a lots of kids ill during Eid

 I read in  the local daily that  around 3300  cases were treated during the  first two days of Eid holiday .They  catch cold  and get asthma or gastroenteritis .I feel really sorry for those families and children who spent the holidays  in bed suffering from high temperature and bad cough  and I feel I must share with you what we had been through .
 Around 1 and half year ago our preschooler got ill over and over again . One week he is OK then he got this upper respiratory track infection again . It came with very high fever and he had suffered a  lot .  The antibiotics took his appetite and he looked like a stick figure  ... he was so thin .
Whenever we went to the Paediatric Emergency Center at Al-Sadd they told me very kindly /smiling that it was normal  -kids fall ill often when they are small ...
Somehow my motherly instinct said that it was not normal . Struggling with those diseases some months -we gave up asking help from PEC Al_sadd  and  turned to  a private doctor . We just chose randomly a place not too far  from our home  ...The doctor was very sympathetic  -and he understood quickly our problem .He advised us  to give up  regular milk from the supermarket and try a formula  made specially for his age .And behold  -it helped . Our little guy   did not catch any infection for months .... the quality of his life changed so much that he started to show outstanding abilities in some fields which shocked everyone ... He had been our smart little guy before   but becoming almost disease free he developed  mentally  at an incredible pace .  Then I told to myself "why should we have to accept recurring disease  as an unchangeable  fact of life ?" I think that we have to look for solutions when  some ailments attacks so badly  our little children ? I do not understand why doctors    think that it s OK to be  sick so often ...perhaps they see so many serious illness that a mother's complaint about recurring upper respiratory track infection is just  a ridiculous  concern
We are living in such a crazy world that the special milk powder is healthier than the fresh milk from cows . At least that was the thing that we have experienced ..Our bigger child had suffered a  lot from heavy coughs at night . When she had given up dairy products and milk at least for the afternoon  then those nasty night coughs stopped .(touch the wood)

Nowadays we rarely go to the doctor .  I try to arrange our daily life in a way  that they spend some time on the sun .
It protects one from the infections very well .And a lots of vitamin C from fresh food .

Sepia dark espresso ornaments by almawad

http://www.zazzle.com/sepia_dark_espresso_ornaments-175435344307190089?gl=almawad&CMPN=addthis&lang=en&rf=238379705041286148

Sepia dark espresso ornaments by almawad
Design personalized Christmas tree ornaments

Hail Storm in Qatar

  Most of Qatar remained  dry  during the Eid holidays but  large parts of  UAE got heavy rains .We have heard of hail storm in Al Khor , Doha  and it was confirmed by the local media as well . I hope to see the rain soon ... it feels like home  when it is raining ...

November December Escape to Dubai Atlantis

Just read on the facebook - I thought it might be interesting for those who love dolphins ,marine biology , luxury stays at special rates    the cheapest room for 2 kids and two adults comes at 990 AED per night   
- that is  really something very special !
I am not an agent and I am posting this only because we have been dreaming of this Atlantis  weekend for a long time  There are not many places in the world where one can swim with  dolphins.( though that comes with extra fee )I saw rates of a weekend stay by 6 thousand AED at some agencies ... what a difference this 1000 AED per night !

 the very special rate  is applied only for GCC residents ! Wow !
 to swim with dolphins ,  enjoy the sea and the  waterpark ... it must be a nice  thing to escape for one or two days  from Doha   http://www.atlantisthepalm.com/promotionpages/residentoffers.aspx?CID=SM_FB

 the Aida opera ,the postal conference , the Russian ballet , Dora the explorer , MIA exhibitions on the  inventions of the Golden Era of the Muslims ,the coming film festival ... so many events hard even to list or to follow all of them ....  where is Qatar now from the " most boring country of the world" as an old  travel book once  described this country ...    however the summers are so much poor in events that  one can believe  that once it was the norm for all the year ....

 what is Qatar like ? so many newcomers are asking  me ...  it is all depending where do you come from and where are you going to live here ... I knew expats who had been expats in Moscow and Libya  before and they said that  Qatar is so much better place / Qatar is the place of freedom and fun compared to those countries ...I knew expat who had been expats in Alaska  and  on a Caribbean   holiday island   - and they preferred Qatar to those places ....

but also I know Hungarians coming from Abu Dabhi who say that city was so much better organised  and the  new rich attitude was not as much wide spread as here ... I have not been there yet ... I really wonder what it is like .... they say it is like  Doha just in much better edition ...

New committee to study Villaggio fire reports

New committee to study Villaggio fire reports

I wonder what could they find after half a year , just to read the reports again . The building is repaired . The victims are buried . Most of the evidence however   must come from phone calls . The two most important questions are
1. Where did the phone calls asking for help go ? We must think that they must have tried to call the emergency - from reports we know that the teachers called their boss , their co- workers and even they called abroad to say farewell to their relatives .
How on earth the information about the existence of a nursery on fire does not arrive to the firefighters ...?

2 . When the teachers detected light smoke first - then they called their boss/co -workers to ask them what to do . They told them to call the security then they got the answer that there were no more danger there was a little fire but it was controlled .
Who was the one who misinformed them . and why ?


many times I try to imagine what if I found myself with 13 little kids and "light smoke " I would certainly run out to see what is going on ... many times I wonder why these teachers did not run out ... is it possible that they did not even try it ?...

the nursery fire in mexico in 2009 was much worse than this ... that one came suddenly the false ceiling fell onto the sleeping babies - but still they managed to save a lots of kids

here it was a slow spreading fire and it was rather the smoke that killed but all of them ...no one was saved :(

in Mexico like in Qatar the fire came from a store that they had a common wall with - I often think about it how important the location of the nursery ... when I used to work in Budapest the company had its own nursery and kindergarten at the top floor - on the sixth ... on the roof even there was a park for them en plein air with playground .. everything was wonderful there - at this height even the air of the city is clean .. still something in me told NO ... I left my promising career for the sake of a child friendly place ... in the countryside I worked as a freelancer and it was not always a sure income - but in the kindergarten there were huge chestnut trees to hug and it was a stand alone building .. .

Where to Go at Eid in October 2012

Dora , the explorer   is  in Qatar  - Musical , interactive show for kids 

 From  October  25  to 27
daily shows   
at the Ladies Sport Hall at the Aspire Zone
prices : from 75 to 400 QR
 details of the show

 The Russian Ballet  performance  - 

Russian Seasons of the XXI Century

Friday - October 26, 2012 - 08:00 PM 
Qatar National Convention Centre - Doha - Convention Centre 
Doors Open 07:00 PM
prices : 200 -750 QR

 more details

 Go for a desert safari ,dhow trip , Camel Riding

www.qia-qatar.com

St. Regis Hotel

  if you can afford then escape to this luxury seaside hotel in Doha  - their Eid offer includes an overnight stay with Eid brunch starting from 1350 rial

  Qatar Tourism Authority Organized

 a lots of exciting shows and parades , competitions , theatre , circus etc .

 the main venues  are   The Mall ,Al Wakra Park ,Cultural Village ,Souq Waqif ,The Pearl - Porto Arabia ,Hyatt Plaza , Lagoona Mall , Gate Mall  - most of the events start on 26th of October and finishes on the 1tst November ...

Numbers in Qatar - 1 million

One Million foreign workers needed for  the 2022 project .


 source

A scary incident at the Villaggio theme park

Yeah  - it is Villaggio again  ! It must have been a nightmare for   those kids  when they got stuck on a ride upside down very high and it took one hour until the technicians and the Civil Defense  managed to bring them down safely .
It is crazy ! The rides gone crazy all over the world .That  Sky Loop ride should not exist at all  anywhere ...
 I am fed up with malls generally . I am trying to avoid them . It is possible to entertain our kids without those facilities which offer every kind of  possible things I have never longed for ...

 read more here 

win a weekend stay and dinner at a five star hotel

Wyndham Grand Regency Doha Hotel is offering at weekend one night stay and a dinner for a couple who will be lucky enough to win this prize . Just click here   - a trusted site reviewing restaurants - and answer a simple question about gastronomy  - then you can check out your e-mail . If you win then you will be notified   within two weeks ... The site is offering this month other games as well - to win dinner at fine restaurants in Qatar ...

Alternative Energy and Qatar

 Qatar and the alternative  energy are  not enemies   -as some people might think . Though Qatar's main income is from the natural gas it  has immense solar energy sources as well . Yes -it is very hot here for a half year  - for another half it is less hot - and  we can enjoy the cold just for a month or two . Then   I did not mention the windy side of this country .
So no wonder that they invest in  alternative energy researches . This time a lithium-ion battery  run electric car was introduced . It can run 400km at high-speed without being recharged ... well , well  all of this is very nice . But are not the li-on batteries are dangerous when overheated ?   And this is the thing that might happen very easily in Qatar .   Dubai cargo plane carrying such batteries caught fire  and crashed in 2010 .
 I guess that it is a long way until safely run electric cars will be spread in the world . For me the reports on incidents are rather frightening . Qatar has to invest a lot in researches until result comes .
I am not an expert - I might be wrong  - I would be the happiest to read soon that battery run cars safety issues are solved .

Lady Justice Statue Post Cards

Lady Justice Statue Post Cards by daysrays
More Daysrays Postcards

Villaggio fire -court hearing rescheduled again

 The owner of the Gympanzee nursery  -  daughter of a minister . She had promised the parents fun and education ,protection  -she  promised them safety through web cameras and told them that even red crescent  has an office very close . All this was true . But she forgot to mention them that she did not have proper licencing  for her facility . It was not her fault the fire . She   should tell the court that she was not a fire expert and since she got all the permission to run a child entertaining facility -she did not suspect that something was wrong about the fire safety .
 She should stop hiding .She should look into the eyes of the parents .She should appear at the next court hearing .  So far she ignored twice that she  was called to be there .

Gift idea from Qatar

Torch Tower in Doha with your initials iPhone 5 Case by almawad
Browse another case for the iPhone 5

The photo of the Torch Tower( also known as Aspire Tower) in a beautiful spring like day in December in Doha , Qatar .It was built as a focal point for 2006 Asian games .It has 51 floors and it is 300 metres tall . For the time being the tallest building in Qatar .It was designed by Hadi Simaan .Original photo on an iphone5 case by Alma Wad . Nice gift for anyone who loves Qatar , modern architecture , games . Customize it now with your initials .

Flying Carpet Weekend Brunch at the Torch Tower

If you are for   weekend brunches then try something different . The Torch tower in Doha is the highest building for the time being . It  has several restaurants as well . The Flying Carpet even caters families .( their other restaurant - the three sixty - is only for smart casually dressed adults )

The brunch is an expensive one;- around 200 rials - for kids ;just the half until age 12 . Kids also have a special station with ice cream, popcorn and chocolate fountain . They promise various activities for them as well . So it sounds that parents can have a ; quiet brunch there while their kids are busy with the programs just for them ...


The homepage of the restaurant mentions  smart casual dress code for the place . I think it is better to call them to get more info about it - I can not imagine what do they accept or not . Doha is a multicultural city -many Asians and local people wearing their traditional clothes

the luxurious side of Qatar

Dream Car in Qatar displayed at the Lagoona Mall .

McLaren is a British automotive manufacturer of high-performance vehicles= Supercars !

MEDICINE and U

If you love hearing about the news of medical researches in plain simple language then you must visit the lecture at the  WCMC -Q University  -Lecture Hall 4 . It will be about Neurological Movement Disorders and the Aging process .
 Registration and reception from 6:15  Lecture at 7 pm .On October 9th ....

Tourette's Shirt by AwarenessAlert
Browse other Tourettes T-Shirts

More Gold medals for the Hungarian Swimmer in Doha

Katinka Hosszu from Baja , South Hungary won four more golds at the Doha   FINA World Cup circuit  .  It seems  that she is the new star  .Eight-meet s ahead of  her yet  ...

steps forward Qatar 2022

 The  cooperation agreements with  five  companies were  signed  finalizing the strategic plan for 2012-2015.

The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee  named the companies they are going to deal with when preparing for the Football World Cup . These are  Qatar Rail, Ashghal, Kahramaa, Aspire Zone Foundation and Qatari Diar  . The  signing ceremony  was held  in Doha’s Four Seasons Hotel.  


They are going to build  9 new stadia  and they will expand 3 existing ones . The constructions will start within months .

Soccer ball pattern throw pillows by almawad
View more pillows.

Numbers in Qatar - GDP

Qatar GDP increased 18.8 per cent in 2011 alone

source

Numbers in Qatar

An estimated 15,000 Britons reside in Doha.... and they have hard time finding affordable school with acceptable level .


 source

Good Looking British Shirts by worldshop
Design your own customized t-shirts at Zazzle.

Barwa Village

This was the first time I saw this commercial and residential  district .  It is somewhere between Doha and Al-Wakra though officially it belongs to Al- Wakra . I saw low-rise buildings - shops , restaurants on the ground floor and apartments on the first and second floor . We saw a medical center and an Indian school and Centerpoint plaza .Small town atmosphere and everything is very well kept . I liked that . If only  there were some areas for kids to play ! It was built for 13 thousand  people and we saw no play area ! It happens in the downtown as well - but why to move outside the city when you find no benefits for kids ?That is very nice that everything is in walking distance .It is far from the city's noise ... They say only the airplanes noise is disturbing ...
I do not understand either how can someone rent a flat there . Is it only for low-income families ? 

Hungarian Swimmer In Dubai

This Hungarian swimmer won  Gold in the 800m free, the 200m free and the 200 IM, and Bronze in the 200m backstroke.

There was  a Swimming World Cup in Dubai last week .

Katinka Hosszu is a 23 y. old Hungarian Swimmer from South Hungary , Baja .
(My niece  learnt to swim at the same swimming pool where  she trains .)
 Congrats Katinka ! All Hungary and especially those in the South is very proud of you !

Grandma's Wall Cloth

grandma's wall cloth poster by almawad

Browse Wall cloth Posters

This decoration had been  above the stove on the wall of the kitchen .At Grandma's house everything used to be so simple and this was nearly the only thing decorating the wall . It sends a clear message for girls ." the Ones who can cook and bake well will marry easily "  I also remember  the school report of grandma   -  in this booklet we found also some advice on the lifestyle of protestants girls . They were advised to cook simple dishes - using simple ingredients  .Showing off  the wealth by cooking and baking sophisticated and costly dishes is not the style that girls should follow .

Why most of the top chefs are male ?

Light Chef Girl Print by girlscantwhat
Get the best poster printing on zazzle.

Can anybody tell me  please  why most of the top chefs are male in the world ?

Top Chefs for Qatar Airways

- Ramzi Choueiri is Lebanese chef .In 1998, he published the first volume of his culinary encyclopedia which reached record sales in the Arab world. • He was recognized as the top chef in the Arab world by important organizations such as: New York Times, Herald Tribune, Associated Press, L’Express, Le Courrier International, La Presse (Montreal), B.B.C., Radio Monte Carlo, Radio France Internationale, CNN. I remember there was a time when this chef's ready dishes were sold in the supermarkets frozen food sections . But they dissapeared - I wonder why ... Vineet Bhatia is the multi-award winning chef and owner of the Michelin starred Rasoi - Vineet Bhatia, located in London Chelsea.His light and imaginative dishes display a clever balance between innovation and an immense respect for the history of Indian cooking.
Tom Aikens and Nobu Matsuhisa as well will be in the team of top chefs working for Qatar Airways . I loved their dishes very much . There is no problem with that and I hope that it would be even be .

Vintage Middle Eastern Images

These are reprints on postcards from Zazzle . Click on the image and you can see the details .


Street scene from Istanbul with barbers and their clients a from the 19th century . They are wearing red hat the fez .The richly colored image looks like photograph but it is actually a photochrom print an ink-based photolithographs . Courtesy of Library of Congress .

Street cook in Istanbul from the 19th century .

Vintage Istanbul cityscape with moonlight .It features a mosque - the sea and some boats . The moon is half covered by the clouds . It has some exotic real Middle Eastern feel . It is courtesy of Library of Congress .The richly colored image looks like photograph but it is actually a photochrom print an ink-based photolithographs .

Arabian breakfast - The lentil soup

The lentil pottage with freshly baked Arabian bread is a perfect match .Many cheap restaurants / and some luxury hotels will offer in their breakfast menu . This is so much filling and so much healthy that one should try to eat in Arabian style minimum twice a week .
It is full of iron, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium .It helps in maintaining energy, a strong nervous system and a properly working metabolism.Though it is low in calories -it is filling your stomach and gives energy for a half day . As for me - I am not able to have my usual lunch if I had lentil for breakfast .
 It is lentil, onion , garlic ,cumin and salt cooked for 15-20 minutes .

  See a recipe on the youtube

If you suffer from favism - then it is better to avoid it .

Views on the leaked documents

" it is an inherent trait of Zionist culture to plant many lies within one truth"

"I despise the regime in Syria and often write against it...... There's no motive and too outlandish, too implausible to believe! Bashar is a brutal dictator, but he isn't an idiot."


"I suggest the relatives of the victims with financial backing from the Qatari government should start legal proceedings against Bashar al Assad personally for conspiracy to kill innocent civilians "

"I think the west is very capable in falsifying documents"

"Setting fires is a skill which Assad and Co. clearly have. Look at the Aleppo market, too!"

 source


"rumors will always circulate to fill the void of real information"

"I'm afraid that this is fact, it has been well known amongst certain circles for some time, the evidence was clear from the start. But I am still surprised to see it in black and white."

"This NOT fact. It just a cheap sensationalist media outlet trying its best to desperately get some ratings against more respectable channels."

"We pray that Qatar may never see such a dark day, ever again."

"It's not below the Syrian government to kill people for policital gain, but I'm skeptical about this."

 source

Syrian dictator behind the Villaggio Mall fire in May?

Was Bashar the Syrian dictator behind the Villaggio Mall fire ? Al_Arabya  tv channel claims so  -it has leaked documents which proves  -yes indeed  -they were .They are citing telegrams  between the  ambassador of Syria and the Bashar  government ...

They are talking about punishing Qatar  - and about the VIllaggio blaze .
 The Villaggio blaze ! I had always thought that these cover operations are made by using coded language   and not calling the things on their names . Am I a  naive ?

 My theory is the  following : it was a deliberate act . I do not know who - but someone wanted to scare the expats in Qatar .There was the Doha Mum Club advertising itself and the  Gympanzee  nursery  - there were some moms who were talking on the youtube about their life in Qatar praising the possibilities they can have here when upbringing a child . Like they offered themselves as a target  - I am sorry to say that  - I have been living here for a while  and  observing the events and the reactions and the news  and I know that there are some background powers which hate to hear anything good about  any Arab countries .Youknowwho!

I must think back  about another incident - in another country .
In 1994  there was a ferry catastrophe  where nearly a thousand  Scandinavian people drowned into the cold  stormy sea. They just announced it as a neutral piece of news and then they were talking a lot about Titanic ... I saw how people can be influenced so easily ...they just did not think deep about that nearly one thousand people died  a terrible death ..like 5 passenger plane crashed at the same moment .... then later it turned out that there was some military secret smuggled on the ship  and the Russian  wanted the Estonia to turn back  - so they made a small explosion and then  the ship turned to be in so bad condition that it sank .What if somebody just tried to warn Qatar then everything turned to be so badly organized that the warning turned into a terrible  tragedy .
So- it is just a theory   based on  the facts that  became public . There might be hidden facts  and the truth can be something  totally different .