Halloween Post Mortem
Hallowe’en is really more a cultural tradition these days than a religious event. We no longer worry about spirits walking around on Hallowe’en, and wear costumes to try to scare them away from us. In fact, many of the trick-or-treaters who came by our house last night were pretty! There were fairies, and little mermaids, and some very alluring witches.
In fact, there were so many trick-or-treaters that we ran out! How embarrassing! I thought I had a LOT, but there were more trick-or-treaters than we had treats.
It was a great evening, altogether, and next year I will know better.
Here is our not-scary pumpkin. I wish you could see the ears – it is an orange cat pumpkin, in honor of the Qatteri Cat.
All the visitors made the Qatteri Cat jumpy. He was happy to stay inside and hide with all the action in the streets last night.
Doha Tribeca Film Fest a Sellout!
From today’s Gulf Times comes word that the upcoming film fest is already totally sold out. They have some really good movies!
Film festival a sellout
By Peter Townson
The Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) box-office outlets have seen a lot of interest from filmgoers in Qatar, with many of the movies due to be screened over weekend already sold out.
Among the most popular films are Capitalism: a Love Story by Michael Moore, Team Qatar, No-one Knows About Persian Cats, the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, and About Elly.
The festival’s ‘blue badge’ passes, which offer holders a discount and access to a number of the festival’s events, have been very popular, and almost all the tickets that have been sold so far have been bought by blue badge-holders.
However, with less than a week to go it seems that most films have more or less sold out, with only a few seats remaining for many of the screenings.
But for disappointed moviegoers unable to buy tickets for the shows they want to see, all is not lost. Organisers have told people to go to the venue of their preferred screenings around one hour before the scheduled time, and there is a chance that people will be admitted to the film depending on whether all the ticket-holders turn up.
One British resident, who managed to get tickets to the most of the films she wanted to see, said that she was particularly looking forward to watching A Serious Man and London River but said she was disappointed not to get the chance to attend either screening of No-one Knows About Persian Cats.
“It is fantastic to have the opportunity to see films like this here in Qatar,” she said, adding “I am really looking forward to seeing the types of films we don’t usually find at the cinemas here, including some of the Arab films as well.”
However, another filmgoer expressed her disappointment at not being able to get tickets for any of the films she wants to see.
“I was really excited about seeing some of these movies, but now I’m so disappointed as I couldn’t get any tickets I wanted,” said the Australian expatriate, adding “I just hope they have not all been given away to people who don’t even really want them.”
With some 3,000 guests expected to attend the screening of Mira Nair’s Amelia it would seem that the film-loving population has wholeheartedly embraced the opportunities the festival will bring to Qatar.
Setting Up for the TriBeca Film Fest
A lot of my life is just like yours – fairly routine. Regular meetings, regular obligations, regular trips to the market to keep my family in food, meal preparations, etc.
Lately, even my mother commented I’ve been eating out a lot. No! No! It’s not true!
We do eat out a couple times a week. I don’t always take photos because many of the places we eat, we have already reviewed at least once.
When guests come to town, we often eat out a little more because we are on the go.
And so like during one trip, I can take photos for a number of different posts. One trip to Souq al Waqif and I have mermaid fabric photos, a restaurant review, a photo of the new tower, maybe a few shots for the school calendar, some traffic revision shots upon leaving – see what I mean? It’s not like I am eating out all the time, but when we go someplace new or when I need something to blog about, I dig them out.
This is one of those “just one more thing” shots – they are setting up at both the Museum of Islamic Arts and at the Souq al Waqif for the upcoming Tribeca Film Fest. They say Robert de Niro will be here (Wooo HOOOOOO!) There is a lot of excitement building, and I can understand – they are going to a lot of trouble to make sure it is a BIG deal.
You can find out more about the Tribeca Film Fest 2009 by clicking on the blue type.
Where Al Rayyan Used to Begin
Leaving the Suq al Waqif, we got a shock – where you could once go straight ahead onto Al Rayyan, you can’t!
There is a left turn, a shaky bridge, and then you can go right to access Al Rayyan. It all appears temporary, and when the fix is accomplished, it will probably be a better intersection.
But this is Doha. When you think you know the route, suddenly, and often without notice, your traffic pattern makes a sudden change. The temporary diversion may last for weeks, or months, or . . .
I’m a map person, I remember once discovering that the road I intended to take, the road on the map, wasn’t there yet! In Doha, a map is only an overview, it is not reality based, the roads you see may or may not be open. In the end, I am sure there is going to be a smooth traffic pattern, but oh, in the meantime!
This is a relatively small change, with a relatively easy fix.
The Majliss in Doha
When we lived in Doha the last time, we often brought people to The Majliss. Most Americans had never been there, never knew it was there. It is off Al Sadd – if you are going from C Ring to D Ring, you turn right at the Kentucky Fried Chicken and stay on the slip road that goes in front of the stores. At the second possible right, you turn right, and you will see the Royal Tandoor on your left, and The Majliss on your right.
There two really great things about The Majliss. First, the food is really, really good. Second, they have a bunch of individual rooms where you can sit on the floor, majliss style, with cushions and a big, low table. Some rooms are small, some are large enough for maybe 12 – 14 people.
They also have booths, some that have curtains you can pull if you need privacy, like if you are a woman wearing niqab and you want to eat without people seeing your face. They also have booths without curtains, and a more open area where mostly just men eat.
There was a time when soldiers would come here from Iraq, and you could sort of check them out like library books to take out for dinner, or to the malls, or to your house. We often took them to the Majliss, and it always blew them away, it was such a great experience. The Majliss is also where we took our son and his wife when they first came to visit us in Doha. We have so many happy memories at The Majliss.
This time, it was our visiting Kuwait friends, and since we all know what it is like to sit in a Majliss, and we all have older knees and hips, we chose to sit in a booth. Here is what is cool – our Kuwait friends loved it as much as our American friends do.
This was our first time back at the Majliss since our return to Doha. We worried that it had changed, deteriorated, that the food would not be so good as we remembered. We had a happy surprise – it is the same, but even better. 🙂
I have to admit, one reason I love the Majliss is because they have Mohammara, made of walnuts and chilis and other good stuff. This one was really good, a little spicy!
And oh, the fresh, hot bread . . .
Now, I am embarrassed to tell you, when our main dinners came, I forgot to take photos until late . . . so this is where the delicious Majliss hammour used to be – my very particular and discerning Kuwaiti friend ate every bite!
And here is what is left of my Shrimp machboos, before we gobbled the rest of it all up:
And the kabob, just before it disappeared entirely!
We were all so full, we didn’t even have room to order the creme caramel, which always comes swimming in caramel, yummmm. We had Turkish coffee and rolled ourselves out the door – stuffed!
Prices are reasonable, it is a great place for good local food at reasonable prices – the Michelin red “R” in Doha.
Boiled Cole Slaw Dressing
We really do love cole slaw, but we find that there are some cole slaws we love more than others. Neither AdventureMan nor I are big into mayonaiss-y cole slaws, we find we like vinegary cole slaws better. Probably we like vinegary ones better because many many years ago a wonderful friend gave us this recipe for cole slaw dressing, and it is our hands down favorite.
When I first came to Qatar and wanted to make this dressing, I looked everywhere for poppy seeds, only to be told that they are ILLEGAL in Qatar, I guess they think we are all going to get high on poppy seeds or something. I was told poppy seeds are legal in Kuwait, but as hard as I looked, I never found any. I will admit, from time to time I have to bring some back with me, just so I can make this Cole Slaw Dressing.
It is sweet – and tart. I also use it on cucumbers, and I like it even better!
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion juice (I use grated onion)
Bring all to a boil. Cool before using. Enough for one medium large head of cabbage. (Slice cabbage into thin shreds.) I also don’t let the dressing get too cool; I like the way it wilts the cabbage a little.
How Does Your ‘Garden’ Grow?
We have shown you the site of the former Garden, now a huge pile of rubble, indistinguishable from the surrounding rubble of many small businesses. We mourned the passing of The Garden, only to learn in this morning’s Peninsula that a new All-Veg Garden will open closer to our own neighborhood. 🙂 I hope the prices are comparable to the former Garden on Karabaa (Old Electricity Street).
The Garden to open restaurant in Najma next month
Web posted at: 10/4/2009 0:56:49
Source ::: The Peninsula
Doha: The vegetarian division of “The Garden” restaurants has been awarded ‘The Best Vegetarian Restaurant” Award for the year 2008-2009. This is the fourth consecutive year that the restaurant wins this award. The award is based on voting by diners.
Yoonus Salim Vappattu, Managing Director of the Garden Group, said yesterday at a press conference that the group will open a pure vegetarian restaurant in Najma next month. The outlet will be located near the American Airlines office.
“We have also identified and fantastic location in Doha Jadeed, to open a first class family non-vegetarian restaurant, which is expected to open by early first quarter of 2010. Till then our restaurant in the Le-Mirage Executive Residence, Musherib, as our non-vegetarian restaurant will remain open. We have planned to open one bigger vegetarian and two more non-vegetarian restaurants in Qatar, said Tomson Jeffery, Senior Operations Manager, The Garden Group.
“We have decided to expand our F&B business with diversified interest in restaurant concepts. Under the leadership our chairman, we have formed one more company called SAW, where we have already signed international brands from Spain, France and Kuwait (for Italian and French outlets, and Spanish coffee shops). As a first step our first outlet with unique concept of Biriyani & Kabab called Buriyani Hut (where Biriyani meets Kebab) will be opening by this year at Wakhra near KFC. Apart from we have identified location in Pearl Qatar, Ezdan Mall and Barwa Mall. We will be announcing shortly our plan to launch the garden outlets in other GCC countries very soon,” he added.
Big Mistake – Early Morning Eid in Doha
After all these years living here, I still have so much to learn.
Jet-lagging, wide awake and the sun is just up – it’s Eid, and I am betting that with everything closed, the roads will be mine.
Almost immediately after leaving the compound, I get the idea that I am very very wrong. Cars are racing past our entrance as if it were night-time, when I rarely drive if I can help it. There is a feeling of unrestrained energy in the driving, a release. As I circle the nearest roundabout, I watch two cars crash. One, a woman, is exiting the roundabout, the other, a man whose car was parked just outside the roundabout which is also outside the mosque, just drove right into one another. Neither would yield.
All this, and it is not even six in the morning. It’s kind of like everyone is up for sunrise service on Eid in Qatar.
But I really want to capture some of the early morning light. Not taking the hint, I head downtown, and traffic is heavy. I get to the old spit Where-Bandar-restaurants-used-to-be, and as soon as I exit the car, my camera lens fogs up and I have to wait for the camera to heat a little before I can shoot anything. Oh yeh – me and all the other camera-toting people with the same idea. I shoot The Pearl, and then I shoot a young man just coming from prayers with his very nice camera – a Nikon digital.
The spit is crowded – everyone is there. Some guys in cars are just sitting there smoking in public, just because they can. Entire families are all out enjoying the breezy morning temperatures (LOL, in the 90’s Fahrenheit)
This is my absolute favorite shot:
Actually, I love the water in this one, but I can’t take any credit for that.
This one I call Scrambled Eggs, because there is so much going on, but it is definitely a Doha kind of chaos:
This is taken where Al Rayyan Road begins, at the mouth of the entrance to Souq al Waqif, sheer chaos:
And this is my own palm tree shooting out some new shoots – maybe it is a sign that winter is on its way?
Eid Confusion
After writing that I don’t get a lot of phone calls, my VOIP started ringing. Four times, it was AdventureMan – we always have a lot to talk about. Once, my Mom, who calls just because she can and because the number we got is her area code, so it is like calling next door, and we all like that. Last, one of my friends in Kuwait – we have discovered we can call VOIP to VOIP. It’s like double the trouble – VOIP phones don’t always have the best connection, sometimes they are echo-y, sometimes one person can hear and the other can’t, sometimes you get other people on the conversation with you – so when you talk VOIP to VOIP, you have double the risk of technical difficulties, but still, an cost-per-phonecall that encourages long conversations (if you can hear and understand one another.)
“Has Eid started in Kuwait?” I asked at one point.
“I don’t thing so,” she replied. “I think it starts like Monday or so.”
It’s confusing to me. I know that Ramadan started four weeks ago tomorrow, so it is likely Eid will be 28 days later, like tonight or tomorrow or Sunday. But Kuwait started the Eid holidays on Friday, the official holidays, so that people will have nine full days of Eid celebration. (two weekends and a five day week). I don’t know if it is the same in Qatar.
It is also confusing as to just who gets the Eid holiday. When I lived in Tunis, lo, these many years ago, the entire country got every celebration. Those of us at the Embassy were doubly blessed; we got all the American holidays AND we got all the Tunisian holidays. So did just about everybody; the country shut down. For at least three days, no restaurants were open, no stores were open – you had to know about this in advance and bring in provisions to last until the Eid celebrations were over.
I wonder, did it used to be that way in Qatar? In Kuwait? That everything shut down, at least for the first day of Eid, and often longer?
In Kuwait and in Qatar, occasionally – like the first day of Eid – the stores will be closed a day – some just half a day. So many workers here are non-Muslim that it makes it possible to keep places open without intruding on someone’s celebration of Eid, in fact, I would think being able to go to restaurants and pick up a few items in the stores enhances the Eid experiences. I know most of my friends in Qatar are leaving town, just as I am getting back, beating feet for Europe, for Africa, for the Maldives, celebrating by traveling.
All the same, I am not sure when exactly Eid is expected to start officially, like according to the lunar calendar. Anyone?
Not Seattle
Just looking at these photos, it would be easy to think I was still in Seattle. It gave me a big grin. The rest of my group were still shopping, so I took a few “not-Seattle” shots:
Look! Salmon!
Trout!
Looks pretty PWN to me, except maybe he needs a sweatshirt!
OK, here’s your big clue:
And here is where we ate really good Chinese food (no, sorry, no photos!)
We had spring rolls and crab wontons, then Hunan Beef, Orange Shrimp, Dali Chicken and Cashew Chicken with steaming hot green tea. After Iftar, you can read P.F. Chang’s Menu here. 🙂
Recent Comments
intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Abou Tabblouleh on t… on Waiting for Snow Abou Tabbouleh on in… on Waiting for Snow intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 