room plus all local taxes, breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus conference seminar package (which includes access to seminar room and tea/coffee).

The price of a double room will be approximately 580 AED (equivalent approximately to 160 USD / 90 GBP / 110 EU per day)/per day/per person/double room. Two people have to occupy the room. Please note that this is the net price and includes the room plus all local taxes, breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus conference seminar package (which includes access to seminar room and tea/coffee).

PLEASE DO NOT YET BOOK AND PAY FOR YOUR ACCOMMODATION…..as... we are still waiting for the final answer from our sponsors, as we are attempting to try and cover all of the above costs. Priority is being given to support students and those from low currency countries attending the conference. If by the 12th October we do not have the expected sponsorship arrangements in place, then we will contact you again informing you with instructions how to pay for your rooms individually with the Mercure Hotel. It will be necessary at that point to complete a credit card payment authorisation form which will need to be sent directly to the Mercure Hotel. This will guarantee your booking. Your credit card will not be charged until you complete your stay. If you do not show up however you will be charged the equivalent of one night's stay.

For the moment we need to urgently confirm who is coming and whether they are accompanied, or will share rooms. We are not going to propose any room sharing. People interested in that should find their own room mates. We need this information urgently and by the 12th of October to make the necessary arrangements and to make the final registrations with the hotel on the 15th October. This is our final deadline negotiated with the Hotel. We would like people presenting papers with co-authors to indicate to us the names of which co-authors will be present at the conference. We need to know the exact number of delegates present and staying at the hotel.

Last but not least, those who need to get visas for the UAE, please send an email to Marjan Mashkour (email: janmash2000@yahoo.com). The French Embassy will provide you with an invitation letter. For this we need to have your personal information. Please email the details on the information page of your passport in the text of the email, which should of course include the passport number, first name, surname, date of birth, date of issue of passport, expiry date, place of issue, etc… Please also include a scan of the relevant page.

We can however inform you of the following sponsorship which has already been generously provided to the 9th ASWA meeting:

The opening reception and dinner, and closing dinner will be paid for by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH). The opening reception will be held at Al Ain National Museum, with the dinner in the adjacent Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Eastern Fort. The closing dinner will be held in the Al Ain Zoo, with dining al fresco adjacent to the animals!

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) has also agreed to support the publication costs of the 9th ASWA meeting volumes.

The French embassy is also sponsoring the event by for supporting several students and paying for other parallel expenses. CNRS is also supporting the attendance of several students at the conference.

Please keep checking the ASWA website which will continue to be updated as new information is collated for the conference.

Kind regards

Dr Marjan Mashkour and Dr Mark Beech

Would you please send your mails with any queries to both of us:
janmash2000@yahoo.com and mark.beech@cultural.org.ae

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