Trip to Al Ruwais

There are really only three roads out of Doha: one to the north (Al Shamal: meaning “north” & also the name of the strong winter wind that occasionally blows from the north-west), one to the east which goes to Dukhan & the oilfields, & one to the south which ends up in Saudi Arabia. Last Saturday, we decided to explore the north & headed out at 08h.00 together with our friend Betty. The road is a monotonous four-lane highway that runs for 100 km to Al Ruwais, an active fishing port & our first destination. For the first 70 km there is nothing but construction on both sides, meaning many trucks & a lot of dust & sand in the air. The desert is everywhere & nowhere. Many wealthy Qataris have “farms” which can be glimpsed in the distance.

The “farm” is the Qatar version of a Canadian summer cottage & is a place to escape to at the weekend. There the comparison ends. These “farms” are luxury villas, set in extensive property & surrounded by high walls & palm trees. Some Qataris grow crops (even wheat) & dates for their own use or amusement. They own animals including camels, horses, & mini-zoos (gazelles, deer, cheetahs), as well as falcons for hunting. We did see two camels on the drive north but not where we expected to find them. Al Ruwais proved to be a bird-watcher’s delight, with huge numbers of shorebirds feeding at low tide. Among them the rare (in Qatar) Crab Plover. [In fact, it was so good that I returned next day to have a better look!] The Al Ruwais fishing port is still very active & feels much as it must have felt for the last two or three hundred years. Dhows are continually on the move, & individuals sell their catch to local buyers.

The town (population around 4,000) is very quiet & a huge contrast to Doha. It was very pleasant to spend a couple of hours just enjoying being there. After a picnic lunch, we headed along the coast road to the west to visit some of the deserted villages that can be found there. Most were deserted in the 1970s when economic conditions in Doha & the oilfields drew the inhabitants away. There is little to be seen today apart from remnants of the old buildings, the mosque tower, & piles of rubble.

There is nevertheless a romantic feel to being there & they are worth at least one visit. Al Gamel, Al Khuwair, & Al Areesh, may be abandoned but the coast is worth a visit. We were

horrified by the amount of rubbish washed ashore all along the high-tide line, mostly plastic bottles & plastic bags thrown from boats in the Arabian Gulf. So, we headed home passing the Fort at Al Zubara, which was built in 1938 & used by the military until the 1980s. It is now a museum but is closed on Saturdays!

In a Round-about Way

If you don’t understand roundabouts before you come to Doha, you certainly will very soon after arriving. If you drive here & still don’t understand roundabouts, you will probably be in a road accident pretty soon. There is one basic rule that governs precedence at roundabouts: those who are “in” the roundabout have right of way over those who are just “joining” the roundabout. Should there be any doubt as to who is “in” & who is not, then the dispute is settled by survival of the fittest, nimblest, or most aggressive. Some drivers pride themselves on split-second judgment, judging that slower vehicles “in” the roundabout will lack the speed necessary to affirm their right of way & can therefore be beaten to the draw. This version of “chicken” is okay when dealing with lumbering trucks (of which there are many) but it can be nerve-wracking if the SUV to your left is traveling faster than you thought. In any case, drivers will honk at you if (a)you thought you could beat them anyway or (b) they thought you shouldn’t be there in the first place.

This introduces a second set of rules that determine your whereabouts when you are actually “in” the roundabout. Approaching a roundabout you’ll find a number of possibilities depending on whether the road you’re on is two-lane or three-lane, & whether you intend to leave the roundabout at the first, second, or third exit. Or, worse, if you plan to go completely around & head back in the same direction you came from. This last is a real possibility because main roads in Doha are often divided by a median preventing left turns & requiring a u-turn at some point further along. If the road you are on is a two-lane, the options are relatively clear. The left lane allows you to leave the roundabout by any exit except the first. The right-hand lane allows you to leave by any exit except the third (or fourth). This at least is the theory, generally borne out by strategic arrows painted on the road surface. If your approach road is three-lane, life becomes a little more complicated. The centre lane will generally allow you to leave by the second exit &, with luck any of the others. The right-hand lane will often suggest leaving only at the first exit. The left-hand lane only at the third (or fourth). Unfortunately, in both cases (two-lane or three-lane), the theory collapses when drivers decide to cut across from the left-hand lane & attempt to leave by an exit before the one you have in mind. Chaos, honking & frequent fender-benders, are the result of this descent into anarchy. To make things even worse, some drivers decide to manufacture an additional line of traffic for themselves inside the roundabout. This happens regularly in rush hour & nerves of steel are needed to cope & emerge unscathed the other side.

Recognizing the perils of the system, the authorities have decided to add traffic lights in some places. Fines are severe for those who run red lights in Doha & CCTV cameras are universal on main roads & intersections. Lights that are green begin to blink just before turning red & most (well, almost all) drivers respect this & stop quickly. A peculiarity, however, is that some lights then turn from red to a blinking orange. This seems to mean: go if you can & remember that all the old roundabout rules of precedence now apply again. As a last resort, the police will station themselves at the roundabouts, & control the traffic flow by hand. This is by far the most effective & safe way of negotiating the roundabouts of Doha. Unfortunately, it’s also the rarest. Many Qatari drivers in powerful SUVs seem to feel, in any case, that the road really belongs to them & ignore basic rules of politeness & commonsense, weaving & bullying their way through the traffic. The consequences litter the roadsides in cautionary piles of smashed vehicles (not all of them SUVs). I pass without comment the hazards arising from those Qatari women drivers who wear the full abaya. I have yet to see one of them wearing the veil while driving but it wouldn’t altogether surprise me.

Roundabouts have yet another valuable function: as landmarks for driving & giving directions to others. This works well largely because key roundabouts are given names according to the buildings or monuments that are visible in the vicinity, assuming that you have time to look for or at them. So we have “TV Roundabout” (Al Jazeera transmitters), “Decoration Roundabout” (location of the “Qatar Décor” store), “Oryx Roundabout” (fine statue of two intertwined oryx), “Sports Roundabout” (monument erected for the 2006 Asian Games), “Arch Roundabout” (also called “Rainbow” because of the huge multi-coloured arch in the centre), “Burger King Roundabout” (no explanation needed) & many more. My favourite is “Slopey Roundabout” (also called “Tilted”) for the angle of the road surface. Now I understand what the “Doha Round” is all about.

Birding update

Just over five weeks now & the number of "new" birds is slowing down. Total to date is 77 species of which 25 are "lifers" for me. This is a photo of a Stonechat taken last Friday (17 October) at the West Doha Sewage Lagoons. The Sewage Lagoons & the Jail Ponds are still the most productive birding sites close to Doha. The birders with me are Gord (Canada), Tadj (India), & Shirley (South Africa).

Oktoberfest & Thanksgiving

Temperatures are back up (37 C today) & everyone is waiting for the cooler weather promised for late October. After that, it'll be May before we see the high 30s again. The past week has been festive to say the least. Last Wednesday, we went with Betty & Judy, to the Intercontinental Hotel where Oktoberfest was being celebrated (at 175 QR each or about $60). No expense had been spared to bring in huge amounts of German beer (& authentic beermats from Munich) as well as an "oompagh" band & singers (also from Bavaria). The event took place in a huge (permanent) tent in the hotel grounds, presumably to make the drinking more respectable! Not a Qatari to be seen, of course, but many Germans & other ex-pats of all (white) nationalities. The food was excellent, with sauerkraut, German sausages, & great desserts. Lots of singing & standing on benches arm-in-arm with complete strangers. We stayed until 10h.30 but spent the last hour sitting outside, enjoying the cooler breeze blowing in from the Arabian Gulf.

Then it was Thanksgiving & Betty decided that the Canadians should host a traditional turkey supper. So it was that 16 of us ended up at our place on Saturday evening, with roast turkey, stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes (with melted marshmallows), mashed potatoes, braised carrots, salad, & pumpkin pie. Pat added hellodollies, nanaimo bars, & an icebox cake, all made that afternoon. Now that some people have their achohol permits, we were able to have wine & beer as well. It was a wonderful evening & everyone talked about things that we feel grateful for. We really enjoyed it but also felt a little sad that we couldn't share it with everyone back home.

Sealine Resort

Unable to escape, because we still do not have exit visas, we spent the Eid holiday in Qatar & began to find our way around & get to know the place better. Our exit visas will only come when we have our residency permits. The residency permits depend on completion of medical examinations & tests. The medical tests are not available during Ramadan & Eid. So … we may get our visas in November. The other consequence of all this is that we cannot obtain our permit to buy alcohol (which depends on having residency status). We have been told we will eventually be able to buy a “family” permit (about $300, refundable) but it really depends on Pat as the salary earner. Every purchase of alcohol is logged on a government computer & nobody is allowed to spend more than 10% of their salary in any one year. Meanwhile, we have almost lost our taste for beer & wine.

We decided to treat ourselves to two days at the Sealine Resort about one hour south of Doha (http://www.qnhc.com/sealine.html).

Because we went before the end of Ramadan we were able to get a very good rate (350 Rihals or around $100 per night). Two days later the price had gone up to 1600 Rihals a night. Never worth it! We did have two great days, partly because we were just about the only ones staying there. A few others (mostly ex-pat teachers without exit visas) drove down for the day. Because it was still Ramadan, we had to eat in an inside room surrounded by curtains (so as not to offend the Muslims). The sea was unpleasantly warm & the odd small jellyfish was an added deterrent. The resort pool was fine & we spent a lot of time just lounging, swimming, & generally having a relaxing holiday. We did drive out to the sand dunes & did a little walking but were happy to be back in our air-conditioned car. During holidays (particularly Fridays), young Qataris come out to the dunes with their SUVs & drive crazily everywhere, challenging each other to “chicken & rooster”. Inevitably, there are some horrendous crashes & occasional deaths. Check out “YouTube” for “dunes, Qatar, crashes” & you’ll get a feeling for it. Luckily, our visit was during the quiet season.

To reach Sealine, we had to drive through the industrial area called Mesaaieed. This is a huge industrial area with oil, gas, chemicals, cement factories, & many, many trucks. Such is the price of the wealth of Qatar.

Happy Families

Souq shock for Asian bachelors
By Peter Townson (Gulf Times)

ASIAN bachelors were beaten with whips and even kicked during a heavy-handed police operation to prevent them from entering Doha’s popular souq areas yesterday.Several encounters, witnessed by Gulf Times, saw Heritage Police Officers using stick-like instruments to herd labourers away from cordoned areas along Grand Hamad Avenue.When one officer was asked why such force was being used he replied: “They are not allowed inside this family area.” He then explained that whips were being employed “because they do not understand”.Although policemen usually patrol the Grand Hamad area on Fridays, they tend to be plainclothes officers who do not carry weapons such as those on show yesterday.Shockingly, Gulf Times saw one officer using his whip on five separate occasions within a ten-minute period, even running to catch people before hitting them. Other appalled witnesses said they had seen labourers being kicked by the officers if they did not move quickly enough to exactly where they were told.Bachelors have long been turned away from this particular souq area at weekends, with policemen citing it as a “family only” area. However, yesterday there were no families on view at all with almost every person there being a single male.As on previous occasions reported by this newspaper, there appeared to be a very clear distinction made between Western, Arab and Asian bachelors, with the first two groups being allowed total access to wherever they wanted to walk – unlike the Asians who were subjected to shouting and physical abuse in some cases.One Asian man who was attempting to walk through the street that had been cordoned off by police said that he was “very angry” that he had been denied access, claiming that the police were “simply hitting people”.However, another man said it was not too much of a problem, explaining that “if you tell the police where you are intending to go then they will usually allow you to pass and go there”.As one might expect following such a hostile reaction to the influx of labourers in the area looking for something to do during their Eid vacation, yesterday’s atmosphere was incredibly tense with some passers-by left stunned and visibly disgusted by what they were witnessing.Over at the Corniche, there were fewer crowds and security guards were posted at regular intervals around the perimeter of the Rumailah Park, which has also been designated as “for families only”. However, there were a number of men being prevented from getting onto the Corniche itself. Further away from the park, towards the Movenpick Hotel, there were a few gatherings of bachelors sitting and relaxing on their day off.On the roads behind Rumailah Park more bachelors had congregated looking for an empty patch of grass to sit on in order to pass their time with friends. In some cases, the traffic police prevented more people from stopping and told them to move on.With shopping malls also denying bachelors access over the Eid holidays, it is getting increasingly hard for Asian labourers to find any place within Doha where they are welcome – away from their worksites and labour accommodation, that is.

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo ...

Single men throng Doha Zoo Thursday, October 02, 2008
Web posted at: 10/2/2008 1:29:38
Source ::: The Peninsula/ By Nasser Al Harthy

Hundreds of single men thronged Doha Zoo on the first day of Eid as the city's popular landmarks such as the Corniche, Al Rumeillah and Al Bida parks as well as some shopping malls were strictly reserved for families.

As one would have expected, the zoo being one of rare spots open to people of all creed and gender proved to the favoured destination of single men who nowhere else to go and unwind.
Hundreds of people formed a beeline in front of the zoo and the surrounding area, hours before the gates opened. It is estimated that some 7,000 people visited the zoo on the first day of Eid with law enforcement personnel trying their best to maintain order and discipline.
The zoo is open from 2pm to 8pm throughout Eid holidays, but single men were only allowed to enter the zoo the first two days of Eid. Starting from today, the third day of celebrations, access to the zoo will be exclusively reserved for families.

Hamad Al Yazeidi, the zoo's director who was on hand to receive visitors, said he was pleased with the growing popularity of the zoo which has continued to be a magnet for the public at large over the last couple of years.

Al Yazeidi said the authorities had conducted, well ahead of Eid celebrations, a comprehensive evaluation to fix some lapses in the functioning of the park and improve the services offered.
A total of six gates for ticket sales were set up with four dedicated to families.
A large playground was demarcated especially for children where they could enjoy a variety of games and entertainments and horse rides during the days dedicated to families.
Social groups such as Qatar Diabetes Association and the Social Development Centre are also playing their part in the festivities at the park with a series of awareness campaigns on their activities so as to meet and address the largest number of visitors as possible.
Meanwhile, Doha Zoo is planning major expansion worth QR 25m with the opening of a veterinary complex to serve the park by the end of this year and an information centre that would acquaint visitors especially school children with the park's activities.
Besides, the zoo is intending to introduce several world class games soon ahead of the festivities to be held during Eid Al Adha.

Ramadan ends, Eid begins

It's Wednesday morning of our holiday. We go back to work next Tuesday. Ramadan is over and we'll finally get a chance to experience regular life in Doha. Now we can go out for a coffee or have a glass of wine in a hotel (not outside!). Yesterday, after I went in to school for a bit while Roger went to meet his student (in French), we went down to the New Old Souq (Souq Waqif) again. As we drove down, we saw hundreds of people gathering along the roads down near the water and realized with horror that we were in the middle of a big party for the beginning of Eid. The traffic is bad at the best of times but it looked very very bad as we drove and wondered how we'd ever find our way home, if the only way we knew was closed. But we found the parking (whew!) and walked through the crowds to find a Moroccan restaurant where we could sit outside. The food was different....Roger had baby camel which he said tasted like 'gamey' beef. People sit around and smoke from big 'hookahs' (called “shisha” here). The cones of tobacco smell of all kinds of flavours like strawberry, etc. Last night a Qatar woman sat beside us and smoked. One scary man stopped and stood and stared at her for at least 15 minutes. He wasn't looking at her with pleasure. She was uncovered and sitting outside smoking. She just stared him down but looked relieved when he left. Then we waited for a musical extravaganza to begin for over an hour...the musicians were still arriving when we left. There were chairs set up in the souq passages but I was the only woman in the non-Arab section. There were many women in the 'special' section for Qatari people. We actually weren't sure how the seating was designated but men in thobes (the long white gowns) and headdresses kept coming and taking chairs from our section to a different section so we guessed that they were reluctant to sit with people like us. Anyway, I'm going to try to set up a slideshow on Facebook of our latest pictures. Let me know if it works (or when it works … haven’t managed to do it yet).

We are having one of the teachers over for supper tonight. He also didn't go anywhere. We have been asked out to lunch on Friday by another of the teachers (to the Diplomatic Club no less). We may try to go to the City Center mall ....read article!!!!

Single men complain over ban at malls during Eid
Web posted at: 10/1/2008 1:42:44
Source ::: The Peninsula / by Raynald Rivera

DOHA • The first day of Eid Al Fitr yesterday was welcomed with a great outcry from single men as malls imposed Family Day turning one of the most festive days in the Muslim world into a day of sadness.

Visitors to the City Center Doha yesterday expressed disgust over the situation crying it's unfair. "This is incredible," said Ariel, a Filipino adding that he thought Family Day was only Friday and he was surprised to find out that it would be imposed for the entire three-day Eid holiday. The signboard at the City Center says: 'Family Day for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days of Eid from 10am to 10pm'.

"I have waited for this three-day holiday to come but my excitement suddenly turned to disappointment when I found out that the Eid holiday is Family Day for malls. Eid holiday is for everybody not just for families," Ariel added. The day also witnessed some commotion on the mall's entrance with a number of visitors complaining of the unfairness of the mall security guards in letting other singles enter the mall's premises. When asked, one guard said, "They are employees of some shops here." He also said that Qataris are allowed to enter.

A middle-aged woman along with her two children was also denied entry for some reason. "I have been waiting here for 20 minutes but they won't allow me get in," she said angrily. She could do nothing but leave.

Some single men used their old strategies of tagging with families or joining single women just to be able to access the mall.

"We have nowhere to go but the malls this Eid. How are we going to spend our four-day holiday, if they don't allow us to be in the malls?" said an Indian bachelor.

The guards refused to answer questions saying that they were not allowed to entertain any queries or receive any complaints. "If you have any complaints, you may talk to the management. We are just doing our job," the chief guard said. They gave the number of the office and this reporter has called them a number of times but nobody answered.