+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Links: family / facebook / twitter / linkedin / google / instagram / random | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | _______ | Doctor Who does it in time. | | ,--'.:::::.`-._ | | | /..:::::::::::..\ | | | /..:::::::::_;::::| | | | || `---'----' _|:::| | | | || `;:::| | | | |' ==== ==== |-::| | | | |-( @ )-( @ )--|O):| | | | | ` | ` |/::' | | | . v |:/ jeremy@ | | | | ___, || malcolm | | | \ -- _/| .id.au | | | \_____.-'__/-.__ | | | _| _/|::.\.::-._ | | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | [*] news [ ] about [ ] writing [ ] journal [ ] images [ ] guests | | +--- last 10 | | |->> archive | | `--- search | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +--| Qatar |------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | I have just returned from Doha, Qatar where an UNCTAD meeting is being | | held. I'll be writing about the meeting itself for the Consumers | | International blog, but here are some jottings about the country and its | | culture. | | | | Qatar is considered a moderate Islamic country, but unlike Malaysia, no | | alcohol is allowed outside of tourist hotels; juice stalls replace bars | | here (crime is also low, perhaps not coincidentally). Women need not | | cover their faces, but many do; arguably a tradition less about | | subjugating women, as shielding them from unwanted advances. For the same | | reason, some restaurants here offer "family areas" barred to single men, | | and the local mall similarly has a "family day". | | | | Qatar is also the richest country in the world. This must be interesting | | news to the thousands (millions?) of immigrant workers predominantly from | | South Asia and the Philippines who continue to occupy crumbling areas of | | the old city, near my hotel. The dust of the desert hangs in the air | | here, and much of it seems to have settled in these alleys, where old | | houses, shop lots and mosques provide a transient reminder of Qatar as a | | developing country. | | | | Already entire neighbourhoods in the old city centre have been razed and | | fenced off for massive new developments. One of these already completed | | is the renovation of Souq Waqif, the city's oldest and largest market | | area. Who knows how much (if any) of its faux colonial-era architecture | | is original, but there is no questioning the authenticity of the vendors | | who still sell interesting Arabian spices, sweets, animals and perfumes | | alongside the typical tourist-oriented fare. | | | | Nearby is the Islamic Cultural Centre with exhibits about Islam, situated | | in a landmark minaret-style building, and further along the Museum of | | Islamic Art, in an equally striking modernist building by the architect of | | the Louvre's pyramid. The museum sits at one end of a bayside promenade | | called the Corniche, at the other end of which is the newer area of Doha, | | crammed with improbably-shaped skyscrapers. | | | | Further away still is an even newer area where elite water-fronting | | neighbourhoods have been reclaimed from the bay, the landforms sculpted | | into geometric shapes. The UNCTAD dinner was held at one of these, the | | Pearl. Here we also had a taste of local culture and music, with a tent | | showcasing traditional practices such as wood carving, cooking of | | flatbreads, and falconry. Not to mention the local cuisine, which included | | a specialty dessert um ali; a moist, nutty concoction that reminded me of | | bircher muesli. | | | | For breakfast I would stick to simpler fare: typically masala dosa (a | | savoury pancake stuffed with cooked vegetables and served with hot dipping | | sauce) and a cup of (sweet and white, by default) tea for 4 riyals (little | | over a dollar), a saving of 73 riyals on the hotel breakfast. The | | cafeterias from which such meals were sold were similar to the Indian | | Muslim ("mamak") restaurants in Malaysia that sell such inexpensive food | | (though we call dosa "tosai"). | | | | I also went to two different chain restaurants during my time here - not | | the American kind, although they do have some that even Malaysia lacks | | (such as Applebees and Dairy Queen) - but probably the local equivalents | | of those; one specialised in meals with kebabs and rice, and the other, a | | great variety of flatbread wraps, sliced into bite-sized pieces. | | | +----------------------| posted 392 days ago via news | reply (1 comments) |--+ | << Back | | page generated in 0.230 seconds sadlittlewebjournal 3.2.4 | | content (c) its respective creator(s) web administration | | valid html 4.01 transitional rss feed | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+