Dear Doha Diary

Having been in the Middle East for 8 months now, I should really talk about the Thobe - the traditional male dress in this part of the world. There is certainly a magical power attached to this simple garment and the head dress which accompanies it.  It seems to give the men who wear it a certain authority, a mystery, a power and a magnetism which, when combined with the scent of the Oudh perfume many of them wear is really quite alluring!  They keep their thobes beautifully pressed and pristine white and are so smart every day, wearing cuff links and starched collars. It is amazing how ordinary the very same guys look without it.  One of my dearest colleagues (who will remain nameless for obvious reasons) went from all conquering Bedouin Sheikh to New York cabbie in one easy step - simply by changing his regal thobe to jeans and T-shirt!!  What a crushing blow!!! He was a mere mortal after all.   But still, at work, in his thobe, he is all powerful.  One day, I walked in on him

I'm feeling a little guilty ....actually on two counts - one because I haven't written a blog for a while (six weeks I think!!) and two because I've just realised I've been asking some of my Muslim colleagues to defy the Quran !  ...... not deliberately and I hope Allah will forgive me! It all came about following a conversation with a Palestinian colleague some weeks ago, who was explaining the real meaning of 'Inshallah' to me...... as most of you know, it means 'God willing'.  However, my friend was discussing the different ways in which people use the phrase and how, in fact, it is often abused.  He explained it thus: A person should only use 'Inshallah' in the context that they fully intend to do something and it will  happen if God wills or it is in his plan.  The only reason that it wouldn't happen would be if God intervened somehow. He went on to say that some Muslims will use 'inshallah' as a 'get-out' clause, a

With Ramadan approaching, the dilemma for me as a non Muslim was to fast or not to fast?  To be honest, I didn't think about it for long and never had a doubt - of course I would fast.  Since moving to Doha, I've been determined to assimilate ..... as far as a western, non Muslim, non Arabic speaker can!   As regular readers will know, I prefer haggling in the Souq and dancing with the Yemeni boys to drinking with ex-pats in hotel bars and Ive also started learning Arabic. There were a few reasons for committing to the fast - not just to continue my immersion into the local culture, but also because I wanted to share the experience with my Muslim colleagues at work.  Not only that, but I also wanted to test my own commitment, my self discipline and learn something about myself in the process.  Lets face it, for a large part of the fasting time, I would be alone - particularly on the weekend - no one but me would know if I was breaking my fast - so the commitment needed to b

The beauty and energy of Souq Waqif keeps me returning each week.....of course for the dancing, (see previous post!)..... but mainly because it has such an electric atmosphere - even during the week when there is no music. The heat of the day lifts the aromas of coffee, spices and perfume and when the evening comes, the searing heat gives way to a soft warmth, mingling the aromas with the scent of the shisha.   People from every part of the globe come to eat, shop, chat, smoke and haggle of course! I had my first experience of the haggle this week and what fun it turned out to be!  The shop keepers are friendly and not at all pushy - at least the ones I visited.  Now that I can speak a little Arabic, it helps.  I would go into a shop and say "as-salaamu alaykom" (Peace be with you) and would get "wa alaykom is salaam" in reply.  ......Yes I am conversing, this is great!!!!  Generally speaking, they leave you to browse - the odd one or two would follow me aro

With my Dad's 70th birthday half way through my contract in Doha, I decided to take a few days to fly back to the UK to surprise him.  However, what I didn't realise is that my efforts to surprise my Dad, would turn into a nice surprise weekend break in Bahrain for me!... here is what unfolded ...  After leaving Doha last night on what should be a 9 hour flight, I am sitting in a hotel in Bahrain, waiting for our BA crew to get enough sleep so that we can continue on to London.... yes that does sound a bit bizarre but true!  After a smooth enough take-off from Doha at 11.25pm, we landed in Bahrain last night at 1200 midnight - we'd had terrible turbulence and a dreadful landing with lots of bangs and things falling out of overhead cabins, it was so rough!  I'm usually a very relaxed flyer but even my feathers were a little ruffled when I saw the cabin crew hurrying up and down the isles looking very stressed and concerned. The plane was stopping at

Ive been in Doha now for two months and I feel myself falling under its spell, largely down to my weekly trips to Souk Waqif, a place so full of atmosphere and life, where tourists and locals stroll the cobbled alleyways, and maze of tunnels to buy anything from camel key rings to carpets, slippers to swords ....in fact pretty much anything you can think of...... even, sadly, live animals and birds.  It's not just a tourist attraction, locals too buy all sorts here.... cooking pots, spices, nuts, dates, fabric, clothing, blankets etc etc..... I could go on! Despite what the photos suggest, this incarnation of the Souk has only been in existence for a few years.  It was the site of the original Souk when Doha was a small village and the Bedouin would bring their products such as camel's milk and dates to trade.  In 2004, the Sheik decided to restore the area to its former glory and they did such a good job, it really does feel like stepping back in time. The most w

I'm just back from my weekly recycling trip to one of the only recycling facilities in Doha, or so it seems.   The lack of recycling facilities here was one of the first things I noticed and it instantly made me very uncomfortable.  In the UK we are so used to being able to recycle everything from paper to plastics, cardboard to cans, even compost our waste and I've been doing that since I can remember.  Recycling is as natural as breathing and not to be able to do it is psychological suffocation...... impossible to tolerate. So, rather than throw my plastic bottles in the bin, I kept them until I could find a way of recycling them.  And do they use alot of them?  Oh my goodness......particularly at work - they buy bulk loads of little bottles of mineral water and the kitchen guys hand them around to the offices all day - they must get through hundreds every day.  And there are no facilities for paper recycling.  An American colleague of mine enquired into gettin

As you might expect, rain in the desert is rare, so as a committed 'bad' weather enthusiast, it was in my top 5 sacrifices when deciding to come and live in Doha for a while.  In fact, my sister in law asked me that very question at a family dinner to celebrate my departure..... "What will you miss the most?...other than family and friends of course?"....... "Rain and cycling" I replied,  rather assuming I'd have to wait until my return to the UK for any significant precipitation! This was confirmed by all my early conversations with anyone I could find - taxi drivers, hotel receptionists, shop assistants and work colleagues..... "does it rain here.... at all..... ever?".  The response was pretty universal.... "not really, its more like mist than rain", or "can't remember" and then this week, I mentioned to a colleague that it was forecast to rain heavily the next day.  She said "oh reeeaaaally?" as if I&

To say that finding myself in an Al Jazeera Media Network board room in Doha, experiencing an earthquake was a surreal feeling, would be quite an understatement.  But that is exactly where I was today.  At first, I thought someone with very heavy feet had entered the room, but when it went on for quite a few seconds and then the heated debate gave way to looks of slight concern, people feeling the table and looking at each other....somehow afraid to ask.... and then the shaking got a little more vigorous..... a few of us started to say.... "is this an earthquake?".  One colleague even said, its probably an earthquake in Iran.....should we leave the building?   But the consensus was that we were OK and should stay put.  Which we did...... and it was...... So I went on to twitter immediately and within 2 mins people had started to post about feeling the tremors and within 5 mins a report appeared that a 7.8 magnitude earthquake had hit Iran but had been felt across the mi