Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Ikea Qatar is openning in Mid-march

Are you interested in buying furniture ? Are you ready to assemble your furniture ? You do not mind that it  has been already sold in millions of copy  ? Then it is IKEA  whom  you need .
Ikea in Qatar is opening soon -  in two weeks time .March the 11 th - they say so .It is somewhere in the North of Doha ( Shamal Road ).
See their online catalogue 
Update March 12
 Now it is open . It looks good and big .It has a big restaurant  with more than 500 seats /affordable and healthy meals and play area for kids .
if you are not for assembling the furniture on your own then you can ask for their team who will put it together in your house .
It is a ten minute drive  from Landmark  going to Al-khor direction .There are huge posts leading to Ikea . You can't miss it !Enjoy !

Poet in PrisoN

Qatar is much criticized internationally for putting one of their nationals in prison .Learn facts about this case .
The accused name : Muhammad Rashid al-Ajami his pen name is ibn al dheeb ( the son of the wolf - I think)
His crime : he wrote a poem about the corrupted Arab leaders calling each and everyone a thief - this was understood by the governemnet of Qatar as an attempt to overthrow the regime
Where - it happened in Egypt while he was studying Arabic literature and he was challenged at a poets competition
He was sentenced for life then it was reduced to 15 years .

Calling for the overthrow of the government is codified under Article 136 of Qatar's penal code,and it calls for life sentence .

Learn more about the CASE .

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Dolphin and seal show in Doha spring festival -review

It is more than 15 years now that I saw a seal show in Austria . They were amazing ,playful ,cheerful animals and they touched my heart .This  seal show in Doha included two seals only  and perhaps ten minutes .They were lovely but  I expected something more .

 The real stars   were the dolphins here . During 40 minutes  they were entertaining us . They played with balls ,with rings and swam with their tamers . The young man was very brave - the dolphins pushed him up  in the air or pushed him  ashore .These are quite heavy creatures and  it was frightening to see how they  threw this man out of the pool . The  show was what you expect from a circus . No more no less .

Tickets were sold just before the show .It went very slowly . I wish they sold in advance  as well .It was difficult to find the place and find out the info about buying a ticket .

 P. S. there was a strange incident during the show .. a bird flew very fast  very close  to us then suddenly changed its direction in a sharp angle and flew away but it came back minimum three times .. what the heck it might have been ? It made the same with the audience of the opposite site .Was it a real bird ?

hat and fashion contest at the horse races

Ladies ! You can show your stylish side now !  Wear your best hat and outfit and go to the Al Rayyan race track on the 28 February 2013 . You can register between 12:30 pm and  1:30 .At 4:30 the prizes will be given .
 the first two prizes will be a steel ,gold and diamond watch but many other prizes will be given as well .To learn more about this event  consult this website .


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Giant Soccer Ball in Qatar - New Guinness record

Qatar has been always seeking to set a new  world record  .Previously  the world's largest cake was  made here  and now  a  giant soccer ball was built   .
Its diameter is 40 feet  and it is  displayed somewhere in the country  - but I have not seen it yet .Do you know where is it ?




Saturday, February 16, 2013

My first yard sale experience

I have never  tried to sell anything at a yard sale . In my country the tax office make this innocent way of making money  very difficult .This year  when I saw  Doha Mum's yard sale   I thought  I would try . Why not ? The kids wanted it very much  - it is holiday  for them and their happiness makes me happy .

It was very hard work to select the items / clean them and labeling them .I  selected toys for  girls and boys  and  a lots of clothes   for females .I included brand names as well hoping that it would attract  shoppers .

It was a nice sunny   spring  day  - we arrived  just before 12 . Everything was organized very well . Someone from the organizers even was carrying our heavy  boxes to the spot .The spot itself was  generously large place in the yard .( I  had seen places  before  with very small tables )My friend borrowed me a tall clothes  dryer to hang the clothes on . We  turned our big boxes into tables .Hanged the clothes and the rest  of the things went on the blankets . Everything was fine and relaxed  - green grass ,hedges  singing birds .  The sellers were looking around and shopping from each other .
Then at one o'clock the gates were opened for  shoppers . Suddenly a lots of people around us .I want this I want that . Take the money - I will take this . Can you give back   from 500 qr ? I felt dizzy .It seemed that many people came to make a bargain .Originally I thought  that my  nine year old   would do the selling  but  the rush was too  big and  was hard to handle even for me .
After  half an hour it became normal  and the last  one hour was rather  slow . Most people were very nice and lovely . Some shoppers  wanted  me to reduce the prices  to very low  and they were aggressive when asking for it . But  they were only a few .
 I was  happy  including a lots of very small toys  for one rial -  it attracted many little  guys to our place .I felt  sorry that I did not bring plastic bags for shoppers . Most of them wanted one . About  clothes  - it seemed that brand names did not attract people  . I should have highlighted  the size  and the age of kids  rather than brands . I did not expect  working class  men looking for cheap clothes . I had thought that it was a middle class event   and I felt sorry  that I did not include  my husband  clothes that he wanted to give away  anyway .
All in all it was a nice experience . We sold a lots of things and brought back a lot . I   found some " treasures" for ourselves among our own stuff as well . There were a lots of baby clothes on sale and other stuff for kids  but for bigger kids the selection of clothes was limited and  clothes for men were only a few .Much more ladies  wear . Most of the shoppers were  American looking / Phillipinos / very few Indians ,Pakistanis and  expat Arabs .
At the food section   there were fun cup cakes , waffle , some Asian and Arab dishes for sale .

Leaving the place was not so simple as only four cars were allowed into the yard at a time .So  as we were  short of time  we had to carry out  our boxes  from the yard to  the parking .It was OK .
 

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

souq waqif -spring festival doha 2013


Spring festival ... how nice ! My kids happen to have  spring holidays .I can take them to a dolphin show !  I can't believe it!Magic show  ! The favorite of my four grader ... other events seem  to be extraordinary as well .Like  human canon ball ,bungee  jump ,thrilling air drive ,smurf's kids village .They promise live theater shows, carnival rides and many other amazing surprises, as well as daily concerts and folk band performances.

It is not clear  which  event  needs ticket  and how to buy . I plan to update  here  -as soon as I get information .

Date: Feb 7 - 21, 2013
Location: Souq Waqif


UPDATE : the free events started around four and six pm - they included magician show /African acrobats /traditional dances / brass band with bagpipe band

the tickets for the dolphin show can be bought from today or tomorrow at the ticket office near the Gold souq - 25 rial for kids 50 for adults - at least this was the information I got at the souq's information center

Doha Mum's Yard Sale - members or not members

Anyone   can come  and  sell or shop  to Doha Mum's Club annual yard sale .
Please read the details here on their  flyer :
expat Qatar