Thanksgiving 2013

I can't believe it has been 4 months since my last post - I promise to be better about my blog now that it is cooler and the project has calmed down a bit (NOT).  Being apart from my family for Thanksgiving was easier than I expected and I was happy to host an international group of friends for a traditional Thanksgiving meal in my flat.  The guest list was limited as I only have seats for 8 around the table, however, we managed to include a Brit, a Dutch, a Jordanian, a Pakistani, 2 Americans, and even a young "Qatari" boy (born here).  

 

 

I prepared all of the Bauer favorites and American traditions for my guests - stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, corn casserole, etc. Dessert was my now famous (at least in Doha) blackberry-apple crumble and I threw in a pumpkin pie with ice cream and whipped cream respectively. I made the delicious blueberry scones from the Ely Blueberry Festival recipe which almost didn't get made

 because buttermilk (the essential ingredient)

was a difficult find in Qatar.  

 

Since my oven is TINY, I elected to have the turkey prepared by the Radisson Blu catering staff.  It came in a huge blue box and it looked like the largest turkey ever roasted, but when we unwrapped it, it was a modest 12 pounder. 

 

One of my guests was a very happy 4-year-old in the turkey box.

  

I had fun preparing the meal - the biggest challenge was finding enough casserole dishes to prepare all the sides!  I had to break my Doha rule and purchase two additional glass containers to make it happen.  Having to stock a kitchen/apartment on a temporary basis really makes me think about what I REALLY need in the kitchen.  A month ago, it took me a couple of weeks to decide that I really needed a rubber spatula.  I keep reminding myself that everything I buy has to find a new home - hence NO LIVE ANIMALS!

 

 

Well, I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy my photos of my guests!

 

 

 

 



High Rise LIving in Qatar

It's been a few weeks since my last post and I will try and catch up with everything!  First, I moved into my new flat at the beginning of May, and am enjoying it immensely!  I am in Flat 511 and have a lovely view of the apartment building next door and the construction site across the alleyway.  Charming. 

There are some things that take getting used to, of course.



Living Room with "custom" draperies.



My laundry consists of the smallest washing machine known to man which is located under the counter in the kitchen.  I can fit one bath towel and a few small things in one load.  It take 2-1/2 hours per load, since the machine spins out most of the water (there being no dryer available).  I have a drying rack which reminds me of my college days! 

The hot water heater (the "geyser") is mounted near the ceiling in the master bathroom.  It took me about a week to realize the reason I didn't have any hot water was because the mysterious switch on the wall in the DINING ROOM on the other side of the apartment actually had to be switched on to heat the geyser. 

The floors are large marble tiles, which are nice and cool all the time.  They are not very forgiving, however, when I let something slip out of my hand. 



All the "artwork" is hung ridiculously high on the wall. 



The satellite TV is sporadic at best, and, when requesting service, one must realize that they don't make appointments and normally show up in the LATE evening to do the work weeks after being contacted for an appointment.  I have been caught twice in my pj's!  It is interesting to sit in silence with 3 Indian gentlemen who don't speak English, watching the snow on the TV while the satellite resets itself.  As my nephew likes to say, "Awkward".   

I am enjoying the crack security team downstairs.  They let the 3 satellite TV "repairmen" into the building unescorted at 10:30pm, but when my colleagues arrived for a dinner at 6:30pm, they escorted them to my door to make sure they are legitimate.  Hmmmm.  They are very handy for running simple errands.  They will run over to the corner market and pick up groceries, although I found I needed to be VERY specific with my instructions after asking for 1/2 dozen eggs and getting two dozen.  Omelet anyone?

I have a phone on the wall of the apartment which doesn't have a dial tone.  I asked about this - and was told this is the security phone to let people into the building (like guests).  My Canadian neighbor, Gordon, and I have tried it with each other's flats, to no avail.  Besides, I have never known the door to the elevator lobby to ever be locked.  In fact, for a week or so, it didn't even have a knob or handle so if one wanted to exit the elevator lobby, one had to pound on the door to be let out of the building by the security team.  It was perfectly easy to get into the building, however. 

The place is nice, and comfortable.  I really like being about to cook my dinner and have settled in nicely.  I have an air mattress and a second bathroom with hot water if you want to visit!

Qatari Road Info

A colleague at the office asked me this week if I was interested in purchasing a vehicle here in Doha for the duration of my stay.  I told him not at this time, feeling somewhat daunted by the thought of driving (and more to the point, PARKING), here in the city.  The drivers drive as fast as possible and regard all traffic rules, regulations, signage, and lane markers as my colleague Steve puts it, "just a recommendation", not really law.  More on the parking situation later.

I questioned him further about how one goes about purchasing a vehicle, more from curiosity, than practical interest, being that I really enjoy the private driver dropping me off in front of my destination and collecting me at the end to whisk me back home. 

He told me that it is very easy and inexpensive to purchase a vehicle, however, difficult to get it re-licensed after the first year.  Every vehicle comes with insurance and a license plate (you pay for both of these when you purchase the vehicle).  Annually, when the license needs to be renewed, the car must be inspected.  It will not pass if there is a scratch in the paint, headlight not working, radio doesn't work, if it is too dirty, etc.  To get anything on the car repaired, you must have a police report, even if it is a door ding.   This explains A LOT - first of all, there is so much dust in the air, the cars get dirty, but you rarely see a dirty vehicle.  They keep the cars pristine here, even on the really dusty job site.  I think they wash them every night.  Also, people seem to purchase new cars all the time instead of getting the license renewed.  I don't know where they are putting all the extra cast-offs....

One of my new American female friends was telling the story of getting her driver's license here.  There is only one day a week which a woman can apply for her driver's license.  The first week, one takes an eye exam.  If one passed the eye exam, then she is able to return the next week to take a written exam (which mainly covers what different road signs mean).  If one passed that exam, then the third week, she arrives at the Testing Agency at 6:00am, boards a bus with 40 other women, and waits her turn. They have one car that is used to test all of these women.  The bus proceeds to follow the test car around the city while, one-by-one, they test each person on driving.  This process apparently takes the better part of 6 hours to complete.  One doesn't know if you pass or not until your bus returns to the Testing Agency and they announce those who can get their licenses.   

I think this process is used as a deterrent for women driving.  On a side note:  I don't know how the Qatari women drive when they are fully veiled - it has to impede peripheral vision for sure.

On my walk this morning to the Costa Coffee down the street, I observed the following:

No Kidding - Deep Wall and Floor Opening?
Notice that there are no barricades, safety tape or anything
 surrounding this AND the sign was across the street on the sidewalk.

There is a funny Civil thing here - when a building is built, there is this void area of dirt/sand between the property line and the government maintained street/sidewalk like below - no one seems to want to fill the gap between the two.  This is everywhere - sometimes it is only a few feet, sometimes larger like this photo.



Sidewalk                                Void Area   Property Line



Also - instead of parking in the void area, most cars park on the pedestrian
 sidewalk - probably so the car doesn't get dirty?

I like this sign...near my hotel:

 YIELD.  Just a recommendation.....



Turkish Riverdance!

Last night I went to a performance of a Turkish Dance Troupe (previously blogged as a "Syrian" dance troupe) called Fire of Anatoni.   As the blog title implies, it was a regional version of the famous Irish "Riverdance" or "Lord of the Dance".  The audience was treated to belly dancing, formation dancing and sword fight-dancing.  Very energetic and fun.  The crowd LOVED it and kept asking for encores. 

It was held in the Outdoor Amphitheatre at the Katara which I have reported on in a prior blog or two.  I was wondering how comfortable it would be to sit on the marble steps for two hours during a performance, but I forgot about the Qatari hospitality!  They provided very comfortable cushioned seats with backs (the Arab version of portable stadium seats, except these were upholstered in velvet, of course).  The audience trickled in and it was like a big social hour - people greeting each other and those around them.  There was a lone British fellow in front of me so we struck up a conversation, feeling a bit silly to be there without a group of acquaintances.  I had a young family next to me with two small children (an infant and a 3-year-old).  The 3-year-old dozed off in the middle of the performance and laid across my lap. It was somewhat endearing!

Stadium Seats - Qatari style



Amphitheatre in daylight without seats.

 



Same view at night with seats.



Funny cultural observations: 

1. The tickets to the event said no one under the age of 7 would be admitted.  There were slews of families with children there (who all were really well behaved, by the way).

2. Also, several normal announcements were made about no photography being allowed, no filming, no flash, etc. - all of which were disregarded globally by the Qatari, who would walk up to the front of the audience, take their photos, then return to their seats.



3. "Qatari Time"   All of the expats in the audience were in their seats and ready for the performance to begin at 8:00pm.  There were many open seats still at 7:58pm when the announcement came that the performance would begin in 20 minutes.  Over the next 45 minutes, even after the performance began, the Qatari "moseyed" in at their leisure, as though the show was an afterthought to their evening.  This was the majority of the crowd and it gradually filled in.  My photos were taken at about 7:55pm, so you can see how many empty seats there were at that time. 

The Performance Stage during the daytime.



The Performance Stage at night.



100 degrees and counting....

Things are heating up here in Doha!  The temperature is rising and the project is getting really busy.  We have our first furniture shipments coming through customs this week.  The site continues to progress, although, like most projects, the client is anxious to see more happening. 

I spent my weekend (actually just Friday) at the Katara.  I wrote about this area in Doha a couple of blogs back, but there was an outdoor art exhibit of local artists, so I couldn't resist!    I also came upon the "Golden Mosque" which is completely faced with gold mosaic tile. 

 The Mosques here are like little jewel boxes and tucked in the most unlikely places.  This one is in such a tight site, it was difficult to get a good photo!

I had a peak inside when the door was open - the interior is an open, beautifully apppointed room with high ceilings and no furniture - just a place to wash the feet and plenty of kneeling cushions.  The front of what we would call the "sanctuary" faces Mecca. 

The art show featured a very mixed levels of artists - there were some excellent pieces, including a young woman who painted only on silk and an older gentleman who only drew is own face in the mirror.  50 drawings of the different angles of his face - but they were very good! 

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I do enjoy the spa treatments, so I am on the hunt for a good spa.  I tried the one here at the Wyndham, which was excellent and the one at the Millenium down the street which wasn't.  I am happy that the Wyndham spa is reasonably priced and not too far from my new apartment! 

This coming week, I am attending my first performance at the outdoor amphitheatre at the Katara.  It should be amazing - it is a dance troupe from Syria performing traditional dance. 

I will also be moving into my new apartment and will send some photos.  It is in a great neighborhood and nearer to my favorite Doha haunts.

I just wanted to send a shout out to Trevor who turned 21 yesterday!  Happy Birthday, Trevor!  We will celebrate when I come home in May!  

Door to the Amphitheatre

The Jefferson's....

...are moving on up!  I finally had one too many things go wrong at my first "hotel" and made the bold move 100 yards next door to the Wyndham.  I am still near the "Sport" round-a-bout and my colleagues, but without the flooding bathroom, cold showers and inconsistent internet service (just to name a few problems).  Less than two weeks until I move into my new apartment....Yes!

This week was SO busy at the job site - products are beginning to arrive to the Outpatient Clinic building that is not quite ready to receive furniture.  We had a fire last week at the site in the underground car park (which made the news here), and this week we had a very small earthquake, which was large enough to warrant another complete evacuation of the site.  I am expecting locusts or some kind of plague next week to keep things interesting.

It is getting warm here - today was 37 degrees Celcius which is about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is a bit humid here, which makes you realize how much fine sand is floating around in the air because it tends to adhere itself to sunglasses, skin, shoes, etc.

On my day off, I went to the Qatar Sport Museum (temporary) which is being housed in a big warehouse while they build the new museum.  They had a Olympic exhibit which showed the history of the ancient Olympics, as well as the history of the modern Olympics including the Paraolympics, which Qatar has had many participants.  The exhibit ended with a large feature of the Qatar Olympians - there is a lot of national pride for those who make it and they do have some medal winners.

Saturday, following our "half day" of work (which is 8 hours instead of 9.5 hours long), I met my new friend, Helen, and her driver drove us around to three different tailor shops and into the Fabric Souq (the fabric market).  I found some beautiful silks and am having a couple of things made.  I find I am already tired of the clothing I brought!

I am waiting anxiously for my cello to arrive at Badie Music Store.  The gentleman who is setting it up doesn't speak much English and my Arabic is limited to the following:

"Salam - Marhaba" which is Hello

"Sabah El-Khair"  which is Good Morning

"Shukran" which is thank you

I had my Indian driver, Noussad, (who claims to speak Arabic about 70% - whatever that means) talk with him on the phone for me, however,  Noussad's English is very limited, so I am not sure he is the right translator for me.  My colleague at work, Islam, who is Jordanian, speaks excellent English AND Arabic, so he is going to make the call for me tomorrow to see when the cello will be ready.  I might be getting a Sousaphone for all I know! 

I found this week that I am adjusting to the money conversion and don't have to think to hard about it anymore...

3.64 Qatari Riyal = $1.00 US

There doesn't seem to be coinage here in Doha - all prices when you pay with cash are rounded up to the nearest dollar.  Some folks have asked me what things cost here, so here is general run down.

Petrol is very inexpensive - 0.80 QR / litre which is approximately .22 US cents / litre

3.785 litres = 1 gallon so gas is .83 cents per gallon.  No wonder there are so many drivers!

Groceries are really inexpensive and most of the produce comes from Jordan, Lebanon and Africa.

Dinner usually costs us $4-$5 per person USD.

Our driver, Noussad, costs 100 QAR for a round trip, anywhere in the city.  But this is usually for 3 passengers and he will come any place/anytime to drive, if we need him. 

Taxis are easy - I just ask ahead of time how much they will charge and we agree upon an amount - no running meters to be found, but I usually use Noussad if I can. 

At the tailors, they will make a beautiful men's suit in a lightweight wool of your choice for around

 1000 QAR which is $364.00 USD.

Americans are treated very respectfully and the Qatari love to interact with us.  Much different than I expected!  Most pleasant.

The Souq Waqif

This weekend, I really felt like I was settling into the Qatari way of life and finding my way around this confusing city!  Most addresses are non-existent, and buildings are found by knowing which round-a-bout the location is nearest as well as the various landmarks around it.  For instance, Le Park Hotel (where I am currently residing) can be found by telling someone it is near the "Sport" Round-a-bout and next to the new Wyndham Hotel in the Al Saad district.   Or, it is around the corner from the Al Saad Lulu's (an Arab version of K-Mart). 

I have found and leased an apartment in the Musheireb district of the city, which is much closer to all my favorite parts and in far better condition than the Le Park Hotel.   Directions would be:  It is past the fly-over (overpass) and down the street from the Gulf Paradise Hotel in Musheireb district.  It is a modern, comfortable flat in a secure building and I move in on or around April 20th.  Can't wait to get settled there. 

Chamber Music at the Museum of Islamic Art

I attended a chamber music concert at the Museum of Islamic Art on Thursday night.  It was well attended and very well done.  I spoke with the cellist following the concert, and he recommended a string instrument maker here in Doha who will set up a cello for me.  I called the gentleman (he does not speak much English) and have an appointment with him on Tuesday to see what he can offer.

I find I am getting really good at deciphering different dialects/versions of English here in Qatar (mine being one of them as well), but I do better when I can talk with the person face to face.  I hope this is the case with Mr. Mamoud when I meet with him as I could barely figure out where his shop is located over the phone.  Noussad, my driver, and I are on the hunt!

I visited the Soug Waqif on Friday with my coworkers.  The "Souq" is the historic market bizarre of Doha, although the former Souq was torn down recently and this new "authentic" version was built.  It is really interesting!  There are tailor shops, sweet shops, rug shops, thread shops, shoe shops, and animal menageries with all types of fluffy and scaly critters.  The most fascinating shop to me was the Falcon Souq.  The bird's heads are covered and they sit on perches.  The Qatari use the falcons for sport hunting and competition.  They are beautiful birds!

If you make too many purchases, you can get them wheeled out to your car by a gentleman with a wheelbarrow!

 I will post better photos later - I accidentally left my camera charger in Omaha so it is being brought to me via a co-worker who is coming to Abu Dhabi.  Another co-worker will then deliver it to me here in Doha in the next few weeks.  An international pony express!

Finally, a shout out to my friend, Kathy E. from Omaha, who is here in Doha for some business with the Joint Commission International.  Kathy and I had a wonderful dinner with three other ladies last night.  It was nice to be around a table of women for a change and I look forward to seeing her again on this side of the world!

Visiting the Katara

On Friday, my day off, I visited the Katara with some friends.  This is the cultural and fine arts area in the city which also has a large beach on the "Arabian" (what we call Persion) Gulf.  It was a warm day, so we found a Turkish restaurant on the beach boardwalk and sat down in the shade (it is always very comfortable in the shade).  We ate a variety of very delicious foods with fresh, warm puffed up pita bread and I had a "mocktail" of grapefruit juice, 7-up and some kind of fruit - it was called the Sultan's Dream.  It was dreamy.  We walked around for a while and made our way towards the Amphitheatre in the middle of this area.  It was hands down, AMAZING.  I can't wait to attend a concert or performance in the space.  See the photos!  

Entrance to the Amphitheatre




The entire Amphitheatre is faced with White Travertine Marble. 



Stage view of the Amphitheatre from the audience.

View of the audience seating from back of stage area

Amphitheatre hall detail
.



These are gigantic birdhouses on the Katari Site.



Covered Walkways

The water is a very beautiful turquoise color - lighter than the Carribean and Hawaii which I think are a deeper blue.  It is almost like blue crystal. 

This area has a lot of fun buildings connected with these outdoor covered walkways.  It felt very Qatari.  We found the Qatar School of Music and I inquired about renting a cello as I don't want to lose my "skills".  I called today and will go there sometime next week to pick out an instrument.  The most difficult thing will be getting it into my private driver's car.  He drives a Honda Civic.  Should be interesting!  One of the men at the office drives an SUV - I may have to ask Mohammed to assist me on this venture. 




Beach Time with a view of "The Pearl"part of the city!

 

The beach was full of families and most of the women were wearing full veiling. I don't know how they do it!  My friend and I wanted to put our toes in the water to see if it was warm and we learned we needed to purchase a ticket for 25 QAR (about $6.87 USD).  We waited in a long ticket line to be told that there were "too many women on the beach" and we would have to wait.  Also, bikinis are not allowed and they really want the swimsuits the women and girls wear to cover the shoulders and upper thighs (kind of looks like a short-sleeved scuba suit).  Most of the young girls were wearing a swimming outfit that looks like an old fashioned ice skating costume with long sleeves, skirt, leggings and a mock turtleneck. made out of swimsuit material.  I read an article yesterday saying the Qatari females are being treated for a dangerous lack of Vitamin D (which makes sense since you get Vitamin D from the sun).  Enjoy! 

The Veiled Women and Qatari Fashion

I promised a blog about what I am wearing in Doha and the veiled woman's explanation.  There is a lot of variation on fashion here - Westerners can get away with a lot, but I haven't seen many in shorts (women or men).  The women generally have 3/4 length sleeved tops, no spaghetti straps, and long skirts or pants.  On the job site, I dress business casual and always have a scarf handy for dust if I am on the job site, which is almost every day.  It hasn't gotten too hot here yet, in fact, the weather has been really lovely and evenings are completely wonderful.

The veiled women are very interesting in their fashion and VARY greatly.  I am including some photos from web sites as it is rude to take their pictures without permission.  I obtained most of my knowledge on the subject from a couple of Arab women in the office and online. 

When women are outside the home, or present with males who are not relatives, their hair will normally be covered, which is in obedience to Mohammed's command that women should cover their "shameful parts".   The shameful parts seem to mean hair, elbows to knees and everything in between, although if someone is wearing a veil or head covering (Hijab - pronounced hi-job) of any type, they are also covered to the wrists and ankles.   The term hijab in Arabic means a ‘screen’ or ‘partition’ but in everyday use, the word hijab has come to mean anything from the general idea of modesty as it pertains to Muslim women, to the actual headscarf that is worn by observing Muslim women as an emblem of their faith. A Muslim woman who dresses modestly and covers her hair is said to “observe hijab” or “practice hijab” and also referred to as a “mohajaba” or “hijabi”.



Some Qatari women wear the hijab further back on their heads (these women wear colored hijabs), others allow a fringe of hair to show; MOST cover their hair completely.  Other Qataris choose to cover their whole face. Even here there is variation; eyes may be showing (and heavily decorated with makeup), or covered with a thin, see-through cloth.   Ironically, I read online that there is debate in the Muslim world over whether covering your face is allowed under Islam, and certainly when women perform the Haj: a pilgrimage that forms one of the five pillars of Islam it is forbidden to cover the face.  It seems to me that the more covered they are, the less colorful - usually all black is the norm.




I have seen young girls wearing this type of thing a lot - but most look to be around 10-12
years old when they do begin to wear it. 

  
 

This photo shows a woman in the traditional Hijab (head covering) with a face veil
and a traditional outer robe called a Thobe.

I don't know for sure, but it seems to me the younger women don't put the face veil on until they are married.

This is the best photo I can find of the Niqab (face veil), but the women here wear the
 hijab with the face veil so you cannot see anything except her eyes.



Abbayah (long modest dress)







Usually the head of the household (father or husband) decides whether or not to cover the face.  I have seen some young women COMPLETELY veiled (head to toe) without eyes showing.  The material of the robes and veiling vary - the older women seem to wear fabric that seems stiff like cotton, but the younger women use much more flowing fabrics that have a small amount of sheerness to them.  There are only two women from the Qatar Foundation who visit our job site and they are completely veiled with only their eyes showing.  The men are instructed not to look them in the eyes at all, which is harder than you think apparently.  If it does happen, the woman apparently just looks away immediately.  I have heard that the women don't mind and fully support wearing it in public.  They don't wear it at home usually at all.  The two women I have talked with at the office wear regular clothing underneath the outer robes (jeans, pants or leggings with short sleeved tops) and are fully supportive of wearing it, but they do get hot and seem uncomfortable sometimes. 

Sorry this go long, but it is an interesting topic!  I will do another blog about the men's clothing some other time.