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Expat wanderer

Souk al Waqif: Men’s Souks

AdventureMan and I have a tradition, and that is we like to go shopping together before Christmas, helps him help Santa Clause with things to put in my Christmas stocking, and gives us precious time together in a relaxed setting.

So of course, we headed to our favorite place, the Souk al Waqif, where I discovered that the place I love the most to buy scarves – he always has things no one else has – was totally out of scarves! Well, he had six hanging up, but they were not special. I said “Where are the scarves??” and he laughed and said “Sold out!” and I said “Well that is good for you but not so good for me!” and we both laughed. He said he will be getting more early in January, but that is no help to Santa!

Then we wandered over into the older area of the souks, closest to Grand Hamad street. There is a new shop with beautiful misbah (worry beads) and unusual treasures. We wandered further, and came upon the falcon souk.

OK, I get it, the rest of you knew all about it, but I think because I usually go early in the morning, maybe this area isn’t open when I go – I have seen the seats outside, the majlis area, but I never saw the falcons before, not in the new souks. What fun! But aside from tourist women, there are no women in this area – the falcon souk, the camping souk, the hunting souk – these are very masculine domains, Guy Souks.

And they are equally lovely:

In this hallway, everything is giant. Hanging up above is a giant falcon glove, a giant falcon hood, and at the end of the hall, where the men with falcons are entering, are two gigantic falcon stands.

Look at this beautiful space! I think there are some offices around this space, as well as shops:

The camping and hunting souks have all kinds of tentings, bedrolls, washing up fixtures, etc, not so good for camping in the Pacific Northwest, but great for desert camping and hunting:

When the hardware souks and shoe repair souks were cleared out of the main street, I wondered where they had gone, and last night we found them. To my joy, I also found the scribes! I had been told they dispersed, went to various police stations to do their translations, fingerprints, etc. but last night I found them here! Right next to the police station! How have I missed them, all these evenings in the souks? I didn’t see them!

When first in Doha, where there is not one single modern hardware store, and before I had discovered my neighborhood hardware area, (remember, my secret vice is that I love hardware? and hardware stores?) I would go to the Souk al Waqif and start at one store saying “I need 3/4 inch masonry nails” and I would show them one. The man would leave his shop and take me to whichever of his buddies carried those nails. Or chains. Or bungee cords – they always had what I needed, or something close I could use. I’m glad to see the hardware shops are still there, along with the fishing and boating supply stores, and those huge pot and griddle stores.

Did you know Souk al Waqif had it’s own fire truck? Neither did we!

December 24, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Christmas, Community, Cultural, Doha, Entertainment, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Local Lore, Shopping | 11 Comments

Christmas in the Doha LuLu

I think many of the shops were waiting to put out Christmas until after the revelry of National Day (Week). Suddenly, this week, things are showing up. There were a few things before, but now, it is the week for CHRISTMAS!

I was early to the LuLu to pick up a few things and ended up with a lot of things, including some wonderful fresh shrimp. The lines at the seafood vendor formed early, and I was glad I got there when I did – I wanted shrimp, bought a kilo, and while I was waiting for it to be cleaned, a couple bought almost all the rest of the shrimp, and also some crab, and I don’t know what else. I wondered if they owned a restaurant.

As I waited, I was able to watch how different people did business. The men setting out the fish do a beautiful job, and they do it with people yelling at them “Three kilos Shari!” “10 Kilos shrimp!” and they ignore everyone and go on with the setting up. They seem to be keeping track of who is waiting, and go for the person who has been there the longest, not the person who has been shouting most imperiously. I can see some people get really upset when their orders are not taken immediately, even though they have been yelling the loudest.

I can’t help but wonder what it is like to work in that environment every day? People all yelling at you and wanting to be first?

After I had taken these photos, a woman approached me and told me the manager had said no photos in the LuLu. Glad he waited until I had three to show you. 🙂

December 24, 2009 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Christmas, Doha, Living Conditions, Qatar, Shopping | 5 Comments

Shaking Things Up

Away In a Manger,Animated

First, you have to understand how quietly AdventureMan and I live. He works long hard hours. He gets home, we eat dinner. Most nights we watch some TV together, usually some season of a program we enjoy.

But after dinner last night, we decided to take a walk, instead. While our family in the states is braving out a variety of winter storms, the weather here has become – WONDERFUL! There is a hint of freshness in the morning and evening, and while days are warm, they are comfortable. We walked our compound, enjoying ourselves thoroughly, looking at all the Christmas decorations, and Eid decorations still up. It was a great walk.

Once we came home, we settled in – or so we thought. We were about 15 minutes into the newest season of Lost when our doorbell rang, and a group arrived to give us a very special caroling session. It was so much fun – and thank goodness, I had some cookies on hand to share with the people who came caroling! It was a delightful and moving evening.

We settled down once again, and once again the doorbell rang, neighbors coming to tell us some very good news, a miracle, really, something we had all prayed for, and that they were going home briefly, and would see us in a week or so. We had a wonderful visit with them, were able to send them off with joy.

We looked at each other and grinned. All this was so totally out of the ordinary for our usual week-day nights, but wonderfully out of the ordinary. We like it when things get shaken up a little bit. 🙂

December 23, 2009 Posted by | Christmas, Community, Doha, ExPat Life, Friends & Friendship, Living Conditions, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

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

December 21, 2009 Posted by | Christmas, Cultural, Events, ExPat Life, Living Conditions, Spiritual | Leave a comment

Me and the FBI

Got this e-mail today from the FBI (yeh, right.)

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.
Federal Bureau Of Investigation.
J.Edgar.Hoover Building Washington Dc
http://www.fbi.gov/libref/directors/directmain.htm

Attn: Beneficiary,

This is to Officially inform you that it has come to our notice and we have
thoroughly Investigated with the help of our Intelligence Monitoring Network
System that you are having an illegal Transaction with Impostors claiming to be
Prof. Charles C. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Mr
Frank Nweke, Dr. Philip Mogan, none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks,
Barr. Derrick Smith, kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule,Larry
Christopher, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen, Dr. Philip Mogan, Paul Adim, Puppy Scammers are impostors claiming to be the Federal Bureau Of Investigation. During our Investigation, we noticed that the reason why you have not received your payment is because you have not fulfilled your Financial Obligation given to you in
respect of your Contract/Inheritance Payment.

Therefore, we have contacted the Federal Ministry Of Finance on your behalf and
they have brought a solution to your problem by coordinating your payment in
total USD$11,000.000.00 in an ATM CARD which you can use to withdraw money from any ATM MACHINE CENTER anywhere in the world with a maximum of $4000 to $5000 United States Dollars daily. You now have the lawful right to claim your fund in an ATM CARD.

Since the Federal Bureau of Investigation is involved in this transaction, you
have to be rest assured for this is 100% risk free it is our duty to protect the
American Citizens. All I want you to do is to contact the ATM CARD CENTER via
email for their requirements to proceed and procure your Approval Slip on your
behalf which will cost you $110.00 only and note that your Approval Slip which
contains details of the agent who will process your transaction.
CONTACT INFORMATION
NAME: Mr. Kelvin Williams
EMAIL: williamskelvin22@yahoo.cn
Telephone: +2348191213677

Do contact Mr Mr. Kelvin Williams of the ATM PAYMENT CENTER with your details:

FULL NAME:
HOME ADDRESS:
TELL:
CELL:
CURRENT OCCUPATION:
BANK NAME:
AGE:

So your files would be updated after which he will send the payment
information’s which you’ll use in making payment of $110.00 via Western Union
Money Transfer or Money Gram Transfer for the procurement of your Approval Slip
after which the delivery of your ATM CARD will be effected to your designated
home address without any further delay.We order you get back to this office
after you have contacted the ATM SWIFT CARD CENTER and we do await your response so we can move on with our Investigation and make sure your ATM SWIFT CARD gets to you.

Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

ROBERT S. MUELLER, III
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535
http://www.fbi.gov/libref/directors/directmain.htm

Note: Do disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to
be in possession of your ATM CARD, you are hereby advice only to be in contact
with Mr. Kelvin Williams of the ATM CARD CENTER who is the rightful person to
deal with in regards to your ATM CARD PAYMENT and forward any emails you get
from impostors to this office so we could act upon and commence investigation.

LLLOOOOOLLLLLL!

Bad grammar, bad word choices, gives you away every time, scammers!

December 21, 2009 Posted by | Counter-terrorism, Crime, Financial Issues, Law and Order | , , | 10 Comments

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!

December 20, 2009 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Cultural, Doha, Entertainment, Events, ExPat Life, Humor, Living Conditions, Qatar | 11 Comments

Fewer Women Marrying in Qatar

This is not a phenomenon unique to Qatar. I remember reading almost the same exact story about black women in America, where black women get educated and black men go to jail. For the guys, being smart in school is a source of ridicule, rather than admiration.

There are similar stories coming out of many countries in the world.

So how do we encourage young men to strive for higher education?

There was a related story in the Peninsula Men, Not Religion, Block Saudi Women on Friday.

Fewer women getting married: Expert
Web posted at: 12/19/2009 2:32:58
Source ::: THE PENINSULA/ By ABDULLAH ABDUL RAHMAN


DOHA: Latest studies suggest that some 30 percent of young Qatari women remain unmarried and divorce in the local community is on an alarming rise, says a prominent Qatari psychologist.

The number of unmarried women is increasing basically due to the fact that more and more females want to pursue higher education and achieve financial independence, said Dr Mozah Al Malki (pictured).

There is a huge gap between Qatari men and women in terms of education. While most women pursue university education, men generally prefer to look for government jobs right after early or secondary education.

And the fact that women are increasingly becoming financially independent due to being highly educated also explains why the incidence of divorce in the community is high.

The other major factor that might be pushing the rate of divorce up is that earlier it was not easy for women in this region to seek divorce from their husbands although the law has always been there in keeping with the basic tenets of Islam which permits a woman to seek ‘khola’ (divorce) on genuine grounds.

“But now the law makes it easier for women to seek divorce,” Al Malki said in remarks to this newspaper yesterday.

Statistics suggest that the rate of divorce in the Qatari community is somewhere around 40 percent — a very high rate indeed, lamented the psychologist who made history when she filed nomination for Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections in March 1999.

Although she lost the poll, she became the first Qatari woman to enter politics which was until then an unchallenged domain of men in this part of the world.

Women remain busy pursuing education and then they land jobs. It, therefore, becomes difficult to get the right match, so most women remain unmarried, she said.

Obviously, a woman who has a PhD would not like to marry an undergraduate or even a simple graduate. This explains why as many as 30 percent young women are unmarried and their number could even go up.

Asked whether marrying educated Muslim expatriates could be an effective solution to this problem, she said: “But such marriages require permission from the interior ministry and it takes time.”

About the increasing rate of divorce, she said many factors were at play. Men picking more than one wife and not treating their wives equally could be one of the factors.

“Men tend to marry more than once simply for pleasure,” she said. Polygamous men do not take marriage and family seriously.

A kind of monotony sets in marriages that are 10 to 15 years old. Couples should think of innovative ways to break this monotony and make a fresh start in life.

“They should, for example, visit the same hotel they were in for honeymoon,” she said. “Such things prove effective in saving troubled marriages, and I have written extensively about it,” Al Malki said.

December 20, 2009 Posted by | Africa, Cultural, Doha, Education, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Living Conditions, Marriage, Mating Behavior, Middle East, Qatar, Relationships, Saudi Arabia, Social Issues, Values, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | 10 Comments

Anti-Aging Brain Mix from RealAge.com

From the website Real Age.com to which I am totally addicted comes an Anti Aging Mix Recipe that actually sounds pretty good. If it doesn’t taste good, we won’t eat it, right?

Dr. Mao’s Anti-aging Brain Mix

Mix up a batch of the ingredients below and store it in an airtight container. That way, you’ll always have fresh brain food close at hand.
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup dried goji berries
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Food, Health Issues | 2 Comments

Defense: It’s The Cops Fault; He Was Chasing Me!

Court asks motorcycle rider to pay blood money
Web posted at: 12/19/2009 2:30:29
Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: A young man who rode a motorcycle and killed a pedestrian in a bizarre crash has been asked by the court to pay QR200,000 as blood money to the family of the deceased.

The court fined the convict QR10,000 for violating traffic law. But how the man was caught by the law-enforcement agencies is quite interesting.

It so happened that the Police Patrol saw two men riding motorbikes with tremendous speed. They gave the duo a chase but in vain. They vanished in think air. But soon the police was informed that a pedestrian was hit by a speeding motorbike.

When a police party reached the spot of the crash it saw a motorbike lying near the body of the victim.

The cops were quick to realize that this was one of the two motorbikes they had given a chase sometime ago.

With help from its registration plate they zeroed in on the culprit and referred the matter to the court after investigation.

The defense lawyer argued in the court that the crash occurred because they motorbike was chased by the cops. The court, however, did not buy the argument and convicted the man.

QR 200,000 sounds like a fortune, but it is $55,000 for taking a man’s life. For a young man who was running from the cops and then tries to claim their chasing him as a defense! This case sounds like a perfect opportunity to give a community service penalty in addition to the blood money; expose this young man to the consequences of motorcycle accidents, and accident victims, allow him to see with his own eyes, and serve, the victims. It could change his life, and change his callous attitude.

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Community, Crime, Cultural, Doha, Education, Financial Issues, Interconnected, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Qatar, Rants, Safety | 2 Comments

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:

December 19, 2009 Posted by | Adventure, Arts & Handicrafts, Beauty, Community, Cultural, Doha, Events, ExPat Life, Living Conditions | , | 8 Comments

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