tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50248503815997804962024-03-09T18:45:57.011-08:00Dear Doha DiaryMy life and adventures in Qatar, my love of Yemen and more...PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-68656398593692564462018-11-05T11:40:00.001-08:002018-11-26T00:29:59.537-08:00Trump escalates the US's own war on Yemen<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US">It was a quiet, star filled January night in 2017 and </span>8 year old Nawar Al Awlaki was asleep with her mother in her Uncle's house in Yakla, a rural village in the mountains of Al Bayda, a region of South Yemen. Suddenly she was woken by the sound of gunfire and she instinctively went to hide.<br />
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Her neighbours were under attack and were being killed as they fled their homes, including the Ameri family with three children - <span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Aisha, 4, Hussein, 5 and </span><span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Khadija, 7. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Nawar's home then came under attack and she was shot in the neck by a bullet that came through the window. Despite her own assurances to her mother not to worry, she died two hours later from a loss of blood. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">25 civilians died that night, including 9 children under the age of 13, one of them a 3 month old boy and a pregnant woman who was shot in the stomach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">The photo below shows some of the children who survived that terrible night, haunted by the loss of their family members and the horrific scenes they witnessed.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVn2-j3dFpz7Q5zek0QI7UJm2AD40oJP_qmKXbSYPTjAjurUZHJCpUi4l3hVsM1cyxESLwyFSTSZElNyw7KCQL3mm0Sl0adEOoJBB3Y-0bevZXb8px-q7mLe1eHth0yERgIGzUtpWcgqJ/s1600/E-Nasser-children-of-the-extended-al-Ameri-family-inside-the-home-of-Ali-Mabkhout-al-Ameri-which-was-targetted-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVn2-j3dFpz7Q5zek0QI7UJm2AD40oJP_qmKXbSYPTjAjurUZHJCpUi4l3hVsM1cyxESLwyFSTSZElNyw7KCQL3mm0Sl0adEOoJBB3Y-0bevZXb8px-q7mLe1eHth0yERgIGzUtpWcgqJ/s640/E-Nasser-children-of-the-extended-al-Ameri-family-inside-the-home-of-Ali-Mabkhout-al-Ameri-which-was-targetted-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As the chaos and devastation in the small Yemeni village unfolded, a new US President was settling in to his new home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Trump had been President for just 8 days and the war in Yemen was almost completing 2 years. Already there were reports of human rights violations on the part of the Saudi coalition, using weapons supplied by the US and the UK.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">To date, with the war in Yemen now well into its fourth year, the <a href="https://www.cfr.org/interactives/global-conflict-tracker?cid=ppc-Google-grant-conflict_tracker-031116&gclid=CjwKEAiAj7TCBRCp2Z22ue-zrj4SJACG7SBEH9uE_raTezcIufDr28x3vGe1FFlO2Y7kt4ui1PzWKxoCO5Tw_wcB#!/conflict/war-in-yemen" target="_blank">Council on Foreign Relations</a> estimates
the civilian death toll as 16,200 but this is likely to be a conservative
estimate, and accurate figures are very difficult to gather, given the
restricted access to the country. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">The </span>US is now appearing to act as peacemaker with the Defence Secretary, Mattis, trying to squeeze a ceasefire out of the warring parties within the next 30 days.<br />
<br />
However, while the US encourages a
cessation of hostilities, the Trump administration keeps hidden its own direct operations and human rights violations in the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The attack on Yakla, that killed Nawar and 24 of her friends and neighbours was, in fact, launched by Donald Trump himself. </span><br />
<br />
An <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-trump-team-s-first-military-raid-went-wrong-n806246" target="_blank">NBC investigation</a> found that this particular Special Ops ground raid was discussed and approved “during dinner” with Trump’s National Security team, including the former National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn.<br />
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It is not so widely reported that, in
addition to supporting Saudi Arabia in its campaign, the USA is itself directly
bombing Yemen and has been doing so since 2002, when then President Bush embarked
on the so called ‘counterterrorism’ program in response to 9/11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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The program expanded under Obama and has literally exploded under Trump, with the inevitable associated casualties which the administration are now refusing to release.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Just two months after 9/11 in November
2001, George W Bush entered into an agreement with the now deceased Yemeni
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in which the shrewd Saleh gave permission for Bush
to set up a CIA ‘counterterrorism’ training camp in his country in return for a
$400 million aid package.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-US">In addition,
the US Government turned a blind eye to some of Saleh’s more brutal control
measures at home, while he allowed the US to start a ‘targeted’ drone bombing effort to
take out key AQAP (Al Qaeada in the Arabian Penninsula) personnel in Yemen.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The US uses a combination of unmanned
Predator drone attacks, launched from a base in Djibouti, as well as
traditional air strikes and ‘Special Ops’ ground missions, such as the one in Yakla, to assassinate
‘terrorist targets’ in the rural mountain villages across Yemen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">These operations targeting ‘known militants
and terrorists’ are often described rather glibly as "surgical strikes", but
they have been found to be nothing of the sort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">One of the worst cases of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘collateral damage’ during Obama’s Presidency
was in December 2013 when a wedding party was mistakenly targeted, killing
12.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">After the US Government initially denied any civilian
casualties, an <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/wedding-became-funeral-us-still-silent-one-year-deadly-yemen-drone-strike-291403" target="_blank">investigation by Reprieve</a>, a British human rights organisation,
found that “more than $1 million was paid to the families of those killed and
injured.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">In fact, the rate of civilian casualties
not only in Yemen but also in Pakistan, Somalia and Afghanistan, became so
concerning for Obama that in 2016 towards the end of his Presidency, he signed
an executive order to provide more transparency on civilian casualties, including reports of all missions, numbers killed and planned condolences and reparations to the families of deceased and injured civilians.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">This increased transparency can be seen on the <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/drone-war" target="_blank">Bureau of Investigative Journalism</a> website, which lists all known attacks with details. Details which, since Trump's inauguration, are no longer available.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Unfortunately, when Trump came into power, his
administration decided to ignore the executive order and as a result, any
attempt at transparency of the number of casualties was lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This coincided with a dramatic rise in the
number of operations immediately after Trump became President. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-US">To date, since his inauguration, Trump has
launched 163 known drone strikes in Yemen, now surpassing the number conducted
during Obama’s entire 8 year tenure as President. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">One of the first things Trump did on
becoming US President was to designate Yemen as an area of ‘active
hostilities’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This allowed him to launch
attacks unchecked by the rigorous ‘sign-off’ process that Obama had put in
place previously to ensure some accountability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-02-09/nine-young-children-killed-the-full-details-of-botched-us-raid-in-yemen" target="_blank">The Navy Seal raid on Yakla</a> involved 50 special forces soldiers going house to house, shooting
anyone who left their homes and burning down houses with women and children
inside. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the
villagers had lost his son during the 2013 wedding party drone strike but had
survived himself only to be killed 3 years later during this botched raid.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The White House subsequently announced the
raid as “successful by all standards” and even when the father of one Navy Seal
who died in the raid, came out and demanded answers, Trump refused to take
responsibility for his decision in giving it the green light.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBHVdqOq2U0yRphmzj4kfoSaNXQuJon2lCMWpKF2K0DG3in_hdf_41imB2G1YCG9nkIZRCoHHmzZqEtYHMvRSi6s9ehTk62tDZpxxU0SxCtAGF5otOAxmHMrlM_oakqrcJ8-ReLcBDqh1/s1600/Navy_seal_killed_Yemen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBHVdqOq2U0yRphmzj4kfoSaNXQuJon2lCMWpKF2K0DG3in_hdf_41imB2G1YCG9nkIZRCoHHmzZqEtYHMvRSi6s9ehTk62tDZpxxU0SxCtAGF5otOAxmHMrlM_oakqrcJ8-ReLcBDqh1/s640/Navy_seal_killed_Yemen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It might be safe to assume that this catastrophic loss of civilian life so early in
Trump’s tenure would see him scale back and take a slightly more cautious
approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly thereafter, the US administration got
somewhat ‘trigger happy’ and launched almost 100 drone strikes in just a couple
of months in the Spring of 2017.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKeFyCzSNliaDg0A2h89Gy7lzRvtDPRbWthc3TnowWbLZ0bko6L7ZI_jXc7G1XSgpRGOWfHg0dv3HzJaFemU9cNqjQSX-nZA4rVK-GnSNi_-gGeqMsV-YGBCaUY2-xH3t4sLfX2zBIaYa/s1600/Trump_dronestrikes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmKeFyCzSNliaDg0A2h89Gy7lzRvtDPRbWthc3TnowWbLZ0bko6L7ZI_jXc7G1XSgpRGOWfHg0dv3HzJaFemU9cNqjQSX-nZA4rVK-GnSNi_-gGeqMsV-YGBCaUY2-xH3t4sLfX2zBIaYa/s640/Trump_dronestrikes.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">However, while we have an idea of the
number of strikes, there is almost no information about the number of
casualties, particularly civilian, since Trump decided not to release the report as required by the executive order.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The charts below, published by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, are revealing and show the extent of the White House cover up. The first shows the number of strikes, in blue. The second shows the number of 'reported' civilian casualties in red.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqy1pCQz-wvB-aQG7jZTl6Kg6aFOvoBfGLYrimRg_XK6C2M-ngKxiFZXr6KA2qpOWtUI_kGgZheYyGd3DLODzfN-BAh3ysFvhPGDGso574VFYVIu18wTThXi8gGsCp1gGR7LGwkCPoYUVp/s1600/Yemen_drone_strike_chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1003" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqy1pCQz-wvB-aQG7jZTl6Kg6aFOvoBfGLYrimRg_XK6C2M-ngKxiFZXr6KA2qpOWtUI_kGgZheYyGd3DLODzfN-BAh3ysFvhPGDGso574VFYVIu18wTThXi8gGsCp1gGR7LGwkCPoYUVp/s640/Yemen_drone_strike_chart.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The spokesperson for the National
Security Council told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, that there had been “NO increase in the number of
civilian casualties compared to the previous year”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a somewhat disingenuous statement,
given that the administration has published no report into how many civilians
were killed in 2016 or 2017 and the chart below bears that out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYnqaLRHf39TuGgLWGnO9c0WTU_3ExhdXnEaaQ15CQMVxBW_zwafS8HvuCTIea_vBuXjZRX-s9j8BgSxlY0qZjFZfBV9n0ho4GtmcAOOtN-yIH1jYzATFRK1KObw_HEjnPwTYkiMfK4Ac/s1600/Yemen_civiliandeaths_chart.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="1020" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYnqaLRHf39TuGgLWGnO9c0WTU_3ExhdXnEaaQ15CQMVxBW_zwafS8HvuCTIea_vBuXjZRX-s9j8BgSxlY0qZjFZfBV9n0ho4GtmcAOOtN-yIH1jYzATFRK1KObw_HEjnPwTYkiMfK4Ac/s640/Yemen_civiliandeaths_chart.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">To believe that there has been no increase in civilian casualties when the number of strikes has more than tripled, is to believe that Trump's inauguration crowd was the biggest in history..... yet another Trump lie.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The report
for 2016 should have been published by 1st May 2017 but the deadline
quietly came and went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And with all eyes
now on Saudi Arabia’s transgressions both in Yemen and recently in the gruesome
killing of a journalist in Turkey, these US operations are sliding nicely under
the radar, for the time being. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf93HIoNfSJgYfGx99lYyy6QoKUbtrNJoVylingpngiaQBvgtBTOxrx18SbnzQf1663XPwPhMCl66MYOqUa6Tcl4Yu1UnNZCU8nQgKOnZ0K6aOloX_iaN_WinNw0hgCGCukBVrDv79ZSSI/s1600/pompeo-mbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf93HIoNfSJgYfGx99lYyy6QoKUbtrNJoVylingpngiaQBvgtBTOxrx18SbnzQf1663XPwPhMCl66MYOqUa6Tcl4Yu1UnNZCU8nQgKOnZ0K6aOloX_iaN_WinNw0hgCGCukBVrDv79ZSSI/s640/pompeo-mbs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Secretary Mattis has directed Department of Defence representatives not to give out information on strikes, and a spokesman told the BIJ <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">“Secretary Mattis has made it clear we are not providing numbers or tactics that gives our adversaries any advantage”. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "tiempos text" , serif; font-size: 16px;">But this secrecy is troubling civil liberties groups and it should concern us all. The US Government under Trump is eroding any semblance of accountability for murdering innocent civilians in foreign lands...... sound familiar?</span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-44947889036897801882018-10-10T05:18:00.000-07:002018-10-20T09:31:57.115-07:00Narcissists and psychopaths rule the world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcwoKBSa5cA4B3_igBhLTYoW3Hj_TFXEMfyQe6OHtno_GdvSRX-ZQ7fwUuI71ttV-4v3aKRsmvqcQQ9kyAEHF1pw58ZOCvxK9DqE4y79l4-G-P2GD4xPZHRGJAKBTKtp4H85SYXmcJRZC/s1600/bin-salman-psychopath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglcwoKBSa5cA4B3_igBhLTYoW3Hj_TFXEMfyQe6OHtno_GdvSRX-ZQ7fwUuI71ttV-4v3aKRsmvqcQQ9kyAEHF1pw58ZOCvxK9DqE4y79l4-G-P2GD4xPZHRGJAKBTKtp4H85SYXmcJRZC/s400/bin-salman-psychopath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I will make the assumption that most of you
reading this are also regular social media users and that somewhere among the
videos of tennis-playing dogs and cute little kittens, you’ll be familiar with the
often posted stories of human rights issues and abuses around the world,
whether in Myanmar, Syria, Yemen or elsewhere.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MVgfuKUYSSvA3pzThK_Ky37qImKHlLU6xdgfCC0yZMnVJODCabqPBGHBo6qNe5CYxtgnVmaB8HPrk-Wgs0Re15l1vhf88RNtU1nFi7NeJasQ0rrwb4v9zam6cbts7CBuYXNTyTjV9Wol/s1600/fullsizeoutput_7be8.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="628" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4MVgfuKUYSSvA3pzThK_Ky37qImKHlLU6xdgfCC0yZMnVJODCabqPBGHBo6qNe5CYxtgnVmaB8HPrk-Wgs0Re15l1vhf88RNtU1nFi7NeJasQ0rrwb4v9zam6cbts7CBuYXNTyTjV9Wol/s320/fullsizeoutput_7be8.jpeg" width="297" /></a></div>
I am more guilty than most for constantly
posting on social media about such humanitarian issues, including the
oppression of the Palestinian people, the killing and imprisoning of
journalists and activists, the attack on freedom of the press in the USA and
particularly the horrific and heartbreaking war in Yemen. I do it, in the full knowledge that it will do little for the people who suffer the abuse. </div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I simply post about these issues because I
care and I want to keep these stories front and centre in my mind and in the minds of others who care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I care, not only because I
hold values such as honesty, decency, fairness, respect and compassion at the
core of my being, but also because I’m empathic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Empathy is a trait which is described by
Psychology Today as “the experience of understanding another person’s thoughts,
feelings and condition from their point of view, rather than from your own” <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/empathy"><span style="font-size: x-small;">https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/empathy</span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSywAsSlmZ5FETP9ZZHmTYa61M6fIqcRwtlsTWMlqsn6zES5JsW7L5lS8QvfBiD_G0jiQQ9fwrwcV3oY32R6YfHq8QQDWLUobIV0oW-EjOOc0qc8iUb9KE3npE04eSjwhzPog2UXwvrlE5/s1600/Empathy.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1000" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSywAsSlmZ5FETP9ZZHmTYa61M6fIqcRwtlsTWMlqsn6zES5JsW7L5lS8QvfBiD_G0jiQQ9fwrwcV3oY32R6YfHq8QQDWLUobIV0oW-EjOOc0qc8iUb9KE3npE04eSjwhzPog2UXwvrlE5/s400/Empathy.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">One might expect that this is a normal
‘human’ trait that we all share, and this is why myself and many others
continue to call for governments and their leaders to intervene in situations
that from our empathic standpoint appear obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, when a bus load of little Yemeni
boys is destroyed by a US made bomb from a Saudi jet, it seems obvious to us
with an empathic nature that this is unacceptable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That something must be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so we call for change and we believe that
because we are all human, that change will come and no more little Yemeni
children will be killed for no good reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To some that may appear a naïve expectation, I rather think of it as a
human one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBUN0LRDhnbJ0M8meTm-vhypHOCbrQu-5CI50wxkFdakN0LrE1uX81yocJ6MYSsHagP5iOjJ3YFF6j86UWO2YhaMfKKlobJszZM9hO7NSxFgvt3Z3GtMZUELmqByNHewugtUEXPn_EAj-/s1600/Yemen_School_bus_boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjBUN0LRDhnbJ0M8meTm-vhypHOCbrQu-5CI50wxkFdakN0LrE1uX81yocJ6MYSsHagP5iOjJ3YFF6j86UWO2YhaMfKKlobJszZM9hO7NSxFgvt3Z3GtMZUELmqByNHewugtUEXPn_EAj-/s400/Yemen_School_bus_boy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But the change doesn’t come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And more children are killed and continue to
be killed and starved to death to this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And far from putting pressure on the Saudis to change their targeting,
the US government reinforced their support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyM6Fwq3oVaFpkAcXW0-SS_vhGW_0_NH0mQqRshCQneAjIFyA40VMk0HGZRdRBXSlNZYjaEStboBqlASlQSRPL5LXr7nLk6AJ6KThNtY0ajIAz4YnLr8QJwHOP_kxZqExzU8vShTH-22HD/s1600/MBS_TRUMP.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyM6Fwq3oVaFpkAcXW0-SS_vhGW_0_NH0mQqRshCQneAjIFyA40VMk0HGZRdRBXSlNZYjaEStboBqlASlQSRPL5LXr7nLk6AJ6KThNtY0ajIAz4YnLr8QJwHOP_kxZqExzU8vShTH-22HD/s400/MBS_TRUMP.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So whats going on?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know that a big part of the story is about money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
USA and UK in particular are making billions in arms sales from the Saudi led
coalition and thus profiting from the deaths of innocent civilians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But is there something else about the leaders
themselves that inoculates them from any feelings of guilt for the hurt they
inflict on innocent lives?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlObhE-ldgqsXF70rtuxR0O9ytR5aND1kZ0G8du-W5UufguAnKWqfUu9FVtpS7laUofQ-tLsHO9rdE6WFB2abuZvxkFQp_ucrkWlIQL-DO2wqXzsWpXrz9wMEBZ6CtAPxsZU_hw8z6KkmS/s1600/May_MBS-cartoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="1200" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlObhE-ldgqsXF70rtuxR0O9ytR5aND1kZ0G8du-W5UufguAnKWqfUu9FVtpS7laUofQ-tLsHO9rdE6WFB2abuZvxkFQp_ucrkWlIQL-DO2wqXzsWpXrz9wMEBZ6CtAPxsZU_hw8z6KkmS/s400/May_MBS-cartoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">It seems that many of today’s world leaders
– and I’m sure yesterdays were no different – share certain traits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
many of those traits would be expected, such as a sense of self importance, a
pre-occupation with success and power, and a high degree of arrogance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These may even be necessary to make it to the
top echelons of power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But none of these attributes explain what
appears to be a complete vacuum of humanity at senior levels of major
governments around the world today. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The recent disappearance and almost
certainly murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is just another example
that appears to prove that there is something seriously lacking at the heart of
those in the most powerful of positions.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgn64eJ3htuquqEwd_sblrvdeTKsU6HE8EY02R0i7UrkwLT9FoTvOwg4u_aQh9bTQ3Qhfj-PHDM2u3I77DkSfuSW2shGjiN3NWDJKHb4VI8Wqpq9t8mPEZahdDUBq9I7ZcCjyvyN0C-_W/s1600/jamal+khashoggi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgn64eJ3htuquqEwd_sblrvdeTKsU6HE8EY02R0i7UrkwLT9FoTvOwg4u_aQh9bTQ3Qhfj-PHDM2u3I77DkSfuSW2shGjiN3NWDJKHb4VI8Wqpq9t8mPEZahdDUBq9I7ZcCjyvyN0C-_W/s400/jamal+khashoggi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Current leaders such as Putin, Sisi, Bin
Salman, Netanyahu, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un and, of course Trump, all spring to
mind as those who say and do things which leave us open mouthed in disbelief at
the sheer audacity and inhumanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSaj_4ta7jYKmLhfpsdn6zS3XVnba_BTo_RFcjh24bJcyc0E04etQretc-4Vh0lNh1rMr4_7jXJ1ub9jf4rwX4mWazcIrPubYyFmg1QDtskSzSBRt3jUdPnq_cmpRvAeDDOXdcYsCNmdA/s1600/worldleaders1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSaj_4ta7jYKmLhfpsdn6zS3XVnba_BTo_RFcjh24bJcyc0E04etQretc-4Vh0lNh1rMr4_7jXJ1ub9jf4rwX4mWazcIrPubYyFmg1QDtskSzSBRt3jUdPnq_cmpRvAeDDOXdcYsCNmdA/s400/worldleaders1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So is it simply a case of ‘power corrupts’
or is there something darker in the human condition of these leaders?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you look at certain personality types,
common traits emerge which may explain why human rights abuses continue to be
perpetrated in all corners of the globe, seemingly unchallenged other than at a
superficial level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8QS-KFCoHbbWqYFh0bYdbD4WYGMMFttWM3U9SMouEJ-5Wu9ozPrc7rRff99a1ipp3UB7fKe-2NuOLdUAz_QduXgUoJUpS2umlY7_zQF4ZYNHA_Xz1b_w7XAGSSLSFH6NXfvxGSsiyNsO/s1600/trump_narcissism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="640" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8QS-KFCoHbbWqYFh0bYdbD4WYGMMFttWM3U9SMouEJ-5Wu9ozPrc7rRff99a1ipp3UB7fKe-2NuOLdUAz_QduXgUoJUpS2umlY7_zQF4ZYNHA_Xz1b_w7XAGSSLSFH6NXfvxGSsiyNsO/s400/trump_narcissism.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Many have already made the link between
Donald Trump and narcissism which according to Psychology Today includes the
traits of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a sense of entitlement, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">grandiosity, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">unable to accept criticism, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">haughty arrogance, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">diminishes and devalues others,
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">pathological envy, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">exploitative, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">demands to be considered
special and admired by all<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a lack of empathy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">This may explain much of Trump’s strange
gas-lighting behaviour, the chaos in the White House and what many are calling
the erosion of democratic institutions in the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Psychopaths, on the other hand, are the
next level up in the spectrum of personality disorders and although, at face
value and to the outside world, may appear quite normal, charming in fact, they
have a dark and dangerous side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG89idcfHfgqa_9eQD0112rGjvTmE8bQGm-C8NRS2vBaVYuB27mqDZ1MD5AGDxtndII9tiuCzPN8uLanwBbyG6DDSVtsx0iZ277bMUki9NqxLoGjmAGhf8KJQBJMbLzKAqHq5yKcdwAWzp/s1600/bin-salman-psychopath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="780" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG89idcfHfgqa_9eQD0112rGjvTmE8bQGm-C8NRS2vBaVYuB27mqDZ1MD5AGDxtndII9tiuCzPN8uLanwBbyG6DDSVtsx0iZ277bMUki9NqxLoGjmAGhf8KJQBJMbLzKAqHq5yKcdwAWzp/s400/bin-salman-psychopath.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US">Psychology Today lists some of those darker traits as including.. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a prioritization of their own
rights above any consideration for the human rights of others, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a complete disregard for rules
and norms, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a complete lack of emotion, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a feeling that the victim
deserves what they get,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">seek to destroy those they
cannot control,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a lack of conscience, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">a lack of empathy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The likes of Putin, Kim Jong Un, Sisi, Netanyahu,
Assad and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman all appear to exhibit some if not all of these traits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When these leaders take such blatant and
abhorrent steps as blowing up a bus of little kids, flattening entire
neighbourhoods, starving their own citizens to death, killing members of their own families, assassinating citizens in
other countries, murdering opposition politicians and critics, imprisoning and
murdering journalists, they do so without a flinch because their brains are
wired differently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3nxnHaO8tJtTfqOWxQNSMuMWBWbutbo_PK0N499rzwzDX7jbPm2aKhgCCB7N35W9gJe9l_R0frah_zNt0z_rux-Dq6SEUfXJhg6A4tGRdIidRUglYqv8SyauEGGPdvRh-8xdCU1yxQSX/s1600/starving+children.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="900" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3nxnHaO8tJtTfqOWxQNSMuMWBWbutbo_PK0N499rzwzDX7jbPm2aKhgCCB7N35W9gJe9l_R0frah_zNt0z_rux-Dq6SEUfXJhg6A4tGRdIidRUglYqv8SyauEGGPdvRh-8xdCU1yxQSX/s400/starving+children.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">They have no sense of
humanity or empathy and therefore can feel no guilt or remorse in hurting
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of their own volition, they will
never stop and they will never understand what all the fuss is about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">So what can be done?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That brings us to the remaining world leaders
who may be the only ones able to hold these maniacs to account, because - and
this is where the money comes back into the equation – we live in a totally
interconnected and interdependent global system of buyers and sellers,
producers and consumers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
relationships between global leaders are crucial in this cauldron of capitalism
and we have seen this play out starkly under Trump, as he destroys traditional
alliances and embraces all of the leaders on our maniac list!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCob1piys0aIXEyW5gbPxSCgKFXvVG_PSFhohLoN426kghTWvSwu_irByIfTnkHNLNSE5_m-LaN1DjR4zgVAENkq-ZTV0t3KZ5vlDKyrYSTSCbrhe1uANVZ9f6Gh41qLtSWt_HPNPXl0p/s1600/kim-trump-handshake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="950" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCob1piys0aIXEyW5gbPxSCgKFXvVG_PSFhohLoN426kghTWvSwu_irByIfTnkHNLNSE5_m-LaN1DjR4zgVAENkq-ZTV0t3KZ5vlDKyrYSTSCbrhe1uANVZ9f6Gh41qLtSWt_HPNPXl0p/s400/kim-trump-handshake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">On the one hand, it is not in the interests
of the international monetary system and the integrated financial capitalist
society in which we now live, to pick fights with the players with the biggest
pockets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But on the other hand, this
leverage is the only thing we have that can save the world from these
psychopaths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57XPL_iYu8LIT99hGZTJ5bNZXXuXe3OnywMoRL5rgQeT_0kIgfadya_6G31lYdqPO3cIFTfg6syK3Auo9JzwZfPUMGeMnJfjqmJ1Pk7CNl7Z4WTqcM89krMVGrj2sxG9Ur4-F8y0Y_FkZ/s1600/Macron_Trump.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57XPL_iYu8LIT99hGZTJ5bNZXXuXe3OnywMoRL5rgQeT_0kIgfadya_6G31lYdqPO3cIFTfg6syK3Auo9JzwZfPUMGeMnJfjqmJ1Pk7CNl7Z4WTqcM89krMVGrj2sxG9Ur4-F8y0Y_FkZ/s400/Macron_Trump.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">When you understand that these murderous
despots cannot and will not change and will always seek to destroy those whom
they cannot control, will never feel empathy for those they hurt and simply
don’t understand why we bleat on about human rights, respect for life and
freedom of the press etc, we should limit our expectations on what is possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Lets face it, if the world couldn't stop Assad, how the hell can we contain Mohammad Bin Salman or Putin?</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYKFPZiAeY51A9qT1n4jZrMGVnqVrtejeWHXuJy8tdHjreUJLLhEpe80-ixZX1hohg5NnMajJ3Lbz6wdfRFKPAfQCT2Betr-c6m_e9JgZH6w92ylFoaASSolU_xzgB0dgFdTVQ02bMuda/s1600/assad_smiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYKFPZiAeY51A9qT1n4jZrMGVnqVrtejeWHXuJy8tdHjreUJLLhEpe80-ixZX1hohg5NnMajJ3Lbz6wdfRFKPAfQCT2Betr-c6m_e9JgZH6w92ylFoaASSolU_xzgB0dgFdTVQ02bMuda/s400/assad_smiles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">Given that rather depressing conclusion, we
may be forgiven for letting go and giving up, if these unhinged regimes are so
inoculated from humanity not only by their psychopathy, but also by the
firewalls the international community enables around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">However, to give up is to let go of our own
empathy, is to detach from the humanity within ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No, for the little boys on the bus, for every murdered journalist, for the starving children of Yemen and Syria, for
every persecuted minority, we must shout louder, rise up and in the words of Dylan Thomas “Rage, rage against the dying of the light”. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WmAaCrvGYlqK7nQ2pscqK22RKXKWSLUafqfjbfqefsk6OWCsLbaM2Fschxa6iITCBtHyXa6G1IChrQ80RzJmBir0W109TL6ptgL8ReR-rCLbJqFYNVSwavSR5tx3mUak1yUUQDcwVfWa/s1600/Rise_up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="700" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WmAaCrvGYlqK7nQ2pscqK22RKXKWSLUafqfjbfqefsk6OWCsLbaM2Fschxa6iITCBtHyXa6G1IChrQ80RzJmBir0W109TL6ptgL8ReR-rCLbJqFYNVSwavSR5tx3mUak1yUUQDcwVfWa/s400/Rise_up.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</style>PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-55018815796310853522018-06-14T00:23:00.005-07:002018-06-20T13:42:53.028-07:00Eating like a Bedouin<br />
As the end of Ramadan approached, with only 5 days to go until Eid, I decided to step up my fasting regime to see what it would feel like to echo the diet of the desert nomad, the Bedouin, who famously could survive for months on only dates and camels milk. Sadly, unable to easily get hold of camels milk, I decided to swap it out for labeneh.... a thick strained yoghurt. But of course, dates are available aplenty so no issue there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLKU9zZEQ8rKH1JaaDbAud3TR3QynlsA6yIUZGe6IYNqhhcQY72WVMRSo92_b2yyDeesrAGZwEsFPy0i-NQK05ntJ9EoGoDOaEgbzlBNkVRqZVM08oTBV5LKCLdGkCKSigT_tWf75RC9M/s1600/fullsizeoutput_7a37.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDLKU9zZEQ8rKH1JaaDbAud3TR3QynlsA6yIUZGe6IYNqhhcQY72WVMRSo92_b2yyDeesrAGZwEsFPy0i-NQK05ntJ9EoGoDOaEgbzlBNkVRqZVM08oTBV5LKCLdGkCKSigT_tWf75RC9M/s400/fullsizeoutput_7a37.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
As is the custom during Ramadan, I'm fasting completely throughout daylight hours, having only 3 dates and a couple of table spoons of labeneh for Iftar (the Muslim meal to break the fast) and the same before bed, accompanied only by water or black coffee and nothing else. Muslims will usually eat their last meal, Suhoor, at dawn.... which is around 3am here in Qatar, but having experimented, I felt better having my final sustenance at around 10pm and sleeping through the night.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">I had already been fasting during Ramadan, so the daily fast was not a problem, but the first night of eating only the dates and labeneh left me wanting more. Where was my daily grapefruit? My delicious chicken salad? I kept busy and drank alot of water to compensate. I didn't feel hungry during the day and I think it was only habit that made me crave my usual foods in the evening, because actually I found the combination of dates and labeneh really filling. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">From day two it became much easier and I felt lighter on my feet and by day three, I'd lost a kilo in weight! This wasn't supposed to be about weight loss, but I'm never one to pass up a good side benefit!! Day five finally came today and I stepped on the scales to discover another kilo gone! 2 kgs lost in 5 days and I didn't feel any ill effects.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;">The Bedouin of course would survive alot longer than 5 days on their meagre diet. Bedouin literally translates as 'desert dwellers', and dates and camels milk were their staple diet for a reason. T<span style="text-align: center;">hey were both readily available to nomadic North African and Middle Eastern </span><span style="text-align: center;">pastoral tribes</span><span style="text-align: center;">, who would wander for months, from well to well across dusty plains and sand dunes, devoid of any other natural resources. </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;">The Bedouin would rarely slaughter a camel for meat unless it was very sick or there was a special event such as a wedding or visiting tribe, when custom and legendary Bedouin hospitality would necessitate the sacrifice of one of the herd. So for most of the time, the two most humble of food sources provided all the nutrition required.</span></h4>
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But can they really be good enough to sustain families in the harshest conditions, doing physical work, walking for hundreds of miles for days, weeks and months? The answer lies in the nutrient density, with camels milk in particular lauded by the Bedu as having strength and power giving properties. In fact when they couldn't get dates, they would survive on the camels milk alone, and the Bedu revered their camels, referring to them as a 'gift from God'. A tribe could survive for very little time in the desert without them.<br />
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<b>Camels Milk</b><br />
Often drunk straight from the udder, it would be warm and frothy and plentiful..... the female camels would be milked each morning and evening, and even when suckling young, could provide an additional 4 to 5 litres of milk each day, for 11 months. Camels have the extraordinary natural ability to continue to produce milk even when going without water for weeks themselves.<br />
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Camels milk is the most nutritious of all mammals' milk and is in fact closer to human breast milk than it is to cows milk and is often given to babies who are suffering malnutrition. Compared to cows milk, it is higher in protein, lower in fat and cholesterol and has three times more vitamin C and 10 times more iron. It is also interestingly, lower in lactose and has been found to help in reducing levels of the type of haemoglobin in the blood to which glucose attaches, so can be useful in the control of blood glucose levels. Mineral levels such as magnesium, copper, sodium, zinc and potassium are all higher in camels milk.<br />
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Camels milk has some other rare properties. For example it is high in immunoglobulins which boost the immune system and research has found that it has an impact on reducing allergies, autism and other autoimmune illnesses. And it also has certain special proteins which have antibacterial and antiviral properties<br />
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<b>Dates</b><br />
Pastoral nomadic Bedouin tribes would usually purchase most of their dates from souqs in urban areas, rather than coming across them on their desert journeys, although date palms do grow naturally in many areas. Before the emergence of a cash economy, many of the nomadic tribes were paid in dates for protecting villages, urban markets and farms from other raiding tribes.<br />
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Like camels milk, dates are particularly nutrient dense containing not only carbohydrates but also protein, fibre, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, manganese, phosphorus, iron, zinc and vitamin B6. Many of these particular minerals have been found to be beneficial to bone health and prevent conditions such as osteoporosis. <br />
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The high level of fibre in dates is very beneficial to gut health and contributes to their surprisingly low glycaemic index, despite the carbohydrate content. Studies have found that dates, eaten in moderation, can help in regulating blood sugar and improving insulin levels due to the zinc and magnesium content.<br />
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Dates also contain some powerful anti-oxidants.... flavanoids, carotenoids and phenolic acid.... which all contribute to protecting cells from free radicals, known to cause disease. These anti-oxidants help to reduce the risk of all manner of diseases such as Alzheimers, cancer, diabetes, eye disorders, heart disease and general inflammation.<br />
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Even though in my own small way, I replicated the Bedouin diet, unlike the true desert dwellers of yesteryear, I'm lucky enough to be living in the comfort of an air conditioned environment, not in the 46 degree heat outside! I have a deep respect for the Bedouin and their beloved camels, and their clever use of the most meagre of resources to sustain themselves.<br />
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I can only assume the secret lies in the combination of the types of carbs, fat and protein contained in these two superfoods, providing them with the nutrients they needed to remain strong, lean and alert. The discovery of oil and instant wealth has provided access to an abundance of sugary, fattening, unhealthy and unnecessary foods, causing an obesity epidemic in the Gulf in particular (with the exception of Yemen). In todays world of overconsumption in all things, there is much we and the modern richer cousins of the desert nomads can learn from their life of austerity and discipline.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-42486398957676808322018-06-03T13:12:00.003-07:002018-06-03T13:14:48.640-07:00Gulf Crisis One year onOne year ago, on 5th June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, closing land borders, shipping routes and air space, effectively cutting the country off from established supplies of goods and services. Families were split apart, businesses destroyed and the Gulf Co-operation Council (formed in 1981), once a beacon of stability for the region, plunged into crisis.<br />
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Despite the fact that Qatar suffered a 40% drop in imports immediately following the blockade, it quickly secured new supplies from countries such as Turkey, Iran and India and new shipping routes via Oman.<br />
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In the meantime the country accelerated its drive towards self sufficiency in food production and now satisfies 92% of demand for milk from local suppliers. In addition, according to local Arabic newspaper Arrayah, Qatar now produces 98% of its need for fresh poultry, 80% fish, 80% dates and 24% of its vegetable needs.<br />
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I have noticed the change in the contents of the shelves in supermarkets across Qatar over the last year, from the days immediately following the start of the crisis, when we all stood in mutual confusion in the dairy aisle trying to understand what "sut" was (Turkish for milk).....<br />
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.......to today being spoiled for a choice of new local produce, proudly displaying their Qatari branding. Brands such as Baladna, Rawa, Dandy and Ghadeer have rapidly stepped up to expand production after the closure of the Saudi land border cut off all supplies of established brand Almarai.<br />
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Baladna in particular has come from a little known farm that began life rearing sheep in 2013, to a huge dairy operation 50kms north of Doha (I passed it on my recent cycling trip) spread across 2.6 million square metres with 20,000 heads of cattle producing milk, yoghurt, cheese and meat. It is now also expanding into poultry and egg production. <br />
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The operation is open to visitors alongside a park with activities for kids, a small zoo and a restaurant selling the food produced on site. All these efforts have resulted in a 300 percent rise in the sale of Qatari products in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 2017.<br />
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A professor of economy at St Mary's college of California, Jack Rasmus, has praised Qatar for its swift adjustment to the crisis, believing that the blockade "wont have much effect on the economy" in the long run. Indeed, in February the ratings agency Fitch said about Qatar "there are signs of broader economic resilience."<br />
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The success of the self-sufficiency drive has emboldened Qatar to make an announcement a few days ago that all traders should stop dealing in any products imported from the four countries involved. Some products from these countries had found their way back to the shelves via third party countries but the ban of these products will now be monitored by the Economy Ministry.<br />
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In other areas, its not such good news. In April, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-bakr admitted that the airline had made a "substantial" loss over the last financial year due to the crisis, with many of its routes cancelled by the participating countries, and increases on flying times to other destinations due to airspace restrictions.<br />
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There have also been numerous claims and counterclaims of airspace violations on all sides, escalating tensions further. To try to claw back the losses, Qatar Airways are continuing to expand into other routes and partnerships, recently acquiring a stake in Italian airline Meridiana which will shortly become Italy's national carrier.<br />
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Politically, there seems to be an impasse, with the Bahraini Foreign Minister forecasting no resolution to the crisis in sight. Indeed, the much anticipated US-Gulf summit planned for 3rd April was postponed until September this year. It was also reported that there has been much lobbying behind the scenes by the UAE in particular to convince the US to support the blockade.<br />
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This includes a report by the BBC that a businessman with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of defence contracts with the UAE, Elliott Broidy, who also happened to be a Trump fundraiser, tried to persuade the US President to sack Rex Tillerson, the former Secretary of State, because he wasn't supportive of the UAE position.<br />
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The World Cup also features heavily in the crisis with the four countries apparently offering to lift the blockade if Qatar gives up its right to host the competition. But its not just the 2022 World Cup at stake. In March this year, the Saudi Sports Authority Chairman appeared to threaten to withdraw support for Morocco's bid for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, if it continued its 'neutral' stance on the crisis, saying "to be in the grey area is no longer acceptable to us."<br />
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But perhaps the most troubling development in recent days comes from a threat made by King Salman in a letter to Emanuel Macron relating to Qatar's deal to purchase a Russian-made S-400 missile defence system. In the letter, obtained by French newspaper 'Le Monde', the Saudi Kings says "the Kingdom would be ready to take all the necessary measures to eliminate this defence system, including military action".<br />
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This comes on the back of statements made by Saudi Foreign Minister in April, that without US backing, Qatar would fall within a week. Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir made the statement following similar comments from President Trump during his Whitehouse meeting with French President Macron, when discussing support from Gulf countries in Syria. Trump said there were some countries in the area.. "some of which are immensely wealthy, would not be there except for the United States, and to a lesser extent France" and they "wouldn't last a week without US protection".<br />
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As Qataris enter the third week of Ramadan, many of them very personally affected by the year long crisis, they have mixed feelings about the events of the last year. Sadness at the loss of relations with their gulf brothers and sisters but great pride in their country's enduring strength and resilience to not only survive the last 12 months, but to thrive.<br />
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The UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs recently stated that "Qatar is arranging celebrations to mark a year of solitude and confusion". As a resident of Qatar over this last 12 months, that is not a description I recognise.<br />
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PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-11748904439906919272018-05-28T07:46:00.002-07:002018-05-28T08:03:23.333-07:00Qatar Cycling Adventures: Return to Dohacont.......<br />
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Having spent some relaxation time on the beach beneath a rather lovely palm tree, it was time to leave when the local youth started ripping up the beach with their beach buggies. I'd cycled that morning from Doha to Al Ruwais - 125km - and I was planning to spend some time in an isolated spot to watch the sunset and stargaze for a while before cycling back to Doha.<br />
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So I set off on the road between Al Ruwais and Al Zubara - an old fishing settlement with a Fort which was built in the 1930s to look out for various invaders from the Turks and Omanis to the Bahrainis and the British.<br />
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The road ran through the desert and was two-way, single track with no hard shoulder or space for a cyclist, which made me a little nervous, given that drivers here are..... lets just say..... not so careful around cyclists. I was looking for a place to come off the road and head to the sea to sit alone and contemplate.<br />
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Id been riding for maybe 10 minutes when I saw a vehicle driving in the opposite lane towards me...... no problem. Then from behind him, a Toyota pick up truck appeared and began an overtaking manoeuvre at some crazy speed - must have been over 120 kmph - heading straight for me on my side of the road...... problem. I had no hard shoulder, no space, no time to think.... so a split second decision caused me to jump off the tarmac and into the dust to avoid him.... with a hair's breadth to spare.<br />
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My trusty steed thankfully remained upright and we skidded to a halt a few metres off the road, kicking up the dust. And I melted into tears and sobs of shock. I tried to carry on few a few hundred yards but had to stop. I stood stunned, shaken and indecisive. What to do now? The sun was dropping, light fading and it was a Friday night when crazy drivers become insane.... not a great combination on a single track road with no space for me.<br />
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I decided to turn around and cycle back to Al Ruwais and from there I would start the ride home on the highway and find somewhere en-route to watch the stars for a while, passing this sign which reads "In the safety of Allah and his care"!! How appropriate. Still in shock at the close call, I decided to do the only thing an English girl can do in such a situation....... have a nice cup of tea!! I stopped at the 'Tea Time' shop on the edge of Al Ruwais where the best Karak tea is served. It was hot and sweet and perfect for the moment.<br />
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Feeling much better and really excited to start the journey back, I set off at 6pm, just as the sun was finally disappearing. I cycled for an hour along the Shamal road until I reached the turn off for Fuwairit, a popular beach destination. Unfortunately, this too was a single track road and by now it was pitch dark so I angled my headlight to try and watch for any potholes. When the drivers came towards me, their lights blinded me, so I didn't go too far before I settled on a place to stop just off the road.<br />
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As I wheeled my bike, I almost walked on what seemed to be a grave... a long narrow pile of stones! I apologised to the occupant and moved on. I parked up, made my camp and lit my area with a red light which had a nice glow. Unfortunately, this attracted rather alot of attention from passing Qataris who drove off the road towards me and offered help. "Whats the problem? Have you had an accident? What are you doing here? Why are you doing this? Do you need anything? Surely I can give you something.... water.... food...?"<br />
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At least half a dozen cars stopped, before I decided to put out my light and keep as still as possible to find the peace I'd sought and lay back and watch the stars. Sadly, though, attempting to stargaze in Qatar is a fools errand. Qatar is quite small and what country there is has been either industrialised by Gas and Petroleum plants or is being stitched together by a new network of multi-lane highways, metros, under and overpasses - all with bright lights.<br />
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Everywhere in Qatar there is an orange glow from somewhere. Scientists have ranked Qatar as the third worst country in the world to star gaze, after Singapore and Kuwait, with 97% of Qatar's residents living with light pollution. <a href="https://dohanews.co/researchers-light-pollution-in-qatar-is-the-third-worst-in-the-world/" target="_blank">(Doha News)</a><br />
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After a couple of hours and starting to feel cold, I decided to get back on the road, stopping briefly at another Woqod petrol station for a hot coffee and a refill of water bottles and a well needed comfort break. Getting back on the bike was becoming an agonising experience, as if sitting on razor blades.... but pressing on was the only option with a 6 hour ride ahead.<br />
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It felt good to get going again, despite the fact that I'd now been awake for 18 hours. I calculated that with a 10 minute stop every half an hour to manage my back pain, I was looking at an arrival time of approximately 4am..... perfect to avoid the Friday night crazy driving time between midnight and 3am.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0b6SC2Wul17U-bg5rVgvFFtYm3JJJRZErNxxBBLvNIIlSfp8thR4xC2VHFIQm9wnfOPXhgXtvkiLSoanM2H3l6lVQjuuDMyGVwlmZhN8LgxHDyKL4lyFqIIKl7JyHiAkOLAZ7OgkomfED/s1600/fullsizeoutput_78e5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0b6SC2Wul17U-bg5rVgvFFtYm3JJJRZErNxxBBLvNIIlSfp8thR4xC2VHFIQm9wnfOPXhgXtvkiLSoanM2H3l6lVQjuuDMyGVwlmZhN8LgxHDyKL4lyFqIIKl7JyHiAkOLAZ7OgkomfED/s320/fullsizeoutput_78e5.jpeg" width="179" /></a>With every 30 minute stretch, I became more and more desperate for the stop, my buttocks screaming in pain and my back and legs tightening, and with each stop, a routine..... check my mileage, location, time, drink laban, eat figs or dates, stretch.<br />
<br />
After about 4 hours, the routine had switched to scream as I lifted my buttocks off the saddle, stretch, pray, drink and wonder if I could make it home. I was checking in with a friend who stayed awake in case I got into trouble but I was determined not to give up, whatever the pain.<br />
<br />
During one stop, the Police pulled up beside me....."mishkela?".... meaning "problem?".... "La.... kol tamam" I replied.... "No.....everything is OK". They were very reassuring and stuck around until they saw that I could ride safely and get on my way...... at least that's how I interpreted it. The Police were not the only ones to stop.... a guy in a big red pick up pulled over in front of me.... unfortunately he clearly wanted to chat which was absolutely the last thing on my mind at 2.30am, feeling nauseous and my buttocks in shreds. He'd seen me cycling in the morning at around 6am and couldn't believe I was still on the road! He offered to put my bike in the back of his truck and give me a lift. As tempting as it was.......<br />
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Passing Doha Festival City Mall and IKEA was a major milestone and a sign that I was close to home.... about an hour or so away. At this point I decided that stopping was no longer an option and I would push for home, negotiating multilayer roundabouts, major junctions and scary overpasses which, during normal daytime hours, are terrifying to negotiate by car, let alone on a bike!! Thankfully the roads were at last relatively quiet and I made my final push.<br />
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As I got closer to my hotel, I realised that I needed a plan for how to stop, prise my body from the saddle and dismount without screaming in front of the porter. So a few hundred yards away, I slowly and gently rose onto my feet and lifted my bottom off the razor blades that had become my saddle, wincing quietly as I did so. I attempted a smile but the look of horror on his face as I limped stiffly towards the door, looking shell-shocked said it all. "Are you OK madam?"...... "Yes I'm fine.... I've just cycled from Al Ruwais"..... He paused and said casually..."that's quite a long way".....!!<br />
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<br />
As I walked into the lobby, I glanced at my watch and realised that I had made it back exactly 24 hours after leaving, after a round trip of 276kms. Battered and bruised but just about in one piece.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-75267050985775244792018-05-08T09:11:00.001-07:002018-05-08T10:55:27.221-07:00Qatar Cycling Adventures: Doha to AlRuwais<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Since bringing my bike to Qatar 3.5
years ago, I've had an ambition to one day cycle all the way to the Northern
tip of the country, at Al Ruwais. 18 months ago, I got just over half way
when I made a trip to Al Khor on the East Coast and spent the night before Eid
Al Adha 2016 under the stars. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">You
would think the endless sunshine in Qatar would make it perfect for long
distance cycling. However, the searing heat from May to September, the
freezing desert nights during winter and the crazy winds that whip up sudden
sand and dust storms at a moment's notice all mean that you need to choose your
window of opportunity carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">After
a few attempts scuppered by some freakish thunder storms, heavy rain and strong
winds and a dust storm thrown in, the weekend of 20th April looked perfect for
me to try again. Everything was prepared, my paniers packed, my chain
oiled and I was up at 3.30am.</span></span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Had
some strong coffee and porridge (the one time I forgive myself for eating carbs
is when I'm cycling), I paused to reflect on whether I really wanted to do
this, and set off nervously into the last remnants of darkness, at exactly
4.30am.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhJUkvU4U_PGyEUibkbeZmU8Luq_fBOiNrtdxSegJEuHjGnikVnmfnYWtO4fGCgNU2XuN_lq6z6nm8LKF5Uo7G5-qThJq1idj2_vVWjlUko8cHvU86aacqL5oNGAq2UOMT5_KPH8fkRNh/s1600/IMG_4092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhJUkvU4U_PGyEUibkbeZmU8Luq_fBOiNrtdxSegJEuHjGnikVnmfnYWtO4fGCgNU2XuN_lq6z6nm8LKF5Uo7G5-qThJq1idj2_vVWjlUko8cHvU86aacqL5oNGAq2UOMT5_KPH8fkRNh/s320/IMG_4092.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The
weather was perfect, around 21 degrees and a light breeze and not much traffic
to contend with at this stage. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9BX4XCOCQnyMQ7H5BGSqmSRmUEyrE0Yk-ewn_OuOmAhiS6rr3Ke9CiRCoibqniJ7sUZL8kBBBPGDea1I9KhxeRuhp6RI0c9hr_np0Dz2DYqghJnnDHQITPSEpEMxHeov0j_dBoCmKqsq/s1600/IMG_4094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy9BX4XCOCQnyMQ7H5BGSqmSRmUEyrE0Yk-ewn_OuOmAhiS6rr3Ke9CiRCoibqniJ7sUZL8kBBBPGDea1I9KhxeRuhp6RI0c9hr_np0Dz2DYqghJnnDHQITPSEpEMxHeov0j_dBoCmKqsq/s400/IMG_4094.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I cycled
along the Doha Corniche, past the silky calm waters of the bay, looking across
to the city, and then cut behind the Emiri Diwan (Qatar's ceremonial state
building) to ride along the "red road'... tarmacked about a year ago to
replicate the royal road around Buckingham Palace! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMMGpF4tB3E_yE2YrgClzc-Hcg4kHhwcuU8PIN1gG0zcHm9-4DUpuOKPIU6rzP33iCXiqE_mNekCVRr7pYad96uhbcxwy44jQhASTdQYoDgNbTxkRjhl2obcKsPhO4kFTFclHWf58RA31/s1600/IMG_4097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioMMGpF4tB3E_yE2YrgClzc-Hcg4kHhwcuU8PIN1gG0zcHm9-4DUpuOKPIU6rzP33iCXiqE_mNekCVRr7pYad96uhbcxwy44jQhASTdQYoDgNbTxkRjhl2obcKsPhO4kFTFclHWf58RA31/s320/IMG_4097.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">It
was wet from its nightly clean, so without mud guards I got a free shower to
start the morning! I passed the Grand Mosque not long before sunrise, the
end of Fajr, the dawn prayer. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHh9iW_fli4MsM9c8oFcjRdoBN_bPdpoy0F39qbL-IJpdKbITkMnSEIXz4YfGF_v8YAWxmGz9gDO46zxT0Bdvz1I_w5GF3Pdbsqa28YQkkIQTg1pTpJgyai0JzMKf4IgYbtCM2nQKbCMA/s1600/IMG_4098+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHh9iW_fli4MsM9c8oFcjRdoBN_bPdpoy0F39qbL-IJpdKbITkMnSEIXz4YfGF_v8YAWxmGz9gDO46zxT0Bdvz1I_w5GF3Pdbsqa28YQkkIQTg1pTpJgyai0JzMKf4IgYbtCM2nQKbCMA/s400/IMG_4098+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I
decided to avoid the Doha Expressway for as long as possible by taking Arab
League Street until I reached Doha Festival City Mall where I would cut across
to the Expressway and join the Shamal (North) Road. This would carry me
all the way to the very northern tip of Qatar. So no map required.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMrf2V-zfRoejFbqejYCUjKCogwdWzZkbBJxqtN4pjREcrd9cXhtJKaDiDHSHsxi6SHQJ43tjXZruKvxLbItySajLflgDFNZzlr6EbhI8mk4Da3VXqvzXFrue8roXlb28FqQZ6KBRrrM1/s1600/IMG_4245+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMrf2V-zfRoejFbqejYCUjKCogwdWzZkbBJxqtN4pjREcrd9cXhtJKaDiDHSHsxi6SHQJ43tjXZruKvxLbItySajLflgDFNZzlr6EbhI8mk4Da3VXqvzXFrue8roXlb28FqQZ6KBRrrM1/s320/IMG_4245+2.png" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I
was feeling good and I was making great progress - averaging around 20kmph and
marking my target kms every 30 mins. I kept this up for approximately 4
hours, despite my desperate need for a bathroom break. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPXqYS1s_2DJRs41q5odjmALxVrutdhZzLEVuXAYmGcu1Gb-nWZ6xZaniswry1tZJPKircbuWvtsPFxuG6JtYZ0jOjrBJQTAYmFu3bKK83wHwjFJIX94ucwGHfq1TL5jg6olxTWgm95wS/s1600/IMG_4105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPXqYS1s_2DJRs41q5odjmALxVrutdhZzLEVuXAYmGcu1Gb-nWZ6xZaniswry1tZJPKircbuWvtsPFxuG6JtYZ0jOjrBJQTAYmFu3bKK83wHwjFJIX94ucwGHfq1TL5jg6olxTWgm95wS/s400/IMG_4105.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Qatar
is undergoing a total overhaul of its infrastructure, including its roads, and
several times I saw signs for "Services 1km" but there were no
services (I guess they put the signs up first and build the services later?),
and believe me when I say there is nowhere to hide to take a pee n the
desert!! And then the back pain started to creep in so I had to make one
or two stops to stretch and get some relief.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWIH2rih3dPOC5NRPn7vIfs0a0GKp_YG5eU-HUOhauffBn_MVtGP5r_OYQ4ZF3Keqi95joHuL7OdtULusNeFmKrkyS6OKYjgcrF_iQE9weyPveg0E-ugi1k7kr9axDveCOF7S6FRyDkNT/s1600/IMG_4119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNWIH2rih3dPOC5NRPn7vIfs0a0GKp_YG5eU-HUOhauffBn_MVtGP5r_OYQ4ZF3Keqi95joHuL7OdtULusNeFmKrkyS6OKYjgcrF_iQE9weyPveg0E-ugi1k7kr9axDveCOF7S6FRyDkNT/s400/IMG_4119.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Finally
at 80km, I saw a Woqod petrol station. Relief at last!........I took a
few minutes to stretch my legs, buy some more water and a fruit juice (the one
time I forgive myself for drinking fruit juice is when I'm cycling). It
was 8.45am when I stopped - Id taken 4 hours 15 mins to travel 80km and I had
around 45km to go - maybe another 2.5 hrs. So I would reach Al Ruwais at
maybe 11.30. Knowing the sun would get quite severe, I applied suntan
lotion to my arms and face and off I went again. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktgdEf3UT4zOsRogUVTjoxHtUDnmcWJNXrfGg51SjfQX5h3hfc8EXFIg88hzLDRRiP48I3EvDt0Y9XR2WvCjYPmmwUG37MQnlGA6sWyan9IoQy7643aiMVC8JytNuYddRR0Gpny1S9rvl/s1600/IMG_4122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktgdEf3UT4zOsRogUVTjoxHtUDnmcWJNXrfGg51SjfQX5h3hfc8EXFIg88hzLDRRiP48I3EvDt0Y9XR2WvCjYPmmwUG37MQnlGA6sWyan9IoQy7643aiMVC8JytNuYddRR0Gpny1S9rvl/s400/IMG_4122.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The
Shamal Road is a 3 lane highway running from Doha all the way up through the
desert to the Northern tip of the country. I was lucky to have a hard
shoulder to cycle along because the speed of many of the drivers here is
terrifying. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_4UhISnJWawGi-KQEPwtZHQrCdPP75fVKZqm8NUlqcB9EJuV_PS0Vwu7G0fcbnv9-H5LSJvWmfN2hKBYxngpKvdmigfpsF7ABB-Kuv82tv-sk6-vfUqceQV4dkCzQ8uhQCN7BLgBQuIM/s1600/IMG_4106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_4UhISnJWawGi-KQEPwtZHQrCdPP75fVKZqm8NUlqcB9EJuV_PS0Vwu7G0fcbnv9-H5LSJvWmfN2hKBYxngpKvdmigfpsF7ABB-Kuv82tv-sk6-vfUqceQV4dkCzQ8uhQCN7BLgBQuIM/s400/IMG_4106.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">The
big trucks are directed to drive only in the "slow" lane beside me,
but they too drive at reckless speeds. Initially quite terrifying, this
was something which in fact I learned to love, because as they rushed past, I
would momentarily get sucked along by their draft and it was a wonderful
relief.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HlyXoL_3UnmjX1_1y9JeSC5La-B7mZtuQ55JCoBVmJSCyTZD05rwdFY51dQPIFObWugg36KrS2lk-fkwBGIOrfH4z5MhOPrNJCpLpIbTFQpl9p8s0_JVX3QkuABC5MP_1rcVBc1B0Rg5/s1600/IMG_4129+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HlyXoL_3UnmjX1_1y9JeSC5La-B7mZtuQ55JCoBVmJSCyTZD05rwdFY51dQPIFObWugg36KrS2lk-fkwBGIOrfH4z5MhOPrNJCpLpIbTFQpl9p8s0_JVX3QkuABC5MP_1rcVBc1B0Rg5/s400/IMG_4129+2.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">However,
there was an occasional reminder that these speeds can lead to a loss of
control with grave consequences. I saw several wrecks and a few abandoned
vehicles along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3DcSm-ikfqzcFP5xtjcKbvwWXf4RN2RwK4UXZ_eLpSnlqtQL5Vq05Txlciz2YYZ0TLOSUA0MD7vKPxCiNm1pjCAw_52RTFZXDnQ3mslns2OHupH6X6VI5B3oT92NDCiZkqXmspefiOA7/s1600/IMG_4134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3DcSm-ikfqzcFP5xtjcKbvwWXf4RN2RwK4UXZ_eLpSnlqtQL5Vq05Txlciz2YYZ0TLOSUA0MD7vKPxCiNm1pjCAw_52RTFZXDnQ3mslns2OHupH6X6VI5B3oT92NDCiZkqXmspefiOA7/s400/IMG_4134.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I
felt better for the stop but the wind had now increased, and my progress was
slower, and within 30 minutes the back pain had reappeared with a
vengeance. I was experiencing back spasms which sent an electrical wave
of pain through my whole body, a few times so bad that I was forced to
stop peddling and free wheel for a few seconds. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkJYQXKmZlwRGq5skyZsHil_PHLvz7_0gWIJ7G0PDV5rMEDCpAeIFhGtBaCqHVYuVHGb6ibu7uCLhv-AkAXMOeFIXsqfT2pWYE4QVN65csGJ54ZBj6nMGtaIvj0ez3__8iETKSkO6y74S/s1600/IMG_4132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdkJYQXKmZlwRGq5skyZsHil_PHLvz7_0gWIJ7G0PDV5rMEDCpAeIFhGtBaCqHVYuVHGb6ibu7uCLhv-AkAXMOeFIXsqfT2pWYE4QVN65csGJ54ZBj6nMGtaIvj0ez3__8iETKSkO6y74S/s320/IMG_4132.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I was
terrified that at any time, I'd seize up completely and have to abandon the
ride. So I stopped every 20 minutes to stretch and loosen up, under the
shade of the nearest bridge, as the temperatures were really rising now to
around 36C. I felt the risk of serious injury (having two herniated discs
in my spine already, I know the signs) but I couldn't give up. I was
close to my destination and although it wouldn't be pretty, I would finish,
come what may.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHe1kY2FYX2xBuOQ0CPJ7ZTo9J7dnZ7x3iLcvGCTZlw7vePyIJEAYA3aV98ljoI-B7dURNRFm9rvjNPKzTRg9BkOqUg59Vp2cwU3UG9xQSZl7-rdEZyHH98O_clzUtrtmAjnjTN9sSX0dL/s1600/IMG_4140.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHe1kY2FYX2xBuOQ0CPJ7ZTo9J7dnZ7x3iLcvGCTZlw7vePyIJEAYA3aV98ljoI-B7dURNRFm9rvjNPKzTRg9BkOqUg59Vp2cwU3UG9xQSZl7-rdEZyHH98O_clzUtrtmAjnjTN9sSX0dL/s400/IMG_4140.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">A
few kilometres on, I started seeing signs of civilisation. It must be Al
Ruwais.... It wasn't. It was Shamal City. I passed a strange
building in the style of a Fortress but which is actually a sports
stadium! Then a few kilometres and roundabouts later, Al Ruwais!
Finally. I needed to get inside an air-conditioned building and
spend some time there cooling off. Id seen a shopping centre on the map
so I imagined it would be a small mall where I could sit for a while and have
coffee. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwMsXX3Vna76UzFE0SvVZGTjrxaqgwroa4WtwhmxsC29HpBNkDHP1jkvc-v1b9CBA0mjJcYXzFXGGLUxAZHyFRC_8-t5Jx7u16_yfDeRNag4IVpV3M7JbCg-GGMkreIuDbMZz2mCVGKM3/s1600/IMG_4200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwMsXX3Vna76UzFE0SvVZGTjrxaqgwroa4WtwhmxsC29HpBNkDHP1jkvc-v1b9CBA0mjJcYXzFXGGLUxAZHyFRC_8-t5Jx7u16_yfDeRNag4IVpV3M7JbCg-GGMkreIuDbMZz2mCVGKM3/s400/IMG_4200.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">However,
it was only a supermarket with no cafe. I bought some provisions for
later and cycled around the town looking for someone to go inside.
Unfortunately I'd arrived at around 1230pm, which was Friday noon prayer time,
when cafes are usually closed. So instead I headed for Abu Dhalouf Park,
where I was sure I could find some shade. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g2P5sIIpV7wSj72dyhKihLhrxxaDNcbpSDFHYMzQa4FTKHVTOO7XNlRrzGQ87RWvYoVqQZk_Qz4zg6c-J4DZ-2p69icb7cT2PNKKDoypHos6_jN3ElllIXDY2SZTGPMf-bqqEI0Zmpth/s1600/IMG_4149.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2g2P5sIIpV7wSj72dyhKihLhrxxaDNcbpSDFHYMzQa4FTKHVTOO7XNlRrzGQ87RWvYoVqQZk_Qz4zg6c-J4DZ-2p69icb7cT2PNKKDoypHos6_jN3ElllIXDY2SZTGPMf-bqqEI0Zmpth/s400/IMG_4149.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">As
I cycled towards the park, I passed half a dozen young boys around the age of
10 on beach buggies, driving recklessly on and off pavements and paying little
attention to the traffic. They looked like they'd just come from the
mosque, dressed smartly in their mini thobes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75-0ttTP5KBgH4RCk1bXOjAk3NWBqpd2AC59Cc5Up9X8zcV66IPzcWBvQ0m4acRrMM5VdjF4-tMs1dyCjkl6lov-MYRMarzgnCVkcrc_Q-C_Lv2BTNN5pM4nmy2cWwpIwBvg9DSMrV04g/s1600/IMG_4158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi75-0ttTP5KBgH4RCk1bXOjAk3NWBqpd2AC59Cc5Up9X8zcV66IPzcWBvQ0m4acRrMM5VdjF4-tMs1dyCjkl6lov-MYRMarzgnCVkcrc_Q-C_Lv2BTNN5pM4nmy2cWwpIwBvg9DSMrV04g/s400/IMG_4158.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I
finally found the park around 1pm. Beside it was one of the most
beautiful mosques Ive seen in Qatar. Once inside the park, it was very
busy with families and children. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6ELoUCAAdPfyP4XRhQ88t9eBzUJo8pHq1PJ3x4OQ2afxw72HdREuHCDZTGxWSz3s6CAkqErjeiPjoODwHA_VLHex6GadjoWtNpUHHKUwlwTMaEF87BZDy3KlGnZlfSWPUkRy1A1_1aXn/s1600/IMG_4156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6ELoUCAAdPfyP4XRhQ88t9eBzUJo8pHq1PJ3x4OQ2afxw72HdREuHCDZTGxWSz3s6CAkqErjeiPjoODwHA_VLHex6GadjoWtNpUHHKUwlwTMaEF87BZDy3KlGnZlfSWPUkRy1A1_1aXn/s400/IMG_4156.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">As
I was pushing my bike around to find a quiet spot, a guard approached me and
told me "no bikes allowed"... I asked him how to get down to the
beach and eventually found the way. I found a big palm tree with lots of
shade and set out my little camp to relax for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEW7_ulwCL92tpDfGspVBwye4jU2PeY0_FJsXNdykADt1fArsioOIkquTKWK7aIXcQvRhMucDknYybTlX2XxwUzhdMfEvR4XRaTUHi_4m85hfP_IU5waTbG6U460Ae8hjbI9CiEuY13D3/s1600/IMG_4166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYEW7_ulwCL92tpDfGspVBwye4jU2PeY0_FJsXNdykADt1fArsioOIkquTKWK7aIXcQvRhMucDknYybTlX2XxwUzhdMfEvR4XRaTUHi_4m85hfP_IU5waTbG6U460Ae8hjbI9CiEuY13D3/s400/IMG_4166.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">It
was a lovely spot looking out to the sea, a light breeze and the background
sounds of children playing, and a group of Indian guys playing
volleyball. After 125km and 7.5 hours in the saddle, finally I had a place to relax, recharge my batteries and rest my
back....... <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRbnrJueIgdR23eqd5xx5bQlkxgdBZXHEoJHKM_GlQrVgd1N5HJBKKPAZ1XSVCXaupA0HGzX7h6MPoaEDiCcDO13MZ-YYwE4ogilx8HEfYNELhwQTQnUws1k85g0dvaAvFlWQEEN_1sEy/s1600/IMG_4187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNRbnrJueIgdR23eqd5xx5bQlkxgdBZXHEoJHKM_GlQrVgd1N5HJBKKPAZ1XSVCXaupA0HGzX7h6MPoaEDiCcDO13MZ-YYwE4ogilx8HEfYNELhwQTQnUws1k85g0dvaAvFlWQEEN_1sEy/s400/IMG_4187.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">......Until
the Qatari kids on their beach buggies arrived to tear up the beach, racing
back and forth and driving straight through the volleyball net and ripping it
out of the ground. They continued to terrorise the family beach goers and
create noise and chaos so I decided to leave and find somewhere to watch the
sun go down and see the stars come out.....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAKyXsblcoKOmtGagrYdvj3qQjronn4QxqCoYg4YtsreQrzMZNQwsPYhNCSgZBY0H5b2wS7s6gmJpBOPjXkqA1JmZnuWnTexASWBactHh8n4acT1Mwoxr6K_fqWVbluObCxfKmaU-a67O/s1600/IMG_4198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOAKyXsblcoKOmtGagrYdvj3qQjronn4QxqCoYg4YtsreQrzMZNQwsPYhNCSgZBY0H5b2wS7s6gmJpBOPjXkqA1JmZnuWnTexASWBactHh8n4acT1Mwoxr6K_fqWVbluObCxfKmaU-a67O/s400/IMG_4198.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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</style>PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-79558223149651903372018-03-26T10:20:00.000-07:002018-03-26T10:24:40.151-07:00Qatar goes farming<br />
Last week I had the opportunity to visit AgriteQ, an International Agriculture Exhibition, at the Doha Exhibition and Conference Centre.<br />
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Held in Doha each year, it brings together agricultural specialists from around the world to share expertise, showcase innovation in farming and do business in Qatar, which has a rapidly expanding food production sector, as it seeks to become much more self sustainable and food secure.<br />
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Since the blockade by Qatar's neighbours, which started some 10 months ago, this nation found itself cut off from the mainland when Saudi Arabia closed the only land border and the UAE prevented the shipping of goods via Dubai.<br />
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These measures and others have given Qatar a real challenge to continue to meet the needs of its 2.5 million population. However, the country's rulers moved quickly to secure assistance from its allies whilst it immediately began fast tracking its plan to become self sustainable, particularly in the areas of dairy, poultry and vegetable production.<br />
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But the drive towards food security did not start with the blockade. AgriteQ is now in its 6th year and the interesting thing to note was the number of local Qatari producers already in operation and expanding rapidly.<br />
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Some of them, such as Baladna, the largest dairy and meat producer in Qatar, offered an opportunity to taste their products, while others were demonstrating growing techniques such as hydroponics.<br />
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This is a technique used to grow vegetables in arid environments, used by local companies such as Agrico, which grows a range of vegetables and fruits sold widely now in Doha's supermarkets and farmers markets.<br />
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Also on show at AgriteQ was a range of livestock, including sheep, goats, chickens and other poultry and even a camel or two, which were auctioned to local farmers.<br />
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On a smaller scale, there were producers from around the world bringing their goods for sale - olives and figs from Palestine, chocolate from Portugal, pickles and preserves from Morocco,<br />
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as well as local nurseries offering ornamental plants, water features and sculptures for residents who like a bit of bling in their back garden!<br />
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This effort is already proving fruitful, as the range of products now available in supermarkets is increasing again and the sense of loyalty towards Qatari products can be felt all over town, from the local date and honey sellers in Souq Waqif, and the farmers markets popping up everywhere, to the big supermarkets like Carrefour.<br />
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There is a ground swell of support for the local effort being made and it seems Qatar's big and not so neighbourly brothers totally underestimated this little nation's determination and resilience.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-1895096563802847452017-09-30T04:11:00.000-07:002017-09-30T04:11:01.567-07:00What would Gertrude make of the Kurdish referendum?With the current situation in Northern Iraq simmering since the Kurdish referendum, its perhaps a moment to reflect on a much forgotten and neglected historical figure and her role in this important moment. <br />
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It is a little known fact that Iraq's existing borders, including within it Iraqi Kurdistan, were drawn up by an Oxford educated British woman adventurer. Gertrude Bell was one of the most extraordinary and influential women of the time. Described by some as a female Lawrence of Arabia and by him as a "wonderful person, not very like a woman", she was by all accounts considered far more accomplished and deserving of more recognition than she ever received.<br />
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She had a passion for archaeology and fell in love with the Middle East, travelling all over the region as a woman alone, throughout Syria, Arabia, Persia and what was known then as Mesopotamia - now Iraq, southern Turkey, Kuwait and eastern Syria. During the time of the power struggle for the region between British, French and Ottoman Empires, she travelled extensively across deserts and through tribal lands, quickly building an affinity with the Arabs and befriending local Sheikhs.<br />
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She was a risk taker who held no fear of harsh environments and though small in physical stature, refused to be intimidated by people or situations. She found herself an accidental expert in Arabic culture and became a 'go-to' specialist for the British Government, fluent in Arabic, Persian, French and German and a natural sociability, trusted by bedouin tribes and noble Sheikhs alike. <br />
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She quickly developed the Arabic epithet "al-Khatun" - which can be translated to mean 'lady of the court who keeps her eyes and ears open for the benefit of the State' and her view that Arabs were more than capable of managing their own affairs without the interference of colonnial powers, was at odds with the prevailing winds of the West. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXX68oZesbKFYaDTRTw6IAkE4gSVeVJ5aHQMjOJ42D3p2cKk-PATJeGDkhgYPolt1rhHd900nNzK7hEZW0jpqcaNIldLBLmsL3UnsF8oClv3dteZggyXg8782iVWh5RA_tgiJTcABqQN-3/s1600/Gertrude_newspaper+clip.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="950" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXX68oZesbKFYaDTRTw6IAkE4gSVeVJ5aHQMjOJ42D3p2cKk-PATJeGDkhgYPolt1rhHd900nNzK7hEZW0jpqcaNIldLBLmsL3UnsF8oClv3dteZggyXg8782iVWh5RA_tgiJTcABqQN-3/s400/Gertrude_newspaper+clip.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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But her belief in Arab self-determination won out when she was instrumental in installing King Faisal as the new post Ottoman ruler of Iraq. Gertrude had known Faisal when he was King of Syria, before being deposed by the French. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxLgC7BvHwX_85hLdHyB2fcHasS2otfj-65R1qI7x7DM6SZ0Z-I-Xr6CZfcat9pMr8bYJHxRnpT0a7hCOEby5J2JGmXPol0Tk_moPECl-F-92UsamE1TRXv3RC_7t50bcivLfs4R5XLj5/s1600/King_Faisal_Iraq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxLgC7BvHwX_85hLdHyB2fcHasS2otfj-65R1qI7x7DM6SZ0Z-I-Xr6CZfcat9pMr8bYJHxRnpT0a7hCOEby5J2JGmXPol0Tk_moPECl-F-92UsamE1TRXv3RC_7t50bcivLfs4R5XLj5/s320/King_Faisal_Iraq.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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He had an interesting lineage which she believed made him a good choice as leader of Iraq - the combination of him being a Sunni which would appeal to the Kurds in the North, whilst having direct lineage from the Prophet Muhammad, which would appeal to the Shia population, would provide the balance required for peaceful co-existence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviLOYpEGhyphenhyphen7cuTvAljHBpmWoDCRIkiN4kkddKcurjMgAKY5DxYR9P3HNP2thYlvZSptCY6oBtfceIdxu7OGfTRutzZiPfiAYAX0KgxnfXqP3AbIUUZBkzUz8mT6F9nBuhnLDJtOrxGuY5/s1600/TE-Lawrence-460_1644593c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="460" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviLOYpEGhyphenhyphen7cuTvAljHBpmWoDCRIkiN4kkddKcurjMgAKY5DxYR9P3HNP2thYlvZSptCY6oBtfceIdxu7OGfTRutzZiPfiAYAX0KgxnfXqP3AbIUUZBkzUz8mT6F9nBuhnLDJtOrxGuY5/s400/TE-Lawrence-460_1644593c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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However, her friend TE Lawrence didn't agree on the position of the borders , saying "Bell should never have acquiesced in the inclusion of the Kurdish dominated province of Mosul in Iraq". And perhaps he was right. The Kurds are the largest ethnic population in the world without their own homeland - somewhere between 30 & 40 million. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwur8AbbXNWhSycU329uEttrK6QkEf75-41HKma21nqmLKwbDofaGJTIxUtVEXxzaRAZPjnk9exUjPTvRQGIuquhmHzqYcrfnfA-yOk6j9E83gsHZhjyXDdGZMsveWYUz9OcBmgvhuwcUw/s1600/kurdistan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="592" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwur8AbbXNWhSycU329uEttrK6QkEf75-41HKma21nqmLKwbDofaGJTIxUtVEXxzaRAZPjnk9exUjPTvRQGIuquhmHzqYcrfnfA-yOk6j9E83gsHZhjyXDdGZMsveWYUz9OcBmgvhuwcUw/s400/kurdistan.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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After the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, an independent Kurdistan was considered within the borders proposed above. But it was oil that helped tip the balance to include them within Iraq's borders - the Kurdish region holding 40% of Iraq's oil. The British Government decided to include this particular region, now known as Iraqi Kurdistan, as part of a 'stable' centrally governed Iraq, so they could keep their interest in the oil. So of course this is also the reason that Baghdad wont let it go now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8cs6s9Wp7sC0CUtPGatRb_h4xQwxUnMErrm0-K4skm5B7Nz7lSNr_wi0zLrQD_asI8VF6dWEzoPErXwikD17VwMIHbWVTu5G8wDX7cCcL2l-SRBAHcojQKcIzg_lBU1t3rBgmznclxCY/s1600/kurdistan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="608" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8cs6s9Wp7sC0CUtPGatRb_h4xQwxUnMErrm0-K4skm5B7Nz7lSNr_wi0zLrQD_asI8VF6dWEzoPErXwikD17VwMIHbWVTu5G8wDX7cCcL2l-SRBAHcojQKcIzg_lBU1t3rBgmznclxCY/s400/kurdistan.png" width="386" /></a></div>
I watch this huge moment in Iraq's history wondering what Gertrude would make of it. Being largely responsible for the shaping of modern Iraq, and somewhat uncomfortably representing the British Government, her heart was still Arabian. Indeed she had quite a disdain for colonialism, observing "we rushed into the business with our usual disregard for a comprehensive political scheme...... wading through blood and tears that need never have been shed." In that, history has proven her right.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMouMkd3uZhkxDmXy7VSlS04ehnmYx_1WjvD6-CBJWFYO6EY-NUKJZRE49ouFrRbnwOCYVGXA_VVq5VQcIH1OawY-1o7WCiu5vI55V4DNpPj4f0mA9sYKdFfxa7y8VdaO2vCBf4fTzzaMD/s1600/Gertrude4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="736" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMouMkd3uZhkxDmXy7VSlS04ehnmYx_1WjvD6-CBJWFYO6EY-NUKJZRE49ouFrRbnwOCYVGXA_VVq5VQcIH1OawY-1o7WCiu5vI55V4DNpPj4f0mA9sYKdFfxa7y8VdaO2vCBf4fTzzaMD/s400/Gertrude4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ironically, for one so passionate about the right to self-determination, it was Gertrude who ultimately allowed the sacrifice of an independent Kurdistan for a larger prize of Iraq. Perhaps its time for the British Government to stand up, accept their role in depriving the Kurds of their own land and support them in their quest for independence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTULzNT7EgARwJVXHxb4JpsvQcE2i7wYbk-4Y0g0v5oUonbC7n4OEtBcFVb76dTSy8frGwChgDplcEuDrI27GYhRaRLviTIUJpkeT5Hf_LzOIkMUoGMKDifhMKALhzKryXxNOBKyVG4aK/s1600/kurdishreferendum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="1096" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTULzNT7EgARwJVXHxb4JpsvQcE2i7wYbk-4Y0g0v5oUonbC7n4OEtBcFVb76dTSy8frGwChgDplcEuDrI27GYhRaRLviTIUJpkeT5Hf_LzOIkMUoGMKDifhMKALhzKryXxNOBKyVG4aK/s400/kurdishreferendum.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As for Gertrude, she remained in Baghdad until her death in 1926 at the age of 57, having never been married and lost both loves of her life in tragic circumstances. Ultimately, it was the Arabs who held her in the highest affection, her funeral procession observed from his window by King Faisal himself. She is buried on the eastern banks of the Tigris river.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoCy6cEMKmY8iQRQjUvUNRY2lDptxX28wBezFoiiA9aAKUmiHNVfWnpEIWchLnweuuzHrWnMRMXM7RttmtRiOu2tu0Rw-kZG0QZ93JXp_HrYui6RZWqVOzU_T5yW7o_u0kR2BBiCG_TYA/s1600/Gertrude_tomb4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOoCy6cEMKmY8iQRQjUvUNRY2lDptxX28wBezFoiiA9aAKUmiHNVfWnpEIWchLnweuuzHrWnMRMXM7RttmtRiOu2tu0Rw-kZG0QZ93JXp_HrYui6RZWqVOzU_T5yW7o_u0kR2BBiCG_TYA/s400/Gertrude_tomb4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "proximanova" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span>PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-8138999439430989582017-09-25T10:19:00.002-07:002017-10-01T06:46:23.039-07:00Has the smartphone stolen the beauty of delayed gratification?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Qatar's recent Guinness World record for the longest selfie stick is another very small notch in the belt of this 'bantamweight' of a Gulf State. It was a record set by a Qatar youth program called 'Sky Climbers' during their graduation ceremony on 19th September.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGbiqSSjUmpsgj0n0itle9JZAHtyEhmkBirf4DEwn1PpGHOPh7tXDphYed0pL78N4VWb-tzxRzba0rCMtySnDtNuzExM32D-7ORFSIbth3P_MX8sMrKh_ttks9W2EKEqQ0t0kNzLTLnVY/s1600/Selfie_stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="707" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGbiqSSjUmpsgj0n0itle9JZAHtyEhmkBirf4DEwn1PpGHOPh7tXDphYed0pL78N4VWb-tzxRzba0rCMtySnDtNuzExM32D-7ORFSIbth3P_MX8sMrKh_ttks9W2EKEqQ0t0kNzLTLnVY/s400/Selfie_stick.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Although not averse to taking the odd selfie here and there (a necessity for a solo traveller), I do however, shudder at the scourge of the selfie stick. Lets put it this way..... you may be a narcissist, but why advertise it? When you see a grown man puckering up to his digital camera on a stick, while his wife is sitting right there, it does make one question where all this is going.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEoMHLssSWoTNCJyuRgvYu-wOttit6NmJuRdiCjuHz0KSxGN_RkgakGsUAGE2A10KSVscv6OcEPpPvSfd4wPAM-EQ9RqOBjbIiOW1KYIhO4Gq0S-X99RcUZlCJ_DemR_eXWmX64LmZyz2/s1600/Arnie_selfie_stick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="800" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipEoMHLssSWoTNCJyuRgvYu-wOttit6NmJuRdiCjuHz0KSxGN_RkgakGsUAGE2A10KSVscv6OcEPpPvSfd4wPAM-EQ9RqOBjbIiOW1KYIhO4Gq0S-X99RcUZlCJ_DemR_eXWmX64LmZyz2/s400/Arnie_selfie_stick.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is something about the instant nature of all things these days which leads to a growing sense of frustration, lack of patience and an endless search for perfection - if we dont like the selfie, we can keep taking it until we feel satisfied with the image. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHatLvPXBJXpwEHWJ5nX_UXUns-adAfuqkZ2f6xf1CSks5Izos1Z2E1I1_OeO2JEsLqcA8JNuMeeYxWtmidOpVokArZstdkJfLiPvsDoQBEHFrf7ScXvhOhnzyH2rPC5PD4MXYDcW1ejd/s1600/multi-photos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="690" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHatLvPXBJXpwEHWJ5nX_UXUns-adAfuqkZ2f6xf1CSks5Izos1Z2E1I1_OeO2JEsLqcA8JNuMeeYxWtmidOpVokArZstdkJfLiPvsDoQBEHFrf7ScXvhOhnzyH2rPC5PD4MXYDcW1ejd/s400/multi-photos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I never thought I would reach the age when I started to 'remember the old days' with affection. But i have to say, I feel fortunate to be of the generation who knew what it was like to take their roll of film to the photographic developers and wait for an envelope of photographs to be printed. The word 'instant' in this context at that time usually meant anything between 1 and 5 days. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKhJEhsISnauCZurMOiHnq_PUrzvN8FWpN5b4xGUAtHLJKB0qtMZWADdV8rgHpoVhIiibq_Flfg-Mu-NZ0Fx134g1v8zNgharE7pvSS-Y1xUe1ZFcN4K-yaH3srrQFwDgAkHZt3wWtmrK/s1600/Snappy_Snaps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="615" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKhJEhsISnauCZurMOiHnq_PUrzvN8FWpN5b4xGUAtHLJKB0qtMZWADdV8rgHpoVhIiibq_Flfg-Mu-NZ0Fx134g1v8zNgharE7pvSS-Y1xUe1ZFcN4K-yaH3srrQFwDgAkHZt3wWtmrK/s400/Snappy_Snaps.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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They eventually sped up the process and if you could afford the additional charge (yes kids, you had to pay for it!).... you might be able to get their premium 1 hour service!! But dont forget, you had to finish the whole roll of .... 24 or 36 photos. Yes, thats right.... you only had 24 exposures in each roll of film! Imagine that?!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzIhhe__CXYYVsEWf09A1jECFnru5csoaxGD2ItVRQoNz126T2BYHJkBaBlFykrm346w86whg0zKrj2Vfkc189c5GEFpDPsLxK0b-XmfpfNDA_f6L1CQDyLQWjarxRDJcZPgqGWwK9dRb/s1600/Kodak_film.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="500" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzIhhe__CXYYVsEWf09A1jECFnru5csoaxGD2ItVRQoNz126T2BYHJkBaBlFykrm346w86whg0zKrj2Vfkc189c5GEFpDPsLxK0b-XmfpfNDA_f6L1CQDyLQWjarxRDJcZPgqGWwK9dRb/s400/Kodak_film.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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But I now mourn the loss of a time when we had to wait for stuff. We had to wait for the News to come on the TV or radio to find out what was going on in the world (pre-Twitter). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPvLKNxXfOh3d_By73sHje4bUyHJmw2G_PPZ8MWNsdBrrX-E2fIDof-_gCrUan67u_LUKzyr0KvSl3YNFS2nx1FuC_kTlQROHE4MnEKWe9tM29TP-V1uVk3NQWFfRxZa1w46ps3_RHfzQ/s1600/BBC_Six_O%2527Clock_News_1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="344" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPvLKNxXfOh3d_By73sHje4bUyHJmw2G_PPZ8MWNsdBrrX-E2fIDof-_gCrUan67u_LUKzyr0KvSl3YNFS2nx1FuC_kTlQROHE4MnEKWe9tM29TP-V1uVk3NQWFfRxZa1w46ps3_RHfzQ/s400/BBC_Six_O%2527Clock_News_1986.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We had to wait in a queue outside a public telephone booth to make a phone call when we were out of the house (pre-mobile phones). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPvLKNxXfOh3d_By73sHje4bUyHJmw2G_PPZ8MWNsdBrrX-E2fIDof-_gCrUan67u_LUKzyr0KvSl3YNFS2nx1FuC_kTlQROHE4MnEKWe9tM29TP-V1uVk3NQWFfRxZa1w46ps3_RHfzQ/s1600/BBC_Six_O%2527Clock_News_1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH3E_o_a8a_fM01zev7mRzfMc3GjzVLXGGuiw-z8FrMbRTZ6vl5Ddcb_ica5U7RnEXrs0-xvg-OgfgCvMCyIR8YbDa0GFI9fUMKPm9NpE_qXwjGFKFuAL2ct3Up5xmsnjVwdCFJdYTWbY/s1600/public%252Bphone%252Bqueue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNH3E_o_a8a_fM01zev7mRzfMc3GjzVLXGGuiw-z8FrMbRTZ6vl5Ddcb_ica5U7RnEXrs0-xvg-OgfgCvMCyIR8YbDa0GFI9fUMKPm9NpE_qXwjGFKFuAL2ct3Up5xmsnjVwdCFJdYTWbY/s400/public%252Bphone%252Bqueue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We had to wait in a queue at the cinema for tickets for the latest blockbuster movie.... I remember doing just that to see Star Wars for the first time in 1977 (pre-internet). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5o7r1XOvUTwYQ98uyWc1uKmkxcaa1k9E5U7QKKUDG4Nd-TFLg0zcpedTuE5QvjWrikRqOYrpnVmp2aG2iugfcN1hm6EnCfOoCR371PYlhzW__Ymk__U2Gbpgw-4PpTmSxZVk9dNOmj5R/s1600/star-wars-queue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="615" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn5o7r1XOvUTwYQ98uyWc1uKmkxcaa1k9E5U7QKKUDG4Nd-TFLg0zcpedTuE5QvjWrikRqOYrpnVmp2aG2iugfcN1hm6EnCfOoCR371PYlhzW__Ymk__U2Gbpgw-4PpTmSxZVk9dNOmj5R/s400/star-wars-queue.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We had to wait for letters from friends to arrive in the post (pre-email).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAYCDAn3Akdv6CWXa4EUUTg8OKGodWsRVma56D6wtDJRW_ShLo1ki_mQiKBMYE1cvRqrcxauNkeU5P7idOvHmmnGOucdJHPK58HH8a7qTlNolsUoxGvkw9Otwsaa6MkW3no8qA93nBj99/s1600/letters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="470" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwAYCDAn3Akdv6CWXa4EUUTg8OKGodWsRVma56D6wtDJRW_ShLo1ki_mQiKBMYE1cvRqrcxauNkeU5P7idOvHmmnGOucdJHPK58HH8a7qTlNolsUoxGvkw9Otwsaa6MkW3no8qA93nBj99/s400/letters.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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When I travelled around America and Canada on Greyhound buses in 1989 when I was 20 years old, the only way I could communicate with my family was by letters sent through the post and a very occasional telephone call in a public phone box using coins, spending the whole conversation dreading the onset of the 'pips' which would indicate that your time was up.<br />
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Now I hear the cries of "whats so great about all that?"<br />
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One word...... ANTICIPATION! There is a great joy to be had in the delayed gratification of all things. Waiting, anticipating and then when you get that thing, valuing it completely. Who values the ability to communicate these days? Whatsapp, facebook, twitter, instant messenger, skype are all useful tools and have made the ability to communicate across borders, timezones and miles much easier and who would deny that?<br />
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But this instant everything society is one in which the post internet generation expect it all NOW! NOW! NOW!, get a medal for coming last and waiting for anything will just not do!<br />
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But Im sad that this generation will never know the delightful anticipation of delayed gratification. The pleasure of waiting itself that makes the event so much more worth the wait. The nervous excitement when waiting for your batch of photos from your recent holiday. And the beautiful reliving of the memories when you finally open the envelope and get 24 little 6x4 surprises.<br />
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In addition to our 24 snapshots, we used our minds to build a memory bank of internal photos and movies of events in our lives which remain with us to this day, without having to swipe through our photostream. I wonder if any studies are being done to discover the affect of smartphones on our ability to remember. <br />
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The problem being that so many people now witness events through their smartphone screens. One colleague of mine recently recounted an event where he saw a woman recording the first half of a performance through her smartphone and then she proceeded to watch that during the second half !! <br />
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We no longer experience things 'live' at all. Even when we are there..... we are not really there. I see people sitting together in cafes in the Souq here in Qatar, and I observe them for a while..... no conversation, no eye contact, no acknowledgement that they are together at all. Life literally passing by with no engagement whatsoever. All attention on the little screen, giving instant access to the latest news, latest trends, latest updates on what friends are doing...... while their friend who sits beside them is ignored and is doing the same thing.<br />
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There seems to be no way to put this genie back in the bottle. Smartphones, email, whatsapp, Amazon - we all use them and they are a fact of life..... here I am blogging, so I know the value of the technology. But we need to find a balance where we use the technology for good rather than allowing it to control our behaviour. And we somehow need to find a way back to valuing what's important, sometimes leaving our phones at home and being present in mind as well as body.<br />
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As for the selfie stick? Why not instead, talk to a real person and ask if they wouldn't mind taking your photo - thats what we used to do. You never know who you might get talking to.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-89006249058087953352017-09-08T00:54:00.001-07:002017-09-08T00:54:54.075-07:00Qataris enjoy Eid despite the crisisThere has been a quiet resilience to the Qatari response to the unprecedented actions of their neighbours over the last two months, and the Eid holiday saw many Qataris staying at home and enjoying the celebrations with friends and family.<br />
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Certainly, the hotel that I call home was fully booked, despite no holiday makers from Saudi, UAE or Bahrain who usually flock to Doha for their Eid vacation. Most of those staying were Qataris or expats coming to stay in a hotel with a pool and a beach for a 'holiday at home' !<br />
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This made for a few crazy days of kids running up and down the corridors, babies screaming and crying until the early hours, chaos at the pool as fights broke out over sunbeds and teenage boys eating Pringles in the jacuzzi. But hey, what is Eid all about after all? <br />
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Ah yes, this is Eid Al-Adha - otherwise known as the 'feast of the sacrifice'. It is the holier of the two Eids and marks the moment when God asked Ibrahim to sacrifice his son. To show his love of God, Ibrahim accepted and was about to kill his son, when God gave him a goat to sacrifice instead. <br />
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Muslim families now traditionally sacrifice a sheep or a goat for their Eid feast, with boys often expected to participate in the killing of the animal. This festival is preceded by 10 days of optional fasting, unlike the obligatory month of fasting during Ramadan.<br />
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Not to be left out, I went for my own Eid feast of the Yemeni variety. Having Fasha - a meat stew and Masoob - the most breathtakingly delicious desert ever conceived, which I first ate during my trip to Yemen in 2014. Masoob is a wet bread pudding with mashed bananas, cream and honey. <br />
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Easy to make, you just need a few over-ripe bananas which you combine with flatbread chopped into breadcrumbs, and chopped up dates or raisins if you like, then top it with cream, loads of honey and grated cheese - which adds an interesting salty balance to the crazy sweetness. Basically this is diabetes in a bowl but gorgeous!<br />
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In addition to the feast, elders give money to children, new clothes are worn and families go out to shop, eat and share the celebrations together. In Qatar there were some events, including fireworks - although due to the searing heat (39 plus humidity making it feel like 55 and above), most events were held inside marquees or shopping Malls.<br />
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From the crowds at the Mall of Qatar, it seemed pretty clear that a large number of citizens and residents had chosen to stay at home this year, especially with travel to neighbouring countries banned, and flying to other locations now a little more difficult. The Saudi Foreign Minister is apparently quoted as saying that there is "no harm if the crisis lasts for two years", so it seems there will be much more 'staycationing' ahead!<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-18934398558597525302017-08-26T08:22:00.000-07:002017-08-26T08:22:00.305-07:00Fake news Arab style....<br />
The crisis in the Gulf between Qatar and its neighbours is into its third month and sees no sign of easing. Indeed the war of words is ramping up and the metaphorical knives are being twisted ever more deeply in this vengeful 'Game of Thrones'.<br />
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While Qatar's neighbours squeeze the country harder, continuing their sanctions and break in relations, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in particular have added to this with a campaign of false news stories and bizarre threats.<br />
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Al Arabia, Saudi Arabia's national TV network last week showed an animated video of a Qatar Airways plane being brought down by a Saudi military jet, in an effort to justify that the Kingdom would be within their rights "under International Law" to shoot an aircraft out of the sky if it strayed into their air space without permission.<br />
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In the video, which you can see here on <a href="https://www.rt.com/news/399695-saudi-jet-qatar-airways/" target="_blank">Reuters news agency website</a>, the Qatar Airways livery is clearly visible in what appears to be a direct threat to the world's No.1 airline. Qatar has made an official complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), saying Saudi Arabia are attempting to "terrorise" passengers and perhaps deter them from flying with Qatar Airways.</div>
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Meanwhile in the UAE this week, Dubai TV aired a story that a curfew had been imposed in Qatar due to anti-government protests. The presenter claimed that Turkish troops, recently deployed to the new Turkish military base in Qatar, were firing tear gas at protestors in the streets!</div>
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The only thing going on in the streets of Qatar right now is a whole host of improvements being made to junctions and road layouts, as Qatar ramps up its program of infrastructure projects towards 2022. In fact, 'TV roundabout', directly outside Al Jazeera is currently being converted into 'TV interchange', the latest in an effort to phase out all roundabouts in preference for traffic light junctions!! </div>
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And as for the likelihood of protests in this gas rich nation? Lets just say there has been an outpouring of support for Sheikh Tamim. Everywhere you go, you see enormous posters depicting the young Emir, on which citizens and ex pats alike have written messages of love and support for the country and its leader.</div>
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A number of them have been gathered together and installed in the Museum of Islamic Art Park, which is sure to attract many visitors during the Eid Al Adha holiday.</div>
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Buildings around Qatar are adorning their structures with huge versions of the poster</div>
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And drivers are doing he same to their cars....... </div>
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The real winners are those in the business of selling flags, stickers, T-shirts and mugs!!</div>
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No one knows how much longer this will last. But with the propaganda offensive going up a gear, the nations seem to be digging in for the long haul and whatever happens, relations will take years to repair, if they ever do. </div>
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-7993447861540086662017-06-25T11:10:00.000-07:002017-06-25T11:31:36.705-07:00Gulf Crisis week 3 - Qatar's camels and cows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Gulf Crisis is now 3 weeks old, and with Qatar now in receipt of 13 demands from its neighbours there seems to be little hope of a speedy resolution. These demands include limiting ties with Iran, with whom Qatar shares a gas field, shutting down the newly created Turkish airbase, severing any affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood and closing the Al Jazeera Media Network and other Qatar Government funded broadcasters.<br />
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Qatar's Ambassador to the US, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani accused Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt of trying to "suppress free media and undermine our sovereignty" and stated of the imposed sanctions, "Qatar could continue forever like this with no problems".<br />
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As a sovereign nation, Qatar has worked hard over the years to develop an independent foreign policy including diplomatic and economic relationships with other nations around the world. This is now bearing fruit and enabling Qatar to put measures in place to weather the sanctions imposed by the four countries involved. It is this very independence and autonomy along with Qatar's soft power tools such as the Al Jazeera Media Network, which threatens Saudi Arabia and its desire for dominance and control of the Gulf Cooperation Council.<br />
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Politics apart, as a person living in Qatar, I find the cruelty of some of the actions on the ground astounding. In my last blog I shared some of the human stories of families split apart, affecting not only Qatari's but Saudis, Emirates and Bahrainis too. So many Gulf families are mixed and family members are being forced to choose whether they stay with husbands, wives and children or return to their parents in their home countries. And there is no way of knowing how long this will last, given the aggressive stance these countries have taken, even penalising their own people in the process.<br />
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Last week, this cruelty was extended to Qatari owned camels and sheep in Saudi Arabia, which had been stranded at the border for one week, unable to cross, with no access to food or water. It was reported that some had starved, others had been injured from fighting with each other, and when an informal deal was finally struck with the border guards, Bedouin herders were told they had just one hour to get their camels out of Saudi Arabia and across the border into Qatar. In the chaos and confusion, young camels were separated from their mothers and some were lost. <br />
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<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/video/news/2017/06/saudi-blockade-qatar-sabotages-multi-billion-dollar-camel-business-170622090509882.html" target="_blank">Watch this Al Jazeera video report on the plight of the camels</a><br />
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Historically, the Bedouin have freedom to roam throughout Saudi Arabia with their camels, moving to new pasture as they need to. The tiny Qatar peninsula has no pastoral land and this sudden influx of 15,000 camels now means an additional 3 camels per square mile! Emergency supplies of food and water were rushed to an area close to the border and Qatari owners arrived to try and locate their livestock, with the fate of any that got left behind unknown.<br />
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Meanwhile, it seems that any Saudi or Emirate owned racing camels have already left Qatar, removed by their owners and transported back to their respective countries during the original 10 day deadline given for citizens to leave.<br />
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And what of the 4,000 cows being airlifted to Qatar from Australia to help provide dairy products to the supermarket shelves? Well, its only partly true - a Qatari business man does have a long term vision for his own dairy farm in Qatar and already had plans to bring this number of cows to Qatar over a period of time. Given the sanctions imposed, he apparently considered fast tracking a small number by air. But this is as yet not confirmed as far as we know......<br />
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However, a few thousand Australian sheep did arrive by ship last week and Qatar does already have a dairy farm which was built in 1985. Al Ghadeer Dairy Farm has 2200 heads of cattle and produces around 26,000 litres of milk per day plus yoghurt and other product lines. Since the blockade, it has been struggling to cope with demand, particularly as the cows produce less milk in the extreme summer heat and their feed is now harder to come by. <br />
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Food security is a large part of Qatar's Vision 2030 and it is clear that this is becoming more important than ever to this desert nation. In the short to medium term, Qatar will need to continue its reliance on imports from other countries such as India, Iran and Turkey. And certainly, there was a little more variety on the supermarket shelves this week as other Turkish companies started sending supplies for this important Eid holiday season. <br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-56943513464499482762017-06-20T14:20:00.000-07:002017-06-20T14:20:45.301-07:00Gulf Crisis week 22 weeks have passed since Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and began blocking air and sea routes and closed the only land border between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.<br />
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The participating countries closed their air space to Qatar Airways and their national airlines are no longer flying into Qatar. With the land border closed, all deliveries of food and other materials through Saudi Arabia have been halted so other arrangements were quickly made, including flying in produce from Turkey, Iran and India and sea shipping via Oman rather than UAE.<br />
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The effect on Gulf families is the biggest impact and today marks the 14 day deadline for Saudi, UAE and Bahraini nationals to leave Qatar and for Qataris to leave those countries. There are harsh penalties for those who do not comply, including threats of jail sentences, travel bans of up to 3 years and possibly revoking citizenship permanently. Amnesty International has accused these countries of "toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples' livelihoods and education"<br />
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Students are being forced to quit their university education, some in their final year, with no compensation for the time and money spent. Patients undergoing or awaiting urgent medical treatment in Qatar, known for its excellent health care facilities, are being ordered home. Husbands and wives and whole families are being split up and sent in different directions, not knowing when they will see each other again. One Saudi family was turned away at the Saudi border when they attempted to attend a family funeral in Qatar after their loved one had died in hospital here. And one Qatari widow was forced to leave Saudi Arabia and return to Qatar without her special needs son who needed her care.<br />
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Individuals are being fired from their jobs, bank accounts frozen, businesses closed and ruined after years and years of building them. The Qatar Human Rights office is receiving hundreds of calls per day from people desperate for help. Qatar has told residents from all nations that they are welcome to stay and many of them are choosing to do so, despite the punishment threatened from their own countries.<br />
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The rest of us are not feeling as much pain. Sure, prices are going up in the shops a little, we cant get bananas and other items are sometimes unavailable, dairy products are arriving from Turkey but not always available and flying out of Qatar to anywhere is taking longer due to the restrictions on flight paths. And those carrying residents cards or permits to work in Qatar are being turned away from these neighbouring countries too, even though their nations' passports would normally entitle them to visas on arrival. <br />
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This being such a historic event, a friend and I decided to take a drive to the Saudi border to see what was happening there, if anything. As we drove there on a steamy Friday afternoon, temperature in the upper 40s, traffic became lighter and lighter. We came upon the border almost without warning and not much life was apparent.... apart from a police vehicle parked at the crossing.<br />
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We passed by slowly and then parked up in the petrol station beside immigration and went inside to talk to the attendants. They looked pretty delighted to have customers and told us that they were remaining open as usual but the days were passing slowly with few customers and nothing to do.<br />
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One or two other vehicles stopped to use the shop and we also watched a car seem to drive from Saudi Arabia into Qatar. But it wasn't clear how or why this vehicle was allowed to pass and certainly all news reports are declaring the border completely closed on both sides, even to citizens trying to return home.<br />
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We thought we might have more luck at the border closer to the UAE, so we took a drive in that direction, passing a sweet little place called Al Ameria, marked with a small tower and a well, typical of those dotted around the desert region and used as essential watering holes for the Bedouin and their livestock. The very same type of well that Wilfred Thesiger and his Bedouin companions would have depended on for survival when crossing the Empty Quarter desert around 100 years ago.<br />
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Close by was a small farm with goats, and our only glimpse of a camel all day. Kept in covered enclosures to protect them from the sun's harsh rays, they each had a hand cut 'hump hatch' for ease of movement in and out without catching their hump on the corrugated roof. A nice custom touch.<br />
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We drove on towards the second border but before we could get even close to it, we came upon a military checkpoint and we were waved away..... the only thing crossing this checkpoint was a cat - Qatari I presume!<br />
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With the sun dropping towards the horizon and the light fading, we drove towards Dukhan on the west coast to find a restaurant for Iftar, the meal which breaks the fast during Ramadan. As the sun set, we drove past a family who had stopped along the highway to prepare for Iftar and Maghrib prayer on the side of the road.<br />
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As the deadline passes for the 13,000 citizens affected by the punitive measures imposed by Qatar's neighbours, the UAE is now threatening that these sanctions could last for years with the intention of isolating Qatar from the region. And Qatar is saying that it will not negotiate until the blockade is lifted. So it seems this situation will continue for some time and we wait to see how and when it might be resolved. For now, the citizens and ex-pats alike are coming together in solidarity and support of the country and the Emir, and I guess the only people driving towards Saudi Arabia will be crazy border tourists like us!!<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-30292845652638232862017-06-13T10:28:00.001-07:002017-06-13T10:28:23.816-07:00We are Qatar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, what a week!! Ive been in Qatar now for 4 years and we've had some ups and downs and one or two troubled times, especially back in 2014 when diplomatic ties with our neighbours took a step back for a few months but on the whole, I've always had the view and the feeling that Qatar is pretty much one of the safest and most stable nations in the Middle East.<br />
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Then last Monday the ground shook beneath our feet and we suffered what can only be described as a geopolitical earthquake. Sudden and severe, with instant impact, initially causing panic among the people, had us holding our breath for a few days waiting for the aftershocks and leaving long term consequences which we are still yet to truly grasp.<br />
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On Monday 5 June, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, recalling their citizens and putting the country under an air, land and sea blockade. Qatar imports 90% of its food, much of that overland through Saudi Arabia, with which it shares its only land border. This border is now closed and deserted.<br />
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With every day that passed, we learned a little more and, working for Al Jazeera, we were more nervous than most, given that closure of Al Jazeera appeared to be one of the demands being made by the countries involved.<br />
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The timing seemed to be linked to Donal Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, and now it is clear that this was indeed the catalyst. Trump now openly admits that he spoke with some of the nations at the Arab summit about 'what to do about Qatar', despite the fact that he had been openly friendly with Sheikh Tamim and talked of selling him lots of "beautiful American weapons".<br />
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The key charge was that Qatar finances terrorism and within days, there appeared a list of individuals and organisations including Qatar Charity which KSA and others suggested were involved in terrorist activities. This claim was refuted by the UN who said they had worked in partnership with Qatar Charity and it undertook great works in the region, assisting refugees, building schools and offering humanitarian aid in some of the worst affected trouble spots in the world, including Yemen, Gaza, Somalia, Syria and Iraq.<br />
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There are many theories out there as to what this is really about, and I don't intend to address them all here. Suffice to say there seems to be a little bit of old fashioned jealousy at the way Qatar has built significant relationships and partnerships with nations around the world, has developed a well respected global media organisation and has grown its airline rapidly to become one of the most popular in the region and internationally, it is the richest nation in the world per capita and of course there is the World Cup!<br />
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Along with this, there is the order in the region with the scales so delicately balanced that a nod or a wink from the US President can have a huge impact. Obama's stance on Iran and KSA kept the pot under a gentle simmer. With Trump's visit to KSA, he was smooched and sword danced into a stuper and love-bombed into whole heartedly standing behind anything the KSA wanted to do. Not to mention, this action happened to fall neatly into the lap of Trumps' buddy 'Bibi' Netanyahu who must be rubbing his hands with glee at this chump Trump folly.<br />
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So now that the pot has royally boiled over, how does it feel to live here?<br />
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Well after the initial shock, the first day of some 'stupids' panic buying, and a few days of "wtf just happened?".... things are surprisingly calm. The majority of residents are ex-pats from South Asia, Africa and Europe who are not personally linked to the countries affected. We can continue to go about our business pretty much unaffected. Shops are fully stocked - Qatar had planned for this possibility and acted extremely quickly to calm the population and get the shelves restocked and start importing dairy products from Turkey. We've all had fun learning Turkish for milk (Sut) and laban (Ayran)!!<br />
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The citizens of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain are suffering the most, especially those who are intermarried which is very common in this region. They were being forced to separate from their loved ones and return to countries where many of them had never lived, didnt have a job, a home or any remaining family members. Qatar has told them they can stay but we wait to see what their home countries will do on 19th June when the deadline expires. <br />
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Some Emirates have even suggested that they are ready to burn their passports and will never go back now, especially after their country issued a law which would see anyone sympathising with Qatar locked up for a maximum term of 15 years in prison, even making it illegal to wear a Barcelona football shirt!!<br />
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But the outpouring of affection for the country and the Emir, Sheikh Tamim, is creating an atmosphere of positivity, strength and loyalty which is increasing by the day. The dignified reaction by the Qatar authorities and the Royal family in the wake of this action has added to this feeling and people are bonding and talking to each other about what is happening. They are continuing to enjoy the holy month of Ramadan, going out with their children and showing a graceful defiance which is pretty infectious!!<br />
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Watch this space as I continue to blog on the ongoing situation and how it feels on the ground.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-3395008439285371352017-05-13T11:37:00.000-07:002017-05-13T11:37:42.894-07:00Think global - buy local<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; padding: 0px 0px 18px;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent;">Now one wouldn't necessarily think of the Middle East region as a salad garden, given the lack of rainfall throughout the year, so the plans for Qatar to achieve self-sufficiency in vegetable production over the next 5 years may seem ambitious.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;">But this is indeed the aim, as stated by the Minister of Municipality and Environment, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi at an event for Qatari farmers held back in January this year.</span></div>
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This came to my attention after I started to notice more local produce in the Carrefour supermarket where I do my weekly shop. I've been impressed by the supermarket's policy of labelling the country of origin of all fresh produce, which gives consumers the choice to support local farmers in Qatar and other producers from the region.</div>
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The issue of 'food miles' has been on the minds of western consumers for some years now, as we learn more about the impact of food transportation on the environment. </div>
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Being from the UK, there is an emphasis now on buying locally and eating products which are 'in season', bringing with it the benefits of being fresher, tastier, free from preservatives and usually cheaper. But also, of course, means that it hasn't travelled for miles across the world to your plate, which thereby also lessens the carbon footprint.</div>
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So seeing more local produce from the Middle East region and particularly from Qatar itself, is very exciting. Qatari grown products include mushrooms, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes, peppers, beans, aubergines and courgettes. </div>
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Some farms are using all year round hydroponic techniques, without soil, in greenhouses under the never ending sunshine of the region. The preciously scarce water is recycled, going around the system some 20 times. Others use more traditional farming during the more temperate months of September to June, using a sophisticated drainage system to use water more efficiently.</div>
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With Qatar having the unfortunate position of being listed consistently in the top 10 most obese countries in the world, and a recent Qatar Biobank report for 2016 showing that 70% of the national population are obese or overweight, an emphasis on encouraging people to eat more healthy organic produce should be a priority.</div>
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For my part, I make an effort to buy produce from Qatar or as close to Qatar as possible. This week, my basket consisted of milk, cheese, yoghurt, and spring onions from Saudi Arabia...</div>
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fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and peppers from Qatar,</div>
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aubergines from Oman,</div>
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<span id="goog_1810246044"></span><span id="goog_1810246045"></span>pasta from United Arab Emirates...</div>
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free range eggs from Lebanon...</div>
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lettuce and chillis from Jordan, </div>
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grapefruits from Turkey .... and most exciting of all.... mangos from Yemen!</div>
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Of course, one can also find a variety of fruits and vegetables from every country in the world, particularly Europe. For Qatar's farmers to be successful, they will need to find a way to promote Qatari produce and incentivise the retailers to sell it and the shoppers to buy it.</div>
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-46114255907365254222017-03-25T11:30:00.001-07:002017-03-26T04:43:40.125-07:00War in Yemen is 2 years old - Who would know? 26th March marks the beginning of the 3rd year of the war in Yemen - the day on which Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Gulf and African nations, intervened in a civil war in the country between the Iranian backed Houthi rebels (a tribal faction from the North of the country) and the rest (an amalgamation of government troops under President Hadi and young men allied to the Southern Movement).<br />
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This war with seemingly no end in sight, has disappeared from view to the outside world. Out-miseried by the atrocities in Syria and Iraq and of course outranked by events in Europe of late, most recently the attack on Westminster Bridge in London.<br />
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But what many don't seem to understand or want to discuss is that these events are all interrelated. Considering Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East, it might be a surprise to know that the UK and US are making a nice tidy sum out of it. <br />
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A recent <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/03/yemen-multibillion-dollar-arms-sales-by-usa-and-uk-reveal-shameful-contradiction-with-aid-efforts/" target="_blank">Amnesty International report</a> states "the USA and UK combined have made arms transfers worth more than US$5 billion to Saudi Arabia since 2015" when the war started. And these weapons have been used to commit human rights abuses in Yemen. The Saudi coalition has killed 494 innocent civilians in seemingly indiscriminate air strikes on civilian homes in Houthi held territory, using these weapons.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcnR-5blY5z7uf2B5kvBBkd5I1excEqWoeWQ1eH382ndyaJc19N0aRYg_glUhFt3jcvCxwxA0HMzUc7dNXIPtZzM_BTW8TSmVEw8xLN2IlHb-DfpGIq_Hdp-tjAXSDSb4rptPZ-mInbZp/s1600/Arms+sales+to+Saudi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcnR-5blY5z7uf2B5kvBBkd5I1excEqWoeWQ1eH382ndyaJc19N0aRYg_glUhFt3jcvCxwxA0HMzUc7dNXIPtZzM_BTW8TSmVEw8xLN2IlHb-DfpGIq_Hdp-tjAXSDSb4rptPZ-mInbZp/s400/Arms+sales+to+Saudi.jpg" width="397" /></a></div>
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Back in London, the wall to wall media coverage of the Westminster attack continues, with regular reference to our British values and way of life and our tolerance and resilience in the face of adversity. The media used words such as "sick', "depraved", "Westminster carnage" and "attack on the home of democracy in London".<br />
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This attack by one individual is branded as a depraved act of terror, while state sponsored co-ordinated attacks on innocent civilians in other countries is what....... business? British export? or part of the so called 'war on terror' ?... or conveniently both?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqk3fn6pQVgdTUa768VXTYzUoRtOP4Q94ZrnsHFMWN9Q3FKGOIFjZxAgPYHU-_WhR65DzNDkp2kuJuSX-6hpS6ngNzWcqsd8WKb5S-xDO1UVO7Gl6KVic7L6fpt4bAzn0aoJMnh2W06YV/s1600/Al+Ghayil+raid+29+Jan+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqk3fn6pQVgdTUa768VXTYzUoRtOP4Q94ZrnsHFMWN9Q3FKGOIFjZxAgPYHU-_WhR65DzNDkp2kuJuSX-6hpS6ngNzWcqsd8WKb5S-xDO1UVO7Gl6KVic7L6fpt4bAzn0aoJMnh2W06YV/s400/Al+Ghayil+raid+29+Jan+2017.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Iona Craig</td></tr>
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A recent US Navy Seal raid on a tiny village in South Yemen at the end of January made a few headlines but only because one US Navy Seal died. What was not so widely reported is that 25 innocent people died. 6 of them women and 9 of them children under the age of 13 years. One of them 8 year old Noor Al Awlaqi (pictured).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwAuUvnNr94m4VQMR48MndqSbzjSmIieiTIj5cvfCva17IYC6LZXaYRrUcfwpjZveCKiIN2C3tPaFW_TNraPn_DCbArub8tc4W3dXp10jIIXI9oPJ-tzMj-umUzTSE16DAWNjYkV_nnUv/s1600/Noor+Al+Awlaki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwAuUvnNr94m4VQMR48MndqSbzjSmIieiTIj5cvfCva17IYC6LZXaYRrUcfwpjZveCKiIN2C3tPaFW_TNraPn_DCbArub8tc4W3dXp10jIIXI9oPJ-tzMj-umUzTSE16DAWNjYkV_nnUv/s320/Noor+Al+Awlaki.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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There is a bigger picture that it seems so callous to discuss in the immediate aftermath of a horrific attack on home soil. But if we don't discuss this now, then when? Lets face it, 24 hour news channels have plenty of time to fill, especially when the facts in these events are so few and far between. So why not use the time to ask some of these questions? Or do people prefer the narrative of "why do they hate us so much?"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinRYfMoggg_WOvTq7RzHmCwWWc2dLU0nfxTrIn_7g6OYJxki8YF5QjBeN9vHsXOF21-moDKzMeGWtl842eeXhTEIui6By4ohC3E7aFNMCo-Uk1HzM1y-BCrXMiiBiHI4h8pB6FQ00oJEd/s1600/trump+islam+hates+us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjinRYfMoggg_WOvTq7RzHmCwWWc2dLU0nfxTrIn_7g6OYJxki8YF5QjBeN9vHsXOF21-moDKzMeGWtl842eeXhTEIui6By4ohC3E7aFNMCo-Uk1HzM1y-BCrXMiiBiHI4h8pB6FQ00oJEd/s400/trump+islam+hates+us.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There is an argument that humans love conflict and division. It helps us feel a sense of belonging and bonding against a common enemy. And people love fear. In fact, people just love to feel something - good or bad, they don't care. Western society is so doped up on X-Factor and celebrity dancing shows, life passes numbly by while we dumbly go along with whatever gruel we are fed by the media. We are emotional beings, we are all desperate to feel something but we don't get the chance much because we no longer need to hunt or fight for survival.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPgIE_Pn3VL-hO0gjVp8-Of0YQo1TydRMz3waJgV3jVGwBWxIfalJruMdwYuLADeBqG9GL4SxNd4HKCfKmuZvo5hfwBzVNxf_VHXvQC8pABvUGP2dYeF1P3E23X44ymduwK61G_TUWbs_/s1600/fatguywatchingtv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPgIE_Pn3VL-hO0gjVp8-Of0YQo1TydRMz3waJgV3jVGwBWxIfalJruMdwYuLADeBqG9GL4SxNd4HKCfKmuZvo5hfwBzVNxf_VHXvQC8pABvUGP2dYeF1P3E23X44ymduwK61G_TUWbs_/s400/fatguywatchingtv.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We gorge on 24 hour news, but learn very little about what is really going on. So why don't we know what is really going on? Because it doesn't serve governments well for us to know. It doesn't serve the "home of democracy" to have true transparency. So whats the point in democracy? If we don't ask questions and don't challenge at these times more than at any other, then when?<br />
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Is it because it seems anti-British to ask these questions at such a time? Does it appear insensitive? But surely if your loved one was killed, wouldn't you want to know why?<br />
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When Navy Seal, William Owens, was killed in the botched raid in Yemen, The White House described the raid as "absolutely a success, and I think anyone who would suggest its not a success does a disservice to the life of Chief Owens" and used this as a reason not to investigate because it seemed insensitive to do so. They didn't bank on Owen's father demanding a review of what went wrong and accusing Trump of hiding behind his sons death to prevent an investigation.<br />
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So we need to be careful that we don't allow the loss of British lives to be used by our Government to neatly paper over their own abuses. Let us not numbly, dumbly and dutifully fall in behind our leaders just because they tell us we share the same values and they are under attack by 'evil doers.'<br />
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Let us instead use our rights as a tolerant democratic society to call our hypocritical government to account and hold it to those values so espoused. And if we want to continue to claim those values and standards of tolerance, respect, rule of law and democracy, surely we carry them wherever we go and we don't somehow leave them at the border of southern Europe.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-18452414502603904682017-02-26T11:07:00.000-08:002017-02-26T11:44:09.625-08:00Qatar's deserts burst into flower<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Qatar has seen an unusual period of sustained rainfall in the last week or so. Some say they haven't experienced rain like it for 20 years. It wasn't particularly heavy but it rained on and off for an entire week, causing flooding and standing water across the country and turning areas of desert into lakes and swamps.<br />
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Having heard about the potential for a treasure chest of blooms locked beneath the sand, to burst through after heavy or prolonged rainfall, we decided to go on a desert flower hunt.<br />
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In the pouring rain, we set off west towards Umm Bab - which means "mother gateway", referring to two small hills either side of an opening giving the appearance of a gateway. Its a small coastal town built to accommodate the workers of Qatar Petroleum in 1948.<br />
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When we arrived at Umm Bab beach, a beautiful oasis of palm trees and low lying shrubs, the sun mysteriously came out and the rain stopped! The guys playing football there were pretty happy about that too!<br />
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We wandered off in search of the illusive desert flowers we'd heard so much about, not exactly expecting what we were about to find. We soon stumbled across a cluster of Desert Thumbs.... latin name 'Cynomorium coccineum', growing to 6 -12 inches. <br />
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This parasitic perennial apparently has a use in both Arabic and Chinese herbal medicine. Known locally as Tartuth and long eaten by the bedouin on camel treks across the desert, it is thought to have therapeutic properties beneficial for blood disorders, reproductive problems and digestive ailments. Studies in China have established evidence of strong anti-oxidant properties.<br />
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Bedouin women also used the red pigment as a fabric dye. The plant would have been harvested after the rains and sold in large numbers in the souq.<br />
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Close to this cluster, we then spotted the striking colours of the desert hyacinth (Cistanche tubulosa). These appeared randomly in ones, twos or threes. <br />
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Another parasitic plant, it obtains its nutrients and water from the roots of other plants, which explains why we most often found them embedded in low level shrubs. It had a very firm, fleshy, almost rubbery feel to it and one could imagine it withstanding the most vicious of sandstorms!<br />
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Recent Chinese studies have concluded that the desert hyacinth contains a substance which can help to regulate the blood glucose level and can help in the treatment of both type 1 and 2 diabetes. But the Bedouin would dry it and mix the powder with camel milk to treat injuries and boil the stem to treat diarrhoea.<br />
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Other flowers we came across included a yellow flower, Launaea Mucronata, a member of the dandelion family<br />
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and numerous low level shrubs including Zygophyllum Qatarense, which grows in a salty environment and has small fleshy leaves which retain moisture. This plant is said to be fed to camels at the beginning of the racing season, to purge them of toxins in their system.<br />
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And of course, the whole area dotted with date palms and beneath the clusters of trees, carpets of date seeds littered the ground...<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-25919813779708435812016-09-17T11:34:00.000-07:002016-09-17T11:42:07.970-07:00Qatar Cycling Adventures - A night under the stars pt 2Having found a nice little spot to spend the night, on a sandy spit, east of Al Khor, stretching out into the Arabian Gulf, I parked Grey Legs and spread out my towel. I changed out of my cycling clothes and hung them out to dry on the handle bars. <br />
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The spit was raised out of the sea with large rocks and as I relaxed after my day in the saddle, I listened to the water lapping gently and shoals of fish jumping and darting about around the surface of the ocean.<br />
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The sun had now gone down and the sky was a dusky pink to violet, turning to dark blue, and looking up I saw the moon, just over half full and bright. There was a light breeze and the humidity began to pick up a little as darkness fell.<br />
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I had noticed a group of Philippino guys parked up and a few of them wandered past me towards the end of the spit, carrying what looked like camping equipment. I was a little disappointed that Id be sharing the space but they weren't too close and seemed quiet enough. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREyYtVwE5mpLt9Gw_L5dql9Z_mOrlgH0L1N2bj8bhyphenhyphenaVtK6SpXsvE_B3pGAGDYFsLbG8fXD61csl7j9J9iAJ-bBIWm8p4AN1VzRQL2WMUGmvpW95qd0aIOBZ5R6_qYZojyqLbvfV7Ze9V/s1600/IMG_7981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREyYtVwE5mpLt9Gw_L5dql9Z_mOrlgH0L1N2bj8bhyphenhyphenaVtK6SpXsvE_B3pGAGDYFsLbG8fXD61csl7j9J9iAJ-bBIWm8p4AN1VzRQL2WMUGmvpW95qd0aIOBZ5R6_qYZojyqLbvfV7Ze9V/s320/IMG_7981.jpg" width="240" /></a>I then noticed some lights in the water, some out quite far and some close to the rocks - maybe kayakers? Some of the guys were looking over the side of the spit close to me and seemed to be surveying for something, shining their torches into the water.<br />
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More and more lights were appearing in the water and what started as one or two voices in the darkness grew into a gentle background chatter. Although sad that I hadn't found my place of isolation for the night, I found the combination of lapping waves and chattering fisherman rather reassuring. <br />
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I wasn't quite so chuffed with my other camp buddies...... ants! Of course when you decide to camp wild, its good to remember it means you'll potentially be sharing your camp with all manner of guests and there is not much you can do to stop them from creeping in. Scorpions are common in the desert so I got off quite lightly with ants. Despite moving my camp 3 times, they tracked me down.... so eventually, I gave in and decided to relax and share with them. <br />
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As the bright moon travelled across the sky, turning from silver to gold and then in the early hours dipping below the horizon, out came billions of stars and I finally got what I came for. I never see the stars in Doha due to the light pollution so it was really special to be lying there looking up at a sky full of stars, spotting constellations and feeling insignificant in the world. While I took it all in, an occasional shooting star appeared then faded, its trail following like a tiny silver thread - I saw around half a dozen or so as I drifted in and out of a light doze.<br />
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The Philippino fishermen were busy all night - I was dying to know what they were catching but was too tired to investigate until the morning. When dawn broke, and they appeared to be packing up, I asked them - "whats the catch?"..... and they showed me their haul of crabs. Hundreds of small blue crabs - sadly far too small for my liking. But Ive seen them for sale in supermarkets here so I guess its not illegal.<br />
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The sun started to rise quickly and spectacularly at around 5am. A few guys had arrived just to swim and dived straight into the water - it was too hot for swimming they claimed - more like a bath! I swiftly and delicately changed into my lycra and headed off with Grey Legs back towards the road and home. <br />
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I urgently needed to find 1. a discrete place to pee! and 2. somewhere to buy water - I'd been rationing my supply through the night - but I wasn't sure where would be open at 6am on the day of Eid Al Adha, a public holiday. <br />
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For no.1 (excuse the pun) - I found a small dune to protect my modesty - or so I thought! A passing motorist was only too pleased to acknowledge my over exposure by tooting his horn - not sure whether in appreciation, disgust or simply surprise at seeing this strange apparition akin to a scene from Carry on Follow that Camel!!<br />
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When I arrived back at the main road, I realised I would have to turn right and away from the direction i needed to go until the dual carriageway hit a roundabout. But at the roundabout, I decided to continue on to the little seaside town of Al Thakhira. And boy I was glad that I did. I headed towards the corniche and right there was a parade of small shops and a grocery store that was open, which satisfied urgent need no.2<br />
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I loaded up with water, guzzled down a fruit juice and bought an ice lolly and headed to the waterside. It was beautiful.... an inlet with mudflats and sand banks dotted with different kinds of sea birds and waders. Grey Legs and I took a short breather before the epic now 80km journey home. I wanted so much to stay longer in this pretty little place but we had to hit the road before temperatures started to soar into the 40s. As it was they were well into the mid 30s already at 6am!<br />
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Everywhere were 4 x 4s crammed with young men and boys dressed exquisitely in pristine white thobes. It was the early morning of Eid Al Adha so I guess maybe they were all returning from the mosque? Or maybe going out for a morning cruise before family duties? Not a woman in sight. Maybe it was like Christmas morning when mums stay in cooking Christmas dinner while the guys go out walking the dog or down to the pub!.... clearly not either of those activities in this case!!<br />
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Anyway, water bottles full and sufficiently cooled by my ice lolly, we headed off back towards Al Khor and then onto the coastal road and home to Doha, singing "On the road again" out loud. A ghastly headwind and rising temperatures started to take their toll after about and hour or so and I knew I needed to get out of the sun quickly for a break. But there are no trees, no buildings, no shade along this road so when I spotted a mobile advertising hoarding, I stopped and hid in its tiny sliver of shade for 10 minutes, lowering my head to stop myself passing out.<br />
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I couldn't stop for long and as soon as I recovered enough, I was back on the road, pressing for home as the heat continued to climb into the 40s. I felt relief as the Doha city scape came into view but I knew I had about another hour of cycling to go and my water supply was severely depleted already. <br />
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Once into the city, and another 20 minutes of familiar roads left, I really wanted to get home but a nagging voice was telling me to stop for water - so as I made it to the Corniche, I stopped at the Costa Coffee and stumbled inside, to the shock of staff and customers. I ran straight to the cooler and drank a pineapple juice and a bottle of water before paying for anything! I was physically shaking due to the combination of depleted sugar levels and heat exhaustion. But it didn't take long to rehydrate and cool down and after a 15 minutes, I was feeling great again and ready to face the final stretch along the Corniche, waving at my lovely camels in Souq Waqif as I went by!<br />
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The beauty of the trip was not only in the reward of the night spent in the desert under the stars, but was also in the physical challenge of cycling in such conditions and the mental challenge of doing so alone. As the quote goes... "Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort"..... and I now feel ready for a longer adventure - from micro to mini!<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-83373554485556034562016-09-14T08:38:00.001-07:002016-09-14T12:29:40.553-07:00Qatar Cycling Adventures - A night under the stars Pt 1With Eid AlAdha approaching and the weather cooling to a mere 40 degrees, what better time to plan another micro-adventure and this time to do something I've been dying to do for a long time - sleep in the desert under the stars.<br />
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After little sleep and an aching back, I hauled myself out of bed and set off at 6.30 am on the day of Arafat, a fasting day for Muslims, before the celebrations of Eid Al Adha - the Festival of the Sacrifice - begin. Roads were quiet, temperatures around 35C and no wind. I planned to cycle up the coastal road running along the east coast of Qatar, to Al Khor, a small town in the North East, located on a creek - Al Khor is Arabic for 'the creek'. The ride would be approximately 50km which I estimated would take me 2.5 hours, give or take a stop when necessary.<br />
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Id heard of a small island among the mangroves - for which Al Khor is famous - which looked like it might be a good place to camp and star gaze, away from bright lights and civilisation. I was excited but nervous - the heat being such as it is. Ive not ridden for more than 45 minutes in over 40 degree heat and (except for my trusty Grey Legs), I would be alone in my endeavour. Dogged determination and an inexplicable inclination towards discomfort would keep me going - after all, what pleasure is there in riding a smooth road?<br />
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Staying hydrated was my biggest concern so I stopped at the first truck stop at the start of the coastal road to refuel my water bottles and take a breather before the remaining 35km. These truck stops in Qatar are not for the faint hearted. They're always a little dodgy due to the large number of huge trucks and commercial vehicles that pass through them from all directions. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKjeJ_2y6nJ3EYJmolStE_sWSzicwzRw9PgjqfdnuOungBbnRV5JQK2R-55zhWLSsEhZ_4LTIIQi8luv7caljoLGKdYzi1yvEKcMQrn0hCSxxrbFhPNxNxnYtcwZjlSbxBdcctd2KQFlx/s1600/IMG_7935.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivKjeJ_2y6nJ3EYJmolStE_sWSzicwzRw9PgjqfdnuOungBbnRV5JQK2R-55zhWLSsEhZ_4LTIIQi8luv7caljoLGKdYzi1yvEKcMQrn0hCSxxrbFhPNxNxnYtcwZjlSbxBdcctd2KQFlx/s320/IMG_7935.jpg" width="240" /></a>I had to be careful, being a tiny person on a tiny bike!! But I found the convenience store in the corner.... aptly entitled "consumer goods" and gulped down a strawberry milkshake and as much water as I could manage.<br />
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I turned to look for the way out and was somewhat daunted by the sight of enormous tipper and concrete mixer trucks trundling along kicking up thick clouds of dust jostling with worker buses chucking out dense black fumes, weaving their way through the myriad of parked up traffic, out through the gas station and back onto the main road. I felt very small very suddenly. <br />
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With my helmet and glasses back on and my scarf pulled up over my nose and mouth, we plunged into the melee and back out onto the main road, past Lusail - a massive construction site which will eventually be a brand new city for World Cup 2022.<br />
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Once past this, the only highlight on the long straight quiet road was the Lusail International Racing circuit and sports complex - quiet now for the summer, but a hive of activity during cooler nights when the circuit hosts motor racing, cycling, running and karting events.<br />
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After a relatively uneventful 2 hr 45 min and 58km ride, I finally entered the gates of Al Khor and headed directly to the air conditioning of AlKhor Mall, where I proceeded directly to the bathroom and changed into slightly more appropriate attire for Arafat Day (remember fasting relates to all things, not just food and drink). <br />
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I would spend the next few hours inside the mall, my only refuge from the heat of the day, before heading back out to find my little patch of desert beneath the stars for the night.<br />
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I set off again around 4pm towards Purple Island - another 10km or so out of Al Khor. The traffic was building, something akin to Christmas Eve in the UK, where people rush out for last minute goodies for tomorrow's Eid feast with family and friends. So when I finally got off main roads and onto the very quiet desert track leading towards the coast, it was a mighty relief, particularly as the sun was rapidly descending and light would soon be gone.<br />
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Passing a half sunken Nissan Patrol, which had bogged itself into the soft wet sand just off the side of the road, I was reminded to take care not to deviate too far off the beaten track. The area is covered in salt flats which when wet can turn into quick sand - quite treacherous to the unwary. With the sun setting, I found the turning to Purple Island - a firm sand track leading to a parking area just off the island, more conducive to mountain biking than Grey Legs' skinny tyres! But he managed admirably and we arrived to find severals cars parked up and families stretching their legs.<br />
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However, where we expected to see a track leading onto the island, we found a deep swampy canal and no way in. The whole island appeared to be cut off with mosquito infested mangroves. With insects buzzing around my head, no tent and no insect repellent, I made the quick decision to abandon the plan and find somewhere else. And with light disappearing fast, I needed a rapid pan B.<br />
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Back to the road and cycling as fast as I could muster, the wind having picked up, I headed down another desert track which I gambled would take me to the sea and hopefully a stretch of beach that wasn't fenced in as private land or owned by a gas company - as much of Qatar is. At the end I found another few cars parked up with a group of Philippino guys gathering - maybe for a BBQ?? I wasn't sure. The parking area was cut off from the sea by more mangrove swamps and a high sand bank on the left hand side. Undeterred, I hauled Grey Legs up the steep sand bank and to my total relief, saw a sandy spit stretching out into the sea.<br />
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We cycled as far as possible along the spit and found the perfect spot for the night, just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. I was exhausted and so happy to have found somewhere close to the water, isolated and peaceful. Well..... so I thought.<br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-35265072855958589822016-08-05T07:00:00.002-07:002016-08-05T07:01:25.716-07:00Making a date with the local farmers of Qatar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Being a small desert peninsula, Qatar doesn't have too many natural resources apart from the obvious oil and gas, especially with the pearl fishing industry long since disappeared. But there is one thing that grows well here..... the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera to give its Latin name!!).<br />
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In fact, dates have been cultivated here in Qatar since the bronze age and now there are over 1300 registered date farms in the country, producing more than 31,000 tonnes annually..... most of which are consumed by the local population with only a small proportion being exported.<br />
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Last week saw the start of the Local Dates Festival, in Souq Waqif, Doha. 18 local farmers have been invited to bring their crops for sale including fresh dates, some dried dates and even saplings for those who want to try their hand at growing their own!<br />
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The government is keen to showcase this locally grown super food and encourage visitors to the festival to taste, buy and learn more about the properties of this powerful little nutritional gem.<br />
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Dates have been important to the bedouin tribes of this region for centuries due to their high concentration of vitamins, minerals, fibre and natural sugar. Indeed the bedu, which means 'nomad', survived as they travelled through the desert for months on only dates, water and camel's milk.<br />
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Packed with dietary fibre, dates help to reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent colon cancer. They contain anti-oxidants known as tannins, possessing anti-inflammatory and anti-infection properties. They contain a host of other antioxidants such as beta carotene which protects the cells of the body from damaging free radicals.<br />
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They are a rich source of several minerals including potassium, iron, calcium, manganese, copper and magnesium, all important for bone growth, production of red blood cells and muscles.<br />
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They're a good source of vitamin A, which is essential for healthy vision, and is also known to help protect from lung cancer. In addition, they contain vitamin K, essential for bone metabolism and blood coagulant, plus B complex vitamins which help the body metabolise fats, protein and carbohydrates.<br />
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Of course they contain high levels of natural sugar so its important that they're eaten in moderation and I imagine the majority of those visiting the date festival wouldn't be walking hundreds of miles across the desert with only dates and camels milk to keep them alive..... but they're a lot more healthy than a mars bar and that's the point.<br />
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For those with a sweet tooth, dates are a pretty wonderful natural alternative to those processed sugary snacks that so many children.... and adults come to that..... reach for on occasion ! And I, for one, adore them. During Ramadan, in particular, I always break my fast with 3 dates, some water and a little yoghurt. <br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-27925074776141410552016-06-17T05:13:00.002-07:002016-06-17T05:14:09.762-07:00My top 5 favourite things to do for free in Qatar<br />
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<b>1. Wandering the lanes of Souq waqif</b></h3>
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My top recommendation for a visitor to Doha is a stroll through the lanes of Qatar's famous souq, known as one of the best in the middle east. <br />
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This renovation of the original, rebuilt on the same site, is actually only around 15 years old, although some of the buildings are original and you'd never spot the ones that aren't as its been done very very authentically. <br />
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It is the very place where Qatari bedouin would trade their animals, wool other goods and a place where they could buy their essentials. It is the heart and soul of Doha and although the main street that runs through the souq is characterised by souvenir shops and shisha cafes, exploring the alleyways behind will uncover some real gems... oudh, perfumes, traditional Arabic clothing, pots and pans, scarves, bags, shoes, and oh the spice market, where you can buy every spice, pulse or nut and the best Yemeni honey on the planet!<br />
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One of the best alleyways is one devoted to local craftsmen from the region. All manner of goods are made on site from rugs and jewellery, to handmade lamps, basketweave and pottery. <br />
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One of the best shops sells everything you can imagine made from glass which is blown right in front of you. This alleyway is a true treasure trove - even if you don't buy, just watching as they display their now rare traditional skill is a treat.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGCEP-CKggCGZb0fY0cxsbzzHXj4d7XqrPAajWuW4liJ2n6F008UCRdbt3rhgaeuTw5n7eloon9hTxaBX6cyezp9xZqjouBguvFPZIccq7tV9-EVInUBenyfBJrZpu6BCUD9gRZAi4Vjg/s1600/IMG_0186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGGCEP-CKggCGZb0fY0cxsbzzHXj4d7XqrPAajWuW4liJ2n6F008UCRdbt3rhgaeuTw5n7eloon9hTxaBX6cyezp9xZqjouBguvFPZIccq7tV9-EVInUBenyfBJrZpu6BCUD9gRZAi4Vjg/s320/IMG_0186.jpg" width="240" /></a>There is a beautiful Arts Centre towards the far end of the main street, where local artists display and demonstrate their artwork, some will paint your portrait as you sit and the centre itself is breathtakingly beautiful. Full of islamic architecture, Arabic lamps, furniture and relaxing water features. And it is air conditioned. So if you need a break from the heat, step inside and take a breather for a few minutes.<br />
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On weekends, local ladies come to sell their own homemade produce - all manner of sweet and savoury dishes - some cooked at home such as rice dishes like mandi or biryani and some cooked on site like delicious dough balls in rose water syrup and pancakes with all sorts of fillings. The aromas are incredible and everything unbelievably cheap.<br />
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So when I said its free - you certainly can wander the lanes, breathing in the exotic aromas and taking in the unique experience of a truly thriving Arabic souq, which is frequented by as many locals as tourists for bargains galore. The Emir has decreed that the rents for shop owners in the souq be kept low to encourage shoppers to keep coming. You have to haggle of course, but thats all part of the fun.<br />
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My favourite thing is to sit in one of the many cafes, order a pot of Moroccan mint tea or the most wonderful Turkish coffee and watch the world go by. There is always something interesting from the bedouin lady percussionists and singers who walk through the souq drumming and chanting, to the elderly porters with their wheelbarrows dressed in original outfits. And most days morning and evening, traditional Qatari guards ride through the souq on horseback!<br />
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Every nationality, from locals and visitors from the region to tourists around the world. Groups of young single guys in their thobes and women and girls in abayas, families with excited children, and babies with their eyes wide in wonder at all the colours and sounds. The richest and the poorest, muslims and non muslims, walk along side by side, sit together smoking shisha enjoying the atmosphere.<br />
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If you want to explore the souq even further, venture through to the falcon souq where you can see birds and falconry paraphernalia on sale. Just past this, you can wander through to the stables where the Arabian horses live and spend a few minutes there, before continuing on to the camel paddock. Its wonderfully free to explore and as long as you're respectful to the animals, you're most welcome.<br />
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One word of warning - avoid the pet souq. There is an ongoing campaign to improve conditions or get it closed down. This is the only negative in an otherwise overwhelmingly positive experience of true traditional Arabia.<br />
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<b>2. Watching traditional Arabic music concerts</b></h3>
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Again, in Souq Waqif - every Thursday night and Friday night, starting at 9pm, there is a full free concert of fabulous Arabic music. Well known artists from the region visit regularly to sing traditional songs, accompanied by the house band. And the rhythm section of hand drum and tabla players are the absolute best!! <br />
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A large crowd is always present, partially segregated between women and families on one side and single men on the other. However, the area behind is much more free for mixing and mingling and watching the guys in the audience dancing traditional arabic dances. <br />
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Yemenis are the strongest presence in the dancing community at these events and when they really get going in formation, its quite a thrilling experience to watch them..... and if you're feeling brave, join in - they're wonderfully warm and welcoming to visitors.<br />
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The musical performers come from all corners of the region, from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. They also have big events spread throughout the year such as Eid, and various festivals where they have all sorts of traditional, local and international entertainment including street artists......<br />
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traditional music and dance......</div>
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camel rides.......</div>
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They also set up bedouin tents illustrating desert life as it once was before oil was discovered and modern conveniences swept tradition aside.<br />
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There is always something going on..... its fabulous, fascinating and totally free!!<br />
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<b>3. Visiting the Museum of Islamic Art</b></h3>
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This is definitely one which should be at the top of the list. Not just because the artefacts and displays are interesting, but the building itself is a real star. Built by the same architect as the Louvre Pyramid, I.M Pei, it is a 5 storey marvel which requires time to properly explore and enjoy.<br />
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The Museum has a great website which gives up to date information on the latest exhibitions, which constitute the larges selection of Islamic art in the world, drawn from across three continents. The display halls are gloriously dark and sparse, invoking a real sense of the history of the artefacts and allows the visitor space to learn and absorb.<br />
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On the ground floor, there is a great gift shop where you can buy really high quality and beautifully packaged souvenirs and there is a lovely cafe with a great view across the water to the city scape beyond.<br />
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A great place to relax and spend a few hours in a cool, calming and peaceful environment, marvelling at the exhibits and even more so the architecture.<br />
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There are occasional performances by a string quartet in the grand lobby, regular calligraphy classes and guided tours.<br />
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<b>4. Relaxing in the Museum of Islamic Art park</b></h3>
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A beautifully landscaped green space bordered by a long circular promenade which extends around the museum, dotted with palm trees. <br />
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On weekends and warm evenings, the park fills with picnicking families and visitors keen to get away from the cities shopping malls and crazy traffic. The museum park often hosts events such as the hugely popular annual Qatar International Food Festival, which showcases food from around the world.<br />
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There is a weekly bazaar on saturdays, with stalls selling everything from local food, to arts and crafts and traditional Arabic clothing. During the cooler months of the year, there are free outdoor musical performances from jazz bands to chamber orchestras and there are various open air fitness classes throughout the week. <br />
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At the end of the promenade there is an outdoor cafe with the most spectacular view across the water to the city centre skyline. A beautiful setting for morning coffee or to watch the sun go down at the end of an exhausting day.<br />
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<b>5. Going to the camel races</b></h3>
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Camel racing in Qatar is big business and is a truly exciting spectacle. Every Friday from November through to April, visitors are encouraged to visit the race track in Al Shahaniya - about an hour's drive from Doha city. Camel racing is a traditional Arabic sport but became a professional event in 1972 in Qatar. Races vary in length from 5km to 10km and there is a mix of adult and young camel races. </div>
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These days, robot jockeys are used, after the participation of child riders was banned in 2004, following the rising number of injuries to the children of expats, mostly from south Asia. The jockeys are controlled by the camel owners who drive alongside on a parallel track in their land cruisers, using walkie-talkies to control the robots which carry a robotic whip and a walkie-talkie through which the owner can shout encouragement to the camel.</div>
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There are many races during a morning and if your arrive early, you can watch them lining up behind the start line as far as the eye can see with their Sudanese or Bangladeshi handlers. The races start with an explosion of energy, camel legs everywhere, whooping and hollering from the handlers and owners racing off down the track in the land cruisers, children leaning out of the windows to cheer on their camel.<br />
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The finish line is also a great spectacle, where the camels gather after the race and where the winner will be showered with saffron over his face and neck - a traditional celebration. And if you still have time, take a drive around Camel City - the paddocks and stables where the camels and handlers live which sprawls alongside the track for block after block. <br />
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If you're lucky, you'll be invited inside to take a look around to see behind the scenes of the life of a racing camel. See my previous blog for <a href="http://deardohadiary.blogspot.qa/2016/05/going-to-camel-heaven.html" target="_blank">my day in camel heaven!</a></div>
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-79068405256826229522016-06-11T11:53:00.001-07:002016-06-11T11:53:33.154-07:00Camel heaven part 2: Pass me the 'Head and Shoulders'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After spending some time at the races, we jumped into the car and followed behind Mohammed Islam in his pick-up, as he headed towards his stables. It really is an entire Camel city in the middle of the desert. Row after row, block after block, dusty alley after dusty alley of stables for the camels, grand gated homes and palaces for the owners and not so grand accommodation for the trainers and handlers.<br />
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We parked up outside and followed Mohammed into the yard and he showed us around. There were various different areas - one for feeding, one for washing, a stable for the older camels, and an area where a group of camels were tied to posts and hooded to prevent them fighting. There was one retired racing camel in a pen immediately on the left as we entered. After having a quick look around, we were invited to hop on for a short ride around the yard. </div>
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Ive ridden a camel before, but he was tall! Really tall, and as anyone whose ridden a camel knows, the action of a camel getting to its feet can be an interesting experience and no amount of squeezing of the thighs or tightening of the core can prepare you sufficiently to hold on. Maybe it was his age or he just wasn't in the mood but he needed a little encouragement and told us all with a loud gurgling bellow that he was retired for a reason and would rather rest.<br />
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Mohammed and his colleagues were lovely, allowing us to explore the stables and spend time with the young camels as they returned from the races, led in by the adult camels. Their first stop was at the feeding station. There were bales and bales of a fresh green plant being rinsed by stable hands and then placed into mesh troughs. We stood beside the camels as they ate and listened to the lovely chewing noise as they tucked into the juicy shoots. The young ones continued to drift in and all lined up in their different coloured coats, they looked a pretty picture.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnXltXzz0nj2VLLHAUjAAxnE5xrg0uBoH8c1VAAtHKnzCF2Nu4nr4mkgf2kc8YCujpJPDnVRRl6cGZJThdAQ8ka0J-X2ADJay2gqmEWNU430SE0AnOnp7rW9HJrQJiQTXPsSmau75PZMR/s1600/IMG_6224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwnXltXzz0nj2VLLHAUjAAxnE5xrg0uBoH8c1VAAtHKnzCF2Nu4nr4mkgf2kc8YCujpJPDnVRRl6cGZJThdAQ8ka0J-X2ADJay2gqmEWNU430SE0AnOnp7rW9HJrQJiQTXPsSmau75PZMR/s320/IMG_6224.JPG" width="240" /></a>Mohammed then led us around to the other side of the paddock where there were a number of adult camels tied to posts with strange hoods which he explained were there to prevent them fighting and biting each other. We started to notice a number of scars of similar lengths especially at the top of their legs which we were curious about. <br />
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Maybe it was the whip of the robot jockeys but they were too low for that, or maybe where they'd been fighting but they were too uniform for that. Mohammed explained that branding was a traditional remedy for many health problems. It looked quite extreme and disturbing but Mohammed assured us it was quite normal!</div>
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More and more camels started arriving back and rotated in groups around the green feed, the water station, where they stood around a large tub and slurped and sucked at the water in unison and then they were fed a large round sticky date ball which they appeared to love the most and nuzzled the handlers for more.</div>
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There was only one thing left ..... a shower. We were told this wasn't their normal bathing day but they would send one to the 'camel-wash' just for us. One young camel was chosen but it seemed the others didn't want to be left out so we had four lined up, all anticipating the feeling of the tepid water on their hot coats. The temperature now was well into the upper 30s. <br />
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We spotted that they were using none other than 'Head and Shoulders' shampoo, which seemed out of step with the parts of the camels body on which they appeared to be focused - namely the hind quarters! One of the handlers sprayed with the hose, aiming mainly under the tail, while the other scrubbed the back legs and buttocks (of the camels!) with a rough cloth. <br />
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I heard more slurping behind me and noticed another 4 lined up awaiting their turn. They did appear to rather enjoy it after the initial shock, and rather amusingly shook themselves like dogs afterwards from head to tail. Although this was a little ineffective, as they were all so closely cropped and didn't have much of a coat to shake!<br />
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Well, we felt incredibly privileged to have witnessed feeding time, drinking time and bath time for the camels and were so grateful to Mohammed for the time he had taken to show us around, we felt our time must be up. <br />
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The owner and his young sons arrived, all dressed in their pristine white thobes but stained in the saffron dye which is thrown over the winning camel's face and neck in celebration. They were curious to see us there but just as welcoming and delighted to talk to us and show us around as Mohammed had been.<br />
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It seemed our time in camel heaven was far from over yet!</div>
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PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-52812039437163981852016-05-14T09:31:00.003-07:002016-05-14T09:53:04.228-07:00Qatar Cycling Adventures Pt 2.. The Singing Sand Dune<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the story of my epic ride to Qatar's Singing Sand Dune......</div>
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After completing the Qatar Century Ride last December, cycling a gruelling 100km in one stretch, I felt I had proved my stripes in the saddle and decided to plan my own solo two wheeled micro adventure.<br />
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Colleagues at work had mentioned the Singing Sand Dune before and shown me photos of this desert wonder which has become somewhat of a tourist attraction just outside Doha. When I say just outside, I'd looked at the map and saw a distance of 35 - which would be 70km in total. No problem, I thought, but in order to be able to spend time there, I would endeavour to leave very early on Friday morning, as it would take me approximately 1.5 - 2 hours there and the same back and I wanted to ensure I made it back before the traffic got busy in Doha at around 1200.<br />
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So I got up at 4.30am, woke Grey Legs from his slumber and set off in the dark. Id pondered for a while what to wear. I knew it would get hot later and I didn't want to weigh myself down with over garments which I'd find useful only at the start. So I ventured out in a short sleeved cycling jersey into a cold, dark misty morning, praying for the sun to soon rise to warm me up. Yes, believe or not it does get cold here during the winter.<br />
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The first part of the trip was a breeze, cycling along the new cycle track which was built alongside the new airport road. Unfortunately though, it ran out very suddenly with no warning and I then had to pick my way across a dusty construction zone to the highway, to continue my journey. The route I'd chosen didn't appear to exist any more, lost in the myriad of infrastructure projects popping up all over Doha at the moment, the biggest of which is the Qatar Rail Project, providing a metro rail system across Qatar to be completed before everyone arrives for the World Cup in 2022.<br />
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So instead, I ended up following the main highway until I could find a way across in the direction I needed to head. Unfortunately, right at that very moment, an enormous bank of fog descended and visibility reduced to barely a few feet ahead. The fact that I couldn't see wasn't really the problem, I was more worried about not being seen. <br />
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I had lights on my bike, of course, but the fact that I couldn't see the big rear lights of vehicles right in front of me made me realise that I was totally invisible to the large trucks looming up behind me. So here I was, on a major highway, with no run-off, concrete construction barriers on either side and everyone driving blind. This wasn't good. Time to pray.<br />
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I considered finding a place to stop but I really didn't know how long this could last, and when I stopped I got very very cold. I decided to press on, holding my breath and talking nervously to myself about what an idiot I was. After a few miles but what felt like hours, I was able to take a turning off the road and stopped to take a breather and check my whereabouts on my iPhone. <br />
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As i did so, a Police car and ambulance rushed past me at high speed.... As I had lost some time, and still had a considerable distance to go, I continued on, following towards the emergency. The fog still refused to lift but at least I was on a quieter road.<br />
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Up ahead I could see the lights of the emergency vehicles and then I saw the accident. With the metro construction, the road layout had been changed.... rather drastically to a 90 degree turn and a concrete barrier 'dead ahead' had proved less than unforgiving to one poor driver in the dense misty gloom. I cycled past this sobering sight, feeling rather thankful that Grey Legs and I were still in one piece, but more determined than ever to reach our destination.<br />
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After another few miles, I could feel the unmistakable warmth of the sun breaking through the fog and lifting us up and carrying us faster along the road. Gradually the mist cleared completely and the road ahead stretched out into a long grey ribbon through the dust on either side. <br />
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No majestic dunes or palm trees here, just flat plains of dust with a few houses sprinkled about. I kept checking my spot on google maps and the sand dune didn't seem to be getting much closer. I.d been riding for a good two and a half hours and by now should be almost there! My pace hadn't been that bad, despite the fog and I was confused. I only seemed to be just over half way there!!<br />
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I was now on a busy single lane truck road, with a sharp drop off the side of the road to the gravel. Despite their huge size, they were travelling at crazy speeds and way too close for comfort.<br />
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This was not altogether that much fun, I decided, and the scenery left much to be desired too.... unless you like commercial vehicle graveyards, which is what I spent a good hour cycling past for mile after mile. <br />
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Eventually though, after three and a half hours of gruelling and, at times, terrifying pedalling, I was approaching what seemed to be some dunes. It was 9am before I finally reached the famous Singing Sand Dune itself. A huge crescent shaped (as most of them are), golden mountain which apparently hums if the conditions are right. Physically I was totally shattered, and it turns out, it had been 35 miles, not km... (approx 55km).... , which explained a thing or two!!...but here was my reward. <br />
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Total peace, quiet and solitude. Alone in the desert, just me and Grey Legs and a gentle breeze across the sand. It was truly magical and I knew we wouldn't be joined by anyone at that time on a Friday morning. Since leaving the highway, we'd seen only one man, practicing falconry and occasionally I could hear him whistling for his bird.<br />
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Despite my fatigue, now I was here, I had to climb the dune. I dragged Grey Legs up the first smaller dune and then left him at the bottom of the large one while I scrambled up to the top. If you've never climbed up a sand dune before, I can only describe it as trying to climb up a downward escalator in custard filled wellington boots, soled with lead. For every five steps up, you slide back down three. Its utterly exhausting. <br />
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When I eventually made it to the top, my exuberance was short lived..... the entire top surface of the dune was littered with..... well.... litter! Evidence of picnics, barbecues and parties all left behind - wrappers, plastic bags, even fast food containers, as well as a carpet of charcoal. It made me sick. Here this natural wonder violated by the laziness and disrespect of visitors and locals alike. A microcosm of the ignorance of the human condition.<br />
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So I turned away from it and sat on the edge looking out across the desert plains in the direction of Saudi Arabia. As I sat, my footprints bringing me up had all but disappeared already. <br />
It was a terrific spot for contemplation but sadly I didn't have long enough to enjoy it, contemplating only the long journey back which I wasn't quite sure how I would manage, feeling exhausted, quite frightened and in pain. I refuelled my body with a banana and some yoghurt drink and plenty of water, took a few photos and decided I would cycle back via a faster route. <br />
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I realised there were no safe routes home - a fast 3 lane highway which may at least have a hard shoulder to cycle on, or the single lane truck road that had brought me here but almost killed me. By now, the roads were getting busier so I didn't fancy going back the same way, so I chose the highway. After climbing down from the dune and getting on our way again, the wind was now against me and had picked up. My two herniated discs in my spine were giving me trouble and I knew the return journey would be at least as gruelling as my earlier experience.<br />
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Finally getting onto the highway, I had to cycle 5km in the wrong direction even before I started because there was no way to cross the central reservation. In some places there was a hard shoulder which gave me some crumb of comfort, but for the most part there wasn't. Again, I was faced with commercial traffic rushing past me at extremely high speed and so close, I could polish their wheels with my lycra! By now, I was so petrified and convinced I was going to die, that I prayed out loud continuously, saying the Shahada in Arabic over and over......<br />
<i>"Ash-Hadu an laa ilaaha illallah. Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah"</i><br />
<i>"I bear witness that there is no god except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."</i><br />
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My back went into spasm - as much from the tension as the exertion. But I had no choice but to continue. Eventually I reached the Salwa Road, the main road all the way back into Doha City. I stuck myself on the hard shoulder and pedalled with everything I could muster all the way back and arrived at Souq Waif just after 12.30. Id never been so relieved and spent some time just sitting with the horses and camels, trying to take in what I'd been through over the last 8 hours!<br />
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One major lesson - check whether the distance is in miles or kilometres !!! It makes a big difference! I ended up cycling 115km, not the 70 that I'd expected. And one might be tempted to say... plan better and know what to expect. But if I had known all about it in advance, maybe I wouldn't have done it and where would be the challenge and adventure in that? These days we plan the heck out of everything and with it, remove all surprises..... good and bad. <br />
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-43388886130027834672016-05-07T11:35:00.000-07:002016-05-07T11:58:15.548-07:00Going to Camel heaven<br />
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Ive made no secret of the fact that I adore camels. They're full of character, have the cutest faces with big eyes, long eye lashes and full lips which curl and flap into the funniest shapes or simply hang in gormless contemplation. Buts its not this that really attracts me - its their nature -wrongly characterised as grumpy. They can be the most affectionate of beasts and develop relationships with their handlers as strong as that between humans..... when you're kind, they respond with gentleness, when you're rough with them, they fight back. And they bicker and squabble with each other like all animals. <br />
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Best of all though is their patience, toughness and hardiness to cope with the unbelievably harsh conditions that they can endure as nomadic transportation. Heaving loads across hundreds of miles of desert in extreme temperatures, sometimes going weeks without food or water, relying on their fat reserves, for survival. <br />
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Their milk is the most nutritious of all and the staple diet of the bedouin who can survive only on camels milk for a month if necessary. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually lower in fat than cows milk but higher in vitamins and minerals such as potassium and vitamin C. For this and many other reasons, the bedu refer to the camel as 'Ata Allah' or 'God's Gift'.<br />
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I had the fortune to meet a fellow Al Jazeera colleague with a similar passion for this 'ship of the desert' and she had already been out to the camel race track to write a piece about them. So we agreed we would go out together one early morning and try to witness the camels being washed!! now this may seem like a bit of a niche activity - up there with excessive dog grooming, cats in wigs or child beauty pageants - but to me it seemed like a thoroughly exciting prospect.<br />
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So at dawn we headed to Camel City - an area west of Doha - where the business of camel racing takes place. First stop was the Camel supermarket to buy some water - it was only 6am and already it was in the 30s and the sun was rising fast. In this little parade of shops beside the supermarket were all sorts of shops for camel food and accessories from crops and bridals to the delightful muzzles in a variety of colours.<br />
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As we headed to the track, we could see groups of camels everywhere being led out for warm up, training and racing, many still wearing their coats and young ones being lead by adults. We found ourselves at the finishing line first where we suddenly realised our car was facing in the wrong direction so we hurriedly moved out of the way of the oncoming charge of land cruisers, all operating their little robotic jockeys which sit atop the camels. <br />
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These little robots have replaced little humans which used to ride the camels, until 2003 when using children - mainly from South Asian countries of India and Bangladesh -was banned by the Emirate emir. The owners drive in landrcuisers on a road that runs beside the track. They have 2 walkie talkies with the counterparts strapped into the robot - one which they can use to shout at the camel, the other into which they blow which then activates a robotic whip.<br />
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Once this race had finished, we headed to the start line, behind which as far as the eye could see, disappearing into the hazy dawn, were young camels lining up to race. Today was focused on the juniors - starting at around 1 year old. <br />
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A variety of colours - from pale cream and light brown to red and dark brown, some quite mottled and some had been groomed to a smooth silky aerodynamic finish while others were almost as woolly as sheep!<br />
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Rather like horse racing, they are held behind the starting gate in a holding area and once the previous race is underway, they are brought around to line up. Their handlers run through the side gate with them at high speed, the young camel's legs flying about uncontrollably - it seems incredibly dangerous to the uninitiated!! One kick even from a young one would do serious damage!! <br />
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Once into the starting area, they are tied to an overhead pole which stretches across the start line with a canvass sheet hanging from it in front of the camel's faces to keep them calm. <br />
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All you can see are legs jostling and fighting for position, occasionally getting a sharp tap from the handlers to keep them in line. Sometimes they were held there for quite a few minutes as the handlers squabbled almost as much as the camels over where or how they should be secured to the pole. <br />
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Once everyone is happy that they're set.... the handlers quickly clear the area and the pole turns over, the ties drop down, the canvass is raised and off they go! Of course this all happens in a split second and the shouting, energy and excitement as they set off is something to behold up close, standing as we were right beside the start, getting a face full of sand on a couple of occasions as I tried to get a good shot of racing legs!!<br />
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We then witness one or two races of the newbies - these are 1 year olds experiencing their first ever race. Two of them fell quite early on, I think tripped by others or perhaps taken by surprise and not quite into their racing stride just yet!!<br />
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And after all the young ones in each race have taken off, they are followed very shortly behind by a few adults which - when they get to the finish, will guide the young ones home. Young camels are more willing to walk behind older camels than be led by humans. Young camels have two trainers - one human, one camel. Now how sweet is that!<br />
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At the finish line - 1500metres later, we notice one or two camels with what seems to be orange paint on their faces. This was saffron which is traditionally rubbed onto the camel's face and neck as a sign of honour. There we met Mohammed Islam - a Bangladeshi camel trainer. He was very sociable, friendly and knowledgeable and keen to share more with us. He invited us to join him after the race at his farm to see some behind the scenes action!!..... including, we hoped ..... camel washing!!!......<br />
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PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5024850381599780496.post-53813382888931587542016-04-16T10:39:00.001-07:002016-05-14T03:39:39.030-07:00Finding my inner mountain goat!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'd arrived in Petra after two nights of no sleep - one on a flight from the UK and another in a freezing cold seedy hostel in old Amman - and a five and a half hour bus journey, two hours of which were spent standing on the side of the Kings Highway waiting for a replacement bus after the driver broke the suspension by driving through one of the many giant potholes while he was distracted by chatting to the accompanying police officer.<br />
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The guys at the Seven Wonders Bedouin camp had arranged to meet me from the bus and collect my bags and leave me to go in to the Petra site for a few hours. But my utter exhaustion and sickness got the better of me and I was in no fit state for anything except heading to my tent for some rest. Hashem, a charming young bedu drove me around the twisting roads of the Wadi Musa valley, through the town of Umm Sayhoun - (built in the 1980s to accommodate the bedouin who were forcibly evicted from the Nabataean caves which they'd inhabited for hundreds of years, after UNESCO declared Petra a world heritage site), and on towards the camp. <br />
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We passed handsome young men on horseback, trotting through the town, children playing in the middle of the road, elderly bedouin pulling carts, and mules and dogs roaming about. As we drove higher up the side of the valley, we passed a little donkey curled up asleep on the side of the road! The scenery was breathtaking and although lacking in much vegetation was no less spectacular for it... like a bubbling cauldron of caramel, an endless valley of sandstone outcrops and their shifting shadows stretched before me.<br />
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The google map had positioned the camp within walking distance of Petra but as Id been in the truck for 20 minutes already, I soon realised this wasn't accurate so I wouldn't be visiting Petra today, even after a rest. But I was in no mood to rush or care - I already felt a million miles away from the stresses of my life and that in itself was enough for now.<br />
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When we finally reached the camp, and I was shown to my tent, I was very quickly in heaven. This was exactly what I needed. Peace, solitude, natural surroundings, fresh air and a comfy bed..... I decided to lay my exhausted body down for a while before going anywhere or doing anything. Sami bought me some towels and a sage tea ...a traditional bedouin remedy for my sickness, and then let me be. I lay there listening to the buzzing of insects on the other side of the canvas and the distant shouts of the guys between each other as they busied themselves preparing the camp for more arrivals that evening. I let the sounds wash around me until they faded and I slipped into a delicious and desperately needed snooze.<br />
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I had nodded off for about an hour when I woke up feeling warm... it was quite hot inside my tent so, feeling much better, I decided to get out and explore. Sami had told me that Little Petra was walking distance - and easy to find. I set off with just a little water. I hadn't wanted to eat anything since the day before and my appetite was yet to recover.<br />
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Walking up the dirt road towards the highway, I was headed off by Xamsa. He was incredibly handsome and reminded me so much of my dear Yemeni prince, Yazid. He was young - probably early 20s, tall, slim, strong, with long black wavy hair tucked under his black kefiiya (headscarf). He had bold facial features... huge dark brown eyes, a strong straight nose and full lips. <br />
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He wasn't a bedouin, he proudly announced. He was a city boy from Amman. Its funny how the guys try to distinguish themselves from each other .....although they appear like brothers with each other, they don't hesitate to talk bad about each other when competing for the interest of a woman!! I took the chance to practice my arabic and we walked and talked for maybe 10 minutes until I got to the highway and Xamsa returned to tend to his camp duties.<br />
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I continued along the side of the highway when suddenly behind me, I hear the gallop of hooves... I turn to see two young bedouin on a couple of mules. When they saw me, they slowed and gave me a big smile and a wave and a "hi how are you?"..... "Mahrbar!" I shouted (Hello in Arabic). I loved this place - I loved the craziness, the feeling of freedom and the warmth and friendliness of the people Id experienced so far. I was already feeling attached..... a sort of love at first sight but for a place, rather than an individual.<br />
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Continuing on, I eventually found the entrance to Little Petra. Id been warned by a few people to be careful of the attentions of the Ammarin tribe inside Little Petra. So I was ready to say... "no thank you, I want to walk alone" to anyone who tried to 'guide' me. Then Awad appeared. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY5-phiKgEPKyQR-jdnJHPoLd2ZjZvaGbahQKIZIx_pr78-1fdUWbMdRcmBbUR9UnUyqBDDECr1f72PSTjv-1US8m3IIbxMSyI7WUzs0hpLyOljhcnnv7WabCmvdmzxXFnYpRP_e6IFa7/s1600/IMG_4482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinY5-phiKgEPKyQR-jdnJHPoLd2ZjZvaGbahQKIZIx_pr78-1fdUWbMdRcmBbUR9UnUyqBDDECr1f72PSTjv-1US8m3IIbxMSyI7WUzs0hpLyOljhcnnv7WabCmvdmzxXFnYpRP_e6IFa7/s200/IMG_4482.JPG" width="150" /></a>"Hi, welcome to Little Petra... known as Siq Al-Barid" (cold canyon in Arabic)..... "Id be happy to show you around and tell you about the history"... No its OK, thanks - Id rather walk alone... "don't worry, I won't ask you for payment. Id be happy to just spend time with you... that would be payment enough." Yaahhh suuurrre ! But you know what? I was too tired to fight and he was already walking beside me, so what the heck. Fortunately, Awad wasn't my type and didn't remind me of anyone but he was amiable and funny and clearly didn't know that much about Little Petra which I found hilarious. <br />
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The good thing about Little Petra is..... actually there are a few good things...<br />
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<li>There is no entry fee</li>
<li>There were no other tourists... AT ALL!!</li>
<li>You can totally explore, including climbing into the caves and temples and seeing the structures right up close</li>
<li>Its small enough to see in a day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So we entered the main Little Petra site and Awad said..... "come on, we'll go up there!" errrrrr What? How exactly? He was looking at the large temple carved into the sandstone rock face. It was a good 30 feet to climb up a vertical rock face so I thought he was joking.... he wasn't. He climbed up ahead of me, barefoot, heaving me up each next section. </div>
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Little did I know, this was the taste of things to come! Once up, it was worth it. I was inside what would have been the temple - it was an incredible feet of engineering, given it had been built in the first century. Little Petra was a suburb of Petra, the Nabataean capital and it would have hosted visiting traders on their travels.</div>
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After a quick look around, we climbed back down - which was worse than the climb up!! I was surprised at the energy I had, given my earlier sickness and exhaustion. But Awad had a lot more in store!! Around the corner were more rock carved buildings - one, apparently the dining and entertainment area for all those visiting little Petra.... again another climb and another which contained the so called 'Painted House' where Awad showed me an ornate painted ceiling of vines and birds which had survived centuries of bedouin camp fires, graffiti and dust storms.</div>
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I was also able to see, up close, the system of cisterns that the Nabataeans used to collect rain water and store it for dry times.... an incredible system of channels, tunnels and rock cut tanks which were plastered to seal them to stop the water being absorbed into the porous sandstone.</div>
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After taking some time to explore all these caves, temples, tombs and houses, we headed up through a narrow canyon with natural rock steps, up towards Awad's shop, which of course for him was the entire aim of the exercise.... for me to spend some money in his shop. </div>
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But once there, he put the kettle on and we sat in the shade and drank tea and relaxed for a while. He showed me one of the bedouin scarves - which I told him I had a whole wardrobe of at home and didn't have space in my suitcase for another! </div>
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But anyway, I impressed him by tying it myself.... and then he said, well, we're only half way to the top!! Top of what? I asked. "Top of the mountains....".... "it will be the most incredible view if you have the time.... you can make it" he said with a glint in his eye....</div>
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I wasn't quite sure whether he was joking and I had no idea how far it was, how high it was or how dangerous! Lets face it, Im not a 20 year old gazelle by any stretch of ones imagination, but I had started to discover my inner mountain goat!! I sipped my tea and contemplated whether to risk it..... I would be trusting a man Id only just met with my life. </div>
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.... to be continued!!</div>
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<br />PaulineChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03633564989518736867noreply@blogger.com0