5 Doha Whys

"Why" is the Doha Expat's four letter word. Why don't people merge on the highway? Why does the road end? Why do locals drive like that? Why don't meetings start on time? Why is a mega yacht docked outside my window?

 

approx. 1/3 of mega yacht Nirvana

Most of the time there is no answer to the Expat Why - and when there is, answers are often inconsistent or the question deemed unimportant: ma sha' allah habibtee, you must relax. It is as God wills.

 

Still and But - after all this time there remain a few things I'm curious about. Here are my current top five Doha Whys:

 

Palm Tree Island

1. Why is the circle of earth in the middle of Doha Bay called Palm Tree Island when it's nothing but sand, dirt and one lone Eucalyptus?

 

(Sample responses:)

 

The island was once a park accessed only by dhow from the Corniche. Families flocked for Friday slides, swings, beach, grass, restaurants - and a Ferris wheel! When a sheikh's son died in a freak accident, the park was levelled to earth by decree.

 

um, there used to be Palm Trees?

 

The park was bulldozed to make way for something better but they had to remodel the rest of Doha (all at once) first.

 

I don't know, habibtee, ma'alesh, mafee mushkillah, no problem, sit, have some tea.

 

West Bay and rain clouds from The Pearl

2. Why is it still so cold and wet? It's nearly April!

 

The changing weather has something to do with the rotation of the earth, the upside down moon and God.

 

Rain is life.

 

All of the planting and watering has changed the atmosphere.

 

Murphy's Law - since historically there is very little rain in this desert country, city planners opted not to include a storm water system. (See actual recent results of a day's downpour on a city with no storm water system by clicking here.) Therefore and henceforth, each year there is rain. Lots and more and ever increasing heaps and gobs of rain. But only for a while. anTatharee, wait habibtee, the sun and hot will soon return in all its plant and mojo killing glory.

 

random building site

3. Why isn't anyone working on this building/highway/tower/unfinished unknown something?

 

It's too far from the heart of the city and therefore construction does not disrupt traffic patterns enough.

 

Contractor stopped for prayer, got stuck in traffic and ended up on a different project.

 

Locals own 51% of all businesses. To keep gifted land, construction must commence within a particular time frame; once a project is completed and/or fully occupied it's no longer governmentally subsidized so some owners stop work before the cash waterfall dries up.

 

watch out for the truck? and

two guys watering the pavement

4. Why is this guy(s) (sitting/standing/waving a flag/watching that other guy dig a hole/sand a board/hammer a nail)?

 

It's his turn to watch.

 

To assure that all drivers see the truck/brick wall/turn prior to impact - or, at the absolute latest - soon thereafter.

 

Someone told him to.

 

There are always groups of what appear to be workers standing/sitting/crouching beside people who appear to be working.

5. Why did (the owner) stop taking care of The Pearl's little beach?

 

pretty beach 2013

 

broken beach 2014

splintered and missing chairs, shredded and severed umbrellas

 

Chairs will be returned tomorrow.

 

You want beach membership application?

 

Maybe use pool now.

 

(See sample responses to #3.)

Six Days in Doha with Chris

The Riding a Camel Pic

 

What if you had just a few days in a Middle Eastern country - where traffic buzzes the city like bees searching for a hive, winter means beach sun and flowers, strange things circle the sky and jumping off a pile of sand into another pile of sand is a national pastime?

 

a guy (it's always a guy), a parachute-like thing, a great big, round fan

 

Oh sure, you'd hang with your way cool 'rents

 

working out at the Singing Dunes

not hot, windy or dry enough for music this trip

great for running and climbing

 

top it off with a cold one

at the Inland Sea

 

You'd tour a mosque and cultural center, study customs and religion, watch as a muezzin in traditional attire stands before a microphone, recites a beautiful, inspiring Adhan, call to prayer.  You'd jog a resort, wander a beach, jump into a dune

 

Wheeeeee!

 

Wheeee times three!

 

You'd view artifacts from all over the Middle East at the Museum of Islamic Art and walk the length and breadth of the fantastic Museum park.  Where there are outstanding views of West Bay, hills, a strange obelisk like thing, and cool, glittering water.  You'd ride a dhow around Doha's fabulous West Bay...

 

 

...drink sweet hospitality tea, eat shwarma, hummus, pita, kofta, babaganoush, awesome delicious rice.  You'd absorb the unique smells, textures and flavors (fats, sugars, carbs) and you'd not be sorry.  Not one tiny, little bit.

 

 

 

Not sorry

 

Because later - of course - you'd drink sweet Herbalife tea and sweat it all out at the gym.

 

Plus, there's the Inland Sea where you'd (watch Mom) swim under a gleaming sun in the warm appearing, but deceptively cold Gulf spanning the distance between Qatar and Saudi Arabia...

 

blue, beautiful

Inland Sea in January 2014

 

...dune bashing and sand golf (for Mary Ann and Gary)

 

This is the fairway

 

This is the sand trap

Yes, the sand course has a sand trap

aka "bunker" 

 

falcons, giant pearls, massive teapots

 

 

 

Qatari night life, camel races, unmarked desert bound Catholic church - and treasures to be found at the updated-to-look-old, modern, antique souq.

 

at the souq

 

Lucky, happy people - to get a great, marvelous, wondrous, whirlwind, fantastic six days in Doha with our beautiful, smart, fantastic son!

 

Video snippets from one wondrous Doha day, chosen by the camera

This Week in Doha: Oman

R&R time

 

Qatar-bound Westerners trek to Oman in the way that Missourians "go to the lake."  This is Middle America-Speak for: run up to Hy-Vee for chips, hot dogs, buns, marshmallows.  Gather fishing rods, floaties, towels, waterski equipment, barbecue tools, sleeping bags.  Drive 2-4 hours (in any direction) where holiday-making ensues.

The only way out of Qatar overland is through Saudi Arabia - a complicated endeavor that requires weeks of embassy hoop-jumping, reams of paperwork, proofs of things like income, nationality, marriage.  There are limits as to how long a person may be in country, rules about with whom and how a woman may travel and many, many other considerations that make a road trip out of Qatar difficult to, well, not feasible.

So when it's vacay, git outta Dodge, needa break time (most Qatar expats and others) fly - a quick trip to Dubai, UAE or a short hop to Oman (other weekend possibilities are Bahrain and Kuwait).  Inexpensive, one hour (and less) flight to history, culture, shopping…food, fun, beach.

This trip, Bob and I did Oman, where we stayed at a "cute little place" just outside Muscat:

popular getaway location for Qatar's expats and locals
 

we stayed here

 

this is what we did: ahhhhhhh

The official national language of Oman is Arabic, just like Qatar's.  There is sun, desert, men in dish-dashas and ladies in abayas, just like in Qatar.  Money is the Omani rial and only comes in paper (ie, no coins).  There are souks stuffed with people…
 

Mutrah Souk

 

forts…  

overlooking Mutrah bay

 

interesting historical displays in front of official looking buildings…

 

seen enroute

mosques…

overlooking Corniche

camels…

beach camel ride, anyone?

and a Corniche crowded with men from (India, Nepal).
 

expansive Corniche overlooking the water between Muscat and Mutrah

Unlike Qatar, Oman features miles of beauteous rocky mountains

 

GOHJUS - but very little vegetation (wouldn't want to get lost out there) 

Also unlike Qatar, we met local people…everywhere.

"With limited oil revenues…a policy of 'Omanisation' in every aspect of the workforce is rigorously pursued…" (Oman, UAE & Arabian Peninsula, Lonely Planet, 3rd Edition, September 2010.) 

Omanis are taxi drivers, hotel maintenance staff, managers, servers, shopkeepers and more.  Many spoke English, but most seemed to prefer a slow mix of easy-to-understand colloquial Arabic.  No rapid fire, head spinning language lessons here:  "Kayf hal?" (How are you?) said the bellhop.  "Matar?" (Airport?) said the taxi driver.  And to our affirmative "aye-ee-wah, matar, shukran" (yes, airport, thank you) - nobody laughed. 

Nice.

 

 

 

On Missing Eyebrows (and other Doha realities)

Missing Eyebrows

 

The well put together local woman sports perfectly shaped, beautifully manicured, smooth, dark, thick, salon tended designer eyebrows.  She covers her skin with abaya and sheyla, and stays indoors when it's hot.

 

Expats wog, wander and hang at the beach where the only thing warmer than the water is the scalding white sand.  The respectful foreign guest covers from shoulders to knees, minimum, and protects remaining exposed areas with sunscreen 45.  But in a place where temperatures regularly exceed 120 muggy "real feel" degrees, roasted skin and sun bleached hair, including eyebrows, happens.

 

I paint the missing color in.

 

 

But I don't pluck:

 

With regard to dyeing the eyebrows or a part of them with a blonde colour or a colour similar to that of the skin, there is nothing wrong with this, as was stated in a fatwa issued by our Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn 'Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him and raise his status). He also stated in a fatwa that it is permissible to remove hair growing between the eyebrows because this is not part of them, but he stated that it is not permissible to trim the eyebrows if they are not troublesome or causing harm.

islam-qa

 

Bananas go from green to yellow overnight

 

grass green yesterday

 

In Doha, hard, green, just bought bananas are soft and yellow by morning, banana bread ready in three short days.  If anyone you know likes a banana a day to replenish minerals lost after climbing 12 flights to the sky on a sunny, muggy, hot-air-pummeled Doha jobsite…buy a bunch!  But just 3- 4 at a time.

 

You say: "Shukran" she says: "You're Welcome"

 

There is no bookstore at Qatar University.  No game day tee shirts in Arabic, school pens, mugs, water bottles.  Looking for an Arabic language tee shirt to take home to the fam?  Good luck - because it's all English in Doha.

 

Cashiers, sackers, managers and stockers, service and salespeople at Carrefour, H&M and Zara, Asian cleaning crews, strangers on the street, hawkers at the souq, the covered lady in the bread aisle (she's not necessarily Arab):  there are three times more expats than locals in Doha and they all wake up expecting to spend the day in English.  There are a few phrases every nationality seems to understand and an Arab busy thinking in English appreciates: "shukran" (thank you), "ma'a salama" (good bye) and "wayn al hammam?" (where's the bathroom).  But - expect the response to be in English, no matter where the queried person is from.

 

Afternoon Siesta

 

There is morning, where office clerks file, take calls, fill orders…shops are open and it's possible to get business done.  Then there is Doha afternoon:

 

Katie and Kimber attempt to shop the souq one afternoon

(if there were crickets, they'd be chirping)

 

At 1pm, an unsuspecting reader (me) is asked to leave the Qatar National Library.  A mall bookstore closes and the clerk waits for shoppers (also me) to notice.  All over the city, workers rush home to eat, sleep, pray, sip tea, pet the falcon.  This is family time, when non-worker night-living people are (finally) out of bed and worker bee types break.

 

Hey, it's doggone hot in the afternoon (see above).

 

Some (Middle Eastern flexible) time around 4pm, shops unlock, libraries and bookstores reopen.  Locals parade through souq shops and Arabic is heard on the street.  Fast moving Suburbans flash lights in rearview mirrors, teenage boys chase one another through traffic in Porsches and Camaros, traffic snarls around fender benders...and worse.

 

We tend to stay home at night, wrapped in fuzzy blankets, watching Conan (O'Brien).  We don't hear a lot of Arabic this way (see above), but it does keep us alive.

 

Shoes

 

Sports Day, abaya, children, sand

silver shoes, henna

purty shoes a must

 

There is Drinking in Doha (but not at The Pearl)

 

Once upon a time there was alcohol at The Pearl.  Every night a live band played to sellout crowds at the restaurant below our balcony and it was standing room only at the billiards and sports bar beside the terrace pool.

 

Then "something happened": an "incident" involving an expat, too much drink and an outdoor space.

 

*Snap* no more likker at The Pearl.

 

Today in the evenings, a scattering of tourists and locals wander the first curve of the Pearl's boardwalk where lonely salesmen and women (check facebook, send email, play games on phones and ipads) inside gleaming upscale shops selling $1,000 dresses and $700 shoes.

 

The rest of the resort is quiet.  Security guards wander empty boardwalks under tarp covered, unfinished towers that circle the bay.  Nights, Bob and I wog in the darkness beside docked yachts as Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" pours from speakers tucked in the palm trees.

 

Margaritas are available at international hotels in West Bay or the airport and mix (and other stuff) may be purchased with a license at the country's likker establishment.  But there is no more drinking (shoppers, diners, buyers) at The Pearl.

 

Threshold Pools

 

Inside Doha is cold:  freezer-chill Suburbans drop moms wearing ski pants at the mall where babies in snowsuits enjoy ice cream cones at indoor amusement parks.  Expats in sweats and double socks huddle in fuzzy blankets and sip hot cocoa while warming hands over steamy dinners.  Water transforms to ice on kitchen counters.

 

I might be exaggerating - a little - about the ice cubes...but it's true that if you spend much time indoors in Doha it's easy to forget just how hot it is "out there."  Where pudding air shimmers over a charcoal and barbecue pavement.  Heat melts the soles of tennis shoes, burns up generators, fries car batteries, sears nose hair, bleaches eyebrows.

 

And moisture fogs glass, transforms into liquid that rolls down the sides of buildings, collects in moat-worthy puddles at thresholds.  (Wear shoes, step wide…)

 

fogged glasses, fogged camera

Oh the Hawtness

48 hours in Doha - pictures

Chicago to Doha, non-stop:  North America, Europe, Africa, Asia.  An ocean, a couple of seas, 13 hour journey, plus an 8 hour time difference.

 

It's my 7th trip across the world - and the good folks at Qatar Airways surprise me with a business class upgrade:  porcelain mugs, plates, bowls, tiny salt and pepper shakers, complementary full sized toothbrush.  Would you like wine, Ma'am?  Coffee?  Soda?  Nuts in a glass bowl?  Spacious seat, movie screen at the end of a pull out bed, cozy pajamas and a quilted blanket.

 

My knees are happy.  But inside my head:

 

this is what jet lag feels like

 

Off the plane and it's back to work:  training, meetings, case study notes.

 

And coffee, lots of coffee.

 

 

There is this:

 

Start to finish, one small load takes 6 hours

and this:

 

Dave Ramsey disciples hammering out the budget

 

What's the exchange rate again?

 

 

Finally, a long, long sleep:

 

 

And the world looks like this again:

 

quiet Friday morning boardwalk at The Pearl

 

shops closed for afternoon Siesta, 1-4pm, everyday

 

Palm trees in the city, loaded with dates

 

Time for dinner out:

 

we like the bottomless chips and salsa

 

A bookstore run:

 

more Office Max/Archivers than Barnes & Noble

 

commercial children's books, in Arabic

 

school supplies and books in English

Job site visit:

 

Big hole, filling up

 

Bob and Cindi, happy to be together again:

 

 

Late blog, few words. I will do better.  But first...

 

ahhhhhhh…