Dubai isn’t known for being understated. Glitzy skyscrapers and palatial homes are aplenty, and even people’s ponds are bigger and more overstated in the sprawling UAE city than almost anywhere else on the planet. One such home—and pond—belongs to Dr Haidar Al Yousuf.
Dr Al Yousuf’s sprawling villa boasts lush gardens – something of a rarity in the famous desert nation. Within these lush gardens is the doctor’s hugely impressive pond. The pond houses a precious collection of 50 exclusively Japanese koi varieties valued at over two million United Arab Emirates Dirhams. That’s equivalent to around half a million quid.
Dr Al Yousuf is the former head of funding at Dubai Health Authority. He’s currently the CEO of a Dubai-based health-focused tech company.
The world-famous All Japan Combined Koi Show in Tokyo recently added acclaimed physician Dr Al Yousuf to its esteemed judging panel. The doctor is a previous participant in All Japan Koi Show competitions, first showing his fish there in 2017. The following year, in 2018, he became the first Middle Eastern entrant to win a major award at the annual show.
Dubai-based Dr Al Yousuf’s 50-strong, near-£500,000 koi collection includes a dozen highly prized Kōhaku, three Showa, two Tancho, and one Shusui koi alongside over 30 others. The doctor estimates that he’s one of just 20-30 fellow high-end koi collectors in the whole of the United Arab Emirates. However, interest in the field is growing.
With that, Dr Al Yousuf hopes to launch the Middle East’s first-ever koi show in the near future.
