Doha Trade Fair Opens
I love these fairs – there are vendors from all over. One year, I bought bought fabrics from the Sudan and from Senegal – fabulous things I would never find anywhere else. It’s like a shopping trip around the world. 🙂
Huge turnout at Doha Fair
From today’s Gulf Times
Ahmed al-Nuami inaugurates the Doha Trade Fair 2010 at Doha Exhibition Centre yesterday
The eight-day Doha Trade Fair 2010 got off to a great start yesterday at the Doha Exhibition Centre in the presence of a large number of people.
The fair, organised by the Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority in association with Qatar Expo, has attracted more than 600 exhibitors from about 20 countries.
More than 15,000 square metres at the exhibition venue has been occupied by the exhibitors.
Bumper prizes and opportunities for bargains on an array of goods beckon visitors.
Products being sold at the venue include carpets, clothes, cosmetics, textiles, lighting accessories and brassware and handicrafts from many Asian, African, European and Middle East countries.
According to Qatar Expo, QR5mn worth of goods is expected to be sold at the fair in the next seven days.
“With 685 exhibitors this time, the fair is growing at an enormous pace every year. The event is expected to turn Doha into a top business destination of the whole of the Middle East,” an official of the organising company said. He also expressed confidence that there would be more participants at the fair next year.
Qatar Tourism and Exhibition Authority chairman Ahmed al-Nuaimi inaugurated the fair. Diplomats of a number of missions and senior Qatari community members attended the opening ceremony.
The fair timings are between 10am to 1pm and 4pm and 11pm. The event will conclude on January 24.
From the Fireworks Crew
As a reply to one of the comments on an earlier post about the Qatar National Day Fireworks Program, the crew that planned, organized and executed the fireworks display commented:
21 crew, 8 x 40 foot shipping containers of equipment, 2 weeks setup, 3 days of bloody rain, 17 pontoons over 3.2km, 1 island with 25 firing positions, kilometers of cable, countless hours of programming, 18 minutes of show, 4 days to pack it all back up and then fly home…great show, but exhausting! Very glad you enjoyed it!
Imagine! Imagine the work that goes into those 18 minutes. . . .
And I bet they are off soon to do New Year’s in some other fabulous location. Imagine, what a life that must be!
Anglican Christmas Services in Doha, Qatar
Children’s Service:
Crib and Christingle Thursday, 24 December 5 pm DESS
Family Services:
Christmas Day Service Friday, 25 December 10:30 am DESS
Christmas Evening Service Friday, 25 December 7:30 pm DESS
If you need additional information, you can email:
epiphany@qatar.net.qa
The church website is:
http://www.epiphany-qatar.org
Ritz Carlton Doha Christmas Tree Disappearing Act
I love the Ritz at Christmas time. They decorate so beautifully, and I especially love the huge, tall Christmas tree in the main lobby as you enter – it’s always a great spot for photos with friends and family, before brunch or after afternoon tea.
But when we went to the Ritz for brunch on Friday, Qatar National Day, the tree had disappeared! I guess it was too incongruous to have a huge, gorgeous Christmas tree inserted in all the special activities of Qatar National Day.
Here is what the tree looked like, LLLOOOOLLLLL!
Qatar National Day Fireworks Video
So my friends, this is the very first video I have ever uploaded to YouTube, three minutes of the twenty minute spectacular fireworks display on the Corniche last night for Qatar National Day:
Qatar National Day Fireworks Spectacular
The problem is, even with the most amazing situation in the world, my wonderful little hand held Lumix can’t begin to capture the awe-inspiring grandeur of the 20 minute Qatar National Day Fireworks spectacular.
Another amazing thing – the fireworks started ON TIME. Suddenly the entire length of the Corniche erupted in white waterfalls. The fireworks were kept relatively close to the ground, and compact, but spread along a couple miles – it was an amazing feat, and the timing was to the second.
Caught in traffic, we decided to try something different. Like the Robert Frost poem, we took a road less travelled by, and it made all the difference. We lucked into a fantastic vantage point.
I have to add a special thanks here to AdventureMan. He knows how much I love fireworks, and I knew he has to work tomorrow, and still, he took me to see the fireworks. We were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic until we took a chance, and by a miracle, found this fantastic, uncrowded vantage point. He love the fireworks as much as I did, but he did it for me, and my heart is full of gratitude. 🙂
Beautiful Day for a Parade
Friday morning, the sleep-in morning, but not today. It is a sweet, beautiful, morning and a perfect day for a parade:
I have my Qatar flags displayed in front of my house for Qatar National Day:
I used to fly Kuwait flags on Kuwait National Day, but the wind was so strong, they sometimes blew away!
There is a lot going on today – the parade, children’s activities, displays of all the military equipment, heritage sites – it’s a grand day to be in Qatar, especially – the fireworks tonight!
Qatar National Day Fireworks Finale
One year, for my birthday, we were having dinner at Le Mer, at the Ritz Carleton, when all of a sudden, the best fireworks display I have ever seen took place on the Corniche. Qatar spares no expense when it comes to fireworks, and this upcoming display sounds like it is not to be missed. 🙂
I am such a kid when it comes to fireworks. We’ll buy some felafel sandwiches and head for a good viewing spot, us and thousands like us, on Friday night. See you there. 🙂
From today’s Gulf Times
Fireworks: a fitting finale to festivities
By Sarmad Qazi
The Corniche will be turned into a grand open theatre with spectators looking heavenwards as spectacular fireworks, a fitting finale to Qatar’s National Day celebrations, will take on a journey through the desert for about 17 minutes.
“This is arguably one of the best fireworks site in the world. From the Museum (of Islamic Arts) to Sheraton, you’ve got a naturally-arched theatre to show a story to crowds of thousands,” said a spokesman for Howard & Sons Pyrotechnics, the company behind the grand finale that caps festivities across the country.
Speaking to Gulf Times from the base camp in the Palm Tree Island, Andrew Howard said the “extremely choreographed” show would begin with scenes of desert, gradually transforming the sky over the Corniche into a colourful canvas, and ending with maroon and white, the Qatari national colours.
“The pyrotechnics will go off from over 18 different points across the bay. People will be able to see the show from all directions,” Howard said aboard a motorboat as his crew started taking out the pontoons to the sea.
According to him, there will be shooting stars, where as they are called in the industry “UFOs”, spin, cascade down, and then shoot back up again, giant pearls; this is where the sky turns silver, and rainbow colours that trail each other from one end of the Corniche to another.
“The whole show will perfectly synchronise with a specially-produced music soundtrack for the National Day,” Howard said.
The Australian company also conducted fireworks for last year’s National Day show as well as the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in November. According to Howard, Friday’s show will be “by far the biggest in Qatar.”
Since the beginning of December, a crew of 24 has been fixing mortar tubes, handling thousands of shells, and sorting out other logistics at the firing site at Palm Island.
The mortar tube is where the firework shells are loaded inside a cylinder with a black powder lifting charge at the base; the largest shells are the size of a basketball while the smallest ones are about a tennis ball. Inside the shells are various pyrotechnic compositions to produce different colours.
“The shells came from Australia, China and Spain. A good 20% of the budget goes towards marine resources,” he said.
Most Complete Information on Qatar National Day 2009
Khalifa, a commenter on a recent post, has his own website, iloveqatar.net where he blogs as Mr. Q.
He has also created the hands-down all-time BEST website for the upcoming week celebrating National Day, photos, explanations and all at NationalDay2009. You will find anything and everything you want to attend there – and more!
Great work, Khalifa!
Qatar National Day (Week) Schedules!
Found this in today’s Peninsula. Could not find a copy online, nor on the official website, so pardon the poor quality of the photograph of the schedule directly from today’s Peninsula:
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