The Oasis Of Al-Kabira

Bonifacio and his home are the work of builders DoriFyah and ElNakix, who met a year and a half ago. “When we started to talk, we realised that we had a lot of ideas in common,” they explain. “We decided to build something together and that’s how our first project, Shan-Yi, was born.”

Of their latest work, Al-Kabira, they say, “we got the inspiration from a mosque situated in Abu Dhabi, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.”

Truly, these two have done that original inspiration proud, though they don’t always like to use real life references. “When we start a new project,” they tell me,” we always do [some] planning work, and decide on the shape that we want to [have as] the final result,” but beyond that, they like to go their own way with a more natural kind of progression. “We always make our projects as we go along, because we love to add new ideas in the building process and we don’t want to follow any references.”

The pair began developing the main structure of the mosque, added domes, later connecting these domes with walls. When they’d finalised a rough outline, they started to decorate.

The camel, Bonifacio, was made by DoriFyah. “It actually took me a couple of days to make the shape and get the general idea. I got as much inspiration as I could through pictures of real camels.”

DoriFyah was also responsible for the desert town behind the palace, while EINakix did the palace itself. “Of course,” they say, “in the process we worked together, helping each other and giving advice, but each [of us] had his main work.”

It’s the plant life that really raises Al-Kabira to its full-fledged ‘oasis’ status, though. The life that rises from the most unlikely environment on our Earth. “We decided to add plants and the waterfall to the camel because we wanted to represent it like a part of the environment,” they explain. “The camel is a part of the oasis.”

For these two builders, this build is a special kind of oasis. “This build, for us, [is] like a way out from [our] busy lives, it’s like an oasis for minds. This project represents a kind of mirage, a mirage that shows an oasis with a majestic white palace, and abundant water and vegetation. Only a few people are able to see this: people with hope. If you think you will never reach something, you won't have the opportunity to do that. And that’s why only people with hope can reach the Al-Kabira’s oasis.”

Though their previous collaborative experiments led to them making this Arabian paradise, a sacred home for the beloved, magical camel Bonifacio, not all their experiments have worked out. They explain, “We actually had to remake the build at the start, because while trying out commands we destroyed the map by accident. It took us two hours to rebuild it.”

Well, I guess we all make mistakes. Some of us learn from them, others of us are right back where we started - in the desert, with blisters. How did I get here again?

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