Iftar in Qatar

Where did you have iftar tonight ? At home ? In a restaurant ? At the office ? At the hospital ? In a wonderfully decorated tent like this at W hotel ? Or did you get your food from rich locals ?Where ever you had it -we are all united in the fasting or taking iftar together .Wishing you blessed Ramadan !

Beautiful Dresses from a local designer

Carnations at Texture Boutique
Location: Al Amir Street next to Laduree Salon ,Doha Qatar
Tel: 44322231



A beautiful blue dress with golden floral motifs and golden belt .From a Qatari designer - ROQAYA AL THANI

Hot Summer Topics

We are now in the middle of the HOT QATARI summer .Many people are looking for summer camps for their kids .I had written lists of places to send children  to but t his year because of the tragedy  in May in a nursery I do not feel I want to recommend any camp at all . However these are my feelings only and you can find the lists here .....


How to  beat the heat in Qatar ? My favorite drinks here .  -you may try  them as well .


Looking for beaches in Qatar ? Here is an excellent description of places - how to find them  and what to expect .

A most bizarre inicident

It is certainly something very strange and unexpected ,. You are  jogging peacefully in the Corniche of Doha at six am when a bull is running towards you and it is not   Pamplona  -but you have to run for your life ....Or you are sitting peacefully in the building of a ministry as a security guard then suddenly a bull is breaking through the window and you have to save your life somehow .
Luckily nobody died but two joggers and a security guard were badly injured .Where did the bulls come from ? It seems that they were  just about the be shifted from a vessel to a truck when they managed to break free .Three of them were caught alive one of them had to  be killed . How very strange . He wanted to go to the toilets of the ministry ....


Source 

Spanish Bull Sticker by biglnet
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Sentences for Sarah Gazdhar death case

The sentences in the Sarah Gazdhar Case were the most disappointing ones. 

She passed away two years ago.

The youngster was only four years old.

She dozed off in the minivan that was transporting her from home to school. She was then forgotten there. She died inside the locked minivan in the sweltering heat. It occurred two years ago.

The sentences are as follows: the driver who did not check the minivan before locking it received only a few years suspended = nothing... the transportation manager who should not have allowed any vehicle to run without an attendant was allowed to flee to India. So was Mattu, the principal, who was unconcerned about the dangers in her school's transportation system. Other children had previously been forgotten there but  they managed to escape, but she did not listen to the parents when they complained and warned her.

The school must pay a fine of 50 thousand QR, which is equivalent to four students' school fees...

It's a joke...it was a murder caused by their carelessness and  they could get away with....the other schools won't care...there will be buses without attendants again...

New Beaches in Qatar

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning has opened four beaches in Wakrah,
Al-Khor, Semeisima and al-Kharayij (in Umm Bab district) after revamping the facilities in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal). All the beaches have been cordoned with steel railings and have an adequate number of toilets, raised platforms for barbecuing, play areas for children, playgrounds for football and volleyball, beach umbrellas and canopies.


It is good news

BUt what about the ladies only hours or the ladies only beach they had promised? Again women will be just sitting in abaya in the beach ?

love and sea pendants by almawad
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strange fruits and veggies in doha supermarkets -part 2 the AMLA

 Indian gooseberry or Amla .When I saw it first time in Doha I told to myself ;"Look -they have gooseberries like we have at home  in Hungary " Then I remembered nice evenings spent at village relatives and picking gooseberries and their sour taste  -some of them was hard and sour others were sweeter ... but when I tried Amla I simply was not able to eat it . I  could not beleive that it was for human consumption .
But now that I read about its benefit for our health I will try to find out the way I am able to eat it ...Phyllanthus emblica promotes longevity, and traditionally to enhance digestion  -it treats constipation ), reduces fever purifies the blood  reducces cough , alleviates asthma , strengthens the heart , benefits the eyes , stimulates hair growth , enlivens the body, and enhances intellect ^{..I guess I should eat it raw for all these benefits ....}In rats it significantly reduced blood glucose, food intake, water intake and urine output in diabetic rats compared with the non‐ diabetic control group -according to wikipedia .

Qatar Airways the best airline in the world

Now that Qatar Airways won again the best airline award I remembered our travel with them eight years ago .We went to Frankfurt with them  then to Doha .Flying to Frankfurt  was simply terrible . We got sits near the partition wall between the economy and first class . plus we had to sit in the two seats in the middle surrounded by solo traveler men .Behind us there was a couple with a lovely little girl who was crying all the time .The Asian air hostesses( Pinoy look) were caring only about the  single American men around us  - the smell of alcohol was too much to bear ..When asked for water they pretended they did not hear us . Their reaction was the same to a  Qatari mother ... The food was excellent but the air hostesses simply forgot one snack to give us and  ignored us  while they were super kind to the male solo travelers . After hours of flying the  gourmet lunch was served .Then the little girl threw up behind us .That is why she was crying all the time -her stomach was upset . Finally she stopped crying and fell asleep .But somehow we could not enjoy the lunch .On the return flight we were more lucky -we had British air hostess and no drunken passenger around us .It was fine  -but I still do not rate them the best airline service ... to me Air France seemed to be far better ...if I were the manager of the airline I would employ only people with above average IQ . Customers tend to rate a service according to the human factor .I do not care as a customer what the waistline is of an air hostess .I expect her to do her job and to be kind to every passenger and helpful with kids .This selective kindness  I experienced  at QA is putting me off .
We had to change the plane in Frankfurt . I found myself with my kids in Lufthansa cheap flight .We were very warmly welcomed by the staff and my kids got some  gift at once .( On QA only the first class kids were given gifts )  The Food was very basic -some sandwiches and  soft drinks  -but still we were happy as the  air hostess came to us several times asking about our needs/ offering blankets and telling some lovely words to our kids .
As an economy passenger I felt much more comfortable at Lufthansa than at QA .QA might be the best  in the world with the first class passengers  -but they did not offer anything special for  us at the economy class (.I am not interested in drinking alcohol at all . )The gourmet lunch was  the only real special thing there .
 Thanks God we arrived safe and sound and after all that was the most important ...

Doha Airport, Qatar Post Card by Cartai
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Valentino Fashion House bought by Qatar

Now that the Valentino fashion house was bought by Qatar many people are guessing what the brand will be like in the future .Valentino's super feminine transparent clothes are not fitting into the line of modest public  wear   . They are in fact very far from what is expected from us to wear and about what we are taught by local women . Will they change style ? Or they won't care because business is business ?
I think that they will keep it mainly western line ...perhaps  they try to add some oriental touch or some modesty to it . "Qui vivra verra "

chopsticks restaurant - Grand Regency Hotel

Many good reviews have been written about this place . So as we were celebrating several special occasions last weekend then I decided to reserve a table there . It was terribly windy outside .Even there were warnings  on the news that the everyone should stay indoors as the wind lifted up parts of buildings and threw them on the roads/streets . It might be due to this that we were the only customers  in the restaurant .
First I was surprised how small the place was . So was the open buffet .There were only about five main dishes and three kinds of garnishes , Ten kinds of salads and three kinds of sushi and around ten kinds of desserts .
The sushi was  OK - I might have eaten better ones in a Japanese restaurant . The Thai shrimp curry was so tasty that we opted for a second portion of it leaving no room  for the other Thai/Chinese dishes .The salads were also delicious . The desserts were very special ones .I have never eaten before sweet pink caviar looking dish ... then white pudding with corn on the cob ...rice pudding topped with cooked beans . The beignet  of bananas were not as tasty as I had at the Indonesian mums party some years ago .
The buffet was not big but special and delicious and healthy .
We payed only for the adults though children above the age six should pay half price .The kids were the guests of the restaurant  -they told us  when we were considering taking a la carte menu .It was a good reason to opt for the buffet .It was very nice from them ..
All in all it was a special experience for a special occasion We were happy with it .Hopefully we will find another  special occasion to  return a day ,

Sushi Cat Big Fred Posters by CSiravo
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Cheaper tickets to Aquapark

We have discovered that there is a way to buy e-tickets to Aquapark .We tried it and it worked .Though on the page there were not very clear instructions .Now I am trying to explain how to get them .
Step 1 . Go to the Dohasouq page
Step 2 . Register with them
Step 3 . Buy the tickets - you need credit card for that
Step 4 . print the ticket
Step 5 .Go to the Aquapark with your valid Qatari ID
 It is simple and clear  - you get the e-tickets for 65 rials instead of 100 rials .
But if you were not the owner of the credit card which by it was paid  then you must bring the ID or the copy of the ID of the card owner . For us it was the most difficult part .The cashier man refused first to  let us  enter with our e-tickets as it was paid by my husband's  credit card . I showed him the credit card that  the ticket was paid by but he insisted that he needs my husband's ID . Before giving up I asked the other cashier man about the clear rules on this subject . Interestingly - he let us enter . How ? He just had a look at the backside of my ID card and he saw there my sponsor's name written - that was my husband's name . "Why did not you tell me about that ?" told me the first cashier . Frankly I did not know that my sponsor's name is written in Arabic  there . But  he should have been trained properly about this .Then I thought how typical it is . Half  the people working  around here have no enough training and experience ...

Cargo Planes from Hungary to Qatar

I read the other day that according to an agreement between Qatar and Hungary cargo  planes are coming here twice a week .Full of Hungarian goods .It was not sure from the article  if those products would be sold here or would be sent further to Asia and Australia .
Anyhow I started to dream ... to find Hungarian paprika in the supermarkets , the cottage cheese-choco bar ( Turi Rudi ) ,Szamos marzipan desserts ,Trapista cheese and so on ...What about you ?
What Hungarian products do you miss in Qatar ?

Strange veggies in the supermarket

One can see a lots of strange vegetables and fruits in the supermarkets of Doha . Especially at the Indian food section . This strange looking vegetable is called bitter melon .It comes in many shapes and colors .This one which looks like a warty cucumber is the Indian variation . Its health benefits are numerous : it is antimalarial ,cardioprotective , it lowers blood glucose concentrations by acting on peripheral tissues . It is similar to insulin's effects in the brain, it suppresses appetite .
Be careful if you are pregnant - the seeds can cause abortion .Also for those who suffer from favism /Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency -the seeds are extremly dangerous .This G6PDH enzym deficiency is a common disease in the middle east .Be careful when eating from this .

Middle Eastern tribal tattoo style make ups

Have you ever wondered why some Middle Eastern looking women are wearing strange beard like tattoos ? Those geometrical shapes were protecting them from the "evil eyes" ,they gave information about their tribe they belong to ,about their marital status and kids and more . Nowadays one can see less and less of those strange tattoos -but henna body decoration is still very popular .
Read more about this topic here . And watch this video to see how to make a tattoo style make up for yourself .