Katara Eid Festival

Venue: Katara Cultural Village

Date: Day 1-4 of Eid Al Fitr

What to expect :
Dreams on Ice Show
from QR100 to QR500

 you can buy tickets here

Day: 4 October - 30 November
First Show: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Second Show: 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sat. Additional Show: 12:00p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
.......
Fireworks  Day: 4 - 7 October at 11 pm
........
Qatari play (Abu Salma) Day: 4 - 7 October
.........
Big Bang Show  on from 7:30
..........
Angry Birds Exhibition - QR50 for five years old above

Numbers in Qatar 2014 August

Birth in August : 1880 out of them 539 Qataris
Death in August : 162 out of them 51 Qataris

Marriage in August : 261 contracts
Divorce in August : 77 cases

The  figures of birth  and death suggest that only about one third of the population is native here  and around two thirds are expats . It shows that the society is very young . The number of birth is very high . It also shows that most probably   the majority of expats and Qatari mothers  decide to give birth in Qatar   though for the expats' children it will not give any kind of benefit . "Born in Qatar " does not mean  neither citizenship or  allocation  for the non-Qatari babies .
I think it is the quality of the hospital service and  the low price of government hospital  that  encourages mothers to  give birth here .Also the great number of female doctors available  and the right to choose one of them instead of male doctors  . This   keeps here  the expat mums especially the Muslim ones .




source :

Aqua Park Eid celebrations

Aqua Park Eid celebrations
4-6 October 2014
4:30 - 8:30
Stilt Walkers ,face painting ,tanoura dancers ,mascots ,mc presenter

It is all fun  - but please why ladies only can not have fun during Eid celebrations ?One single day is too much to ask for those women whose tradition /culture /pudency does not allow them to mix with men while wearing swimming suits ?

Why ladies only days are only on week days /school days etc ...

12 .000 sheep imported - Eid preparations

12 .000 sheep imported 
  they  cost  QR  1350  or 1080  rial  per head
these are subsidised  prices  for the  residents of Qatar 
they wil be on sale till 6 October

Sheep in Arabic =Kharoof   = خروف
Mutton is eaten traditionally at celebrations . Much of the mutton s distirbuted for the poor families .
source

The Pearl-Qatar Eid Festival

Venue: Porto Arabia - Parcel 9 and 10, The Pearl-Qatar

Time: 6pm – 10pm  
Date: Day 1-3 of Eid Al Fitr
Organizer: The Pearl-Qatar
Entrance Fee: Free

Interview with the Emir of Qatar on CNN

The interview itself is in English - the video comes with Arabic subtitles

  Quick facts about the Emir of Qatar

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is his full name

born 3 June 1980
the eighth and current Emir of the State of Qatar
he is the son of Sheikha Mozah &; Sheikh Hamad ( the former ruler )
he graduated in 1998 at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ( a Brit military academy )
he is father of 6 children so far

Volunteers wanted for handball world cup in Qatar 2015

Take part in the biggest 2015 sporting event in #Qatar! Volunteer for #Qatar2015 more info on our website http://t.co/zPTEga1OY1
— Qatar Handball 2015 (@2015Handball) September 23, 2014

Shreya Ghoshal concert in Doha

One of Bollywood`s premier playback singers, perform live in Doha!

what to expect ; hits like Ooh la la, Chikni Chameli, Teri Meri, and Dola re Dola!
hits in regional languages like Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu, in addition to her native Hindi
When ; 05 OCT 2014
What time ; 7:30PM
Where : West End Park
Tickets : from QR 50 to QR 1000
book tickets here

names of  VIP  tickets  winners   for  the show  here

Garage sale at mirqab 1 compound on Friday

Post by Kids Doha.

FRIDAY 26th SEPTEMBER
9 am- to 12 pm
Al-Mirqab 1 compound Club house
Al WAAB

Salt Spa experience

 I was at the salt spa yesterday . I got relaxing foot /shoulder and face massage ! It was so good ! The only problem is that it is too expensive for me to come back! I came with 75 % off coupon .
I expected much less than I got . It was written that the main attraction is the salt room and the relaxation . I expected a little massage only . The foot /shoulder and face massage was nearly an hour .
The staff was welcoming and intelligent . I do not like going to such places because mostly Filipino women work there . They are wearing a thin mask of kindness all the time and behind this mask there is envy and disdain .... they look down at you because you are not as rich as some of the local customers and the envy you because after all you can afford the costly service .
Here I met a very nice Arab masseuse - she was working with great skill and devotion . They have a Thai masseuse as well .
The salt crystals cover only 2- 3 -maximum 4 square meter area but they are near the treatement beds . Telling the truth it was not so much a cave-like pure air feeling here ... the essential oils suppressed that .
The music was also very well selected -some instrumental music with oriental touch .
I think they should provide bath robe for XL sizes as well and they should improve the look of the entrance at the fence ... I got scared when I saw it was a bit shabby looking from outside -   luckily inside the spa everything was impeccable .
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salt-Spa-Company/326215247463463

Street barbers in Istanbul 19th century

Street Barbers in Istanbul 19th century Greeting Card by almawad
Make a card online at zazzle

At the barber in India

 This video shows a funny and lovely old barber in India  and his young client who asks for a trendy hairstyle  that he had seen in the magazine . The barber got an excellent idea to treat the guy . Funny commercial  .

At the Barber Shop in Doha

This video shows a typical Indian barber in Doha , Qatar while he is giving head and shoulder massage to a young man .Indian barbers usually are skillful at massage as well .They work for little money and t is a very cheap service in Doha .
Unfortunately for ladies there are not cheap services in Qatar .Almost every service for ladies falls into luxury category and they charge a lot ...

Every time I go home to Hungary and I visit my beautician I feel sorry that in Doha I can not have such a world class service for that little money !

Rhythmic Gymnastics classes for girls 6-15 years

Post by Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim - SFQ Sports Academy.

Call 4486 6293

Free public transportation at the West Bay

14 luxurious buses at your service. Park your car around and enjoy free #WestBayBus service, every 15 minutes. #Qatar pic.twitter.com/GoK54kI1Ds
— Baladiya (@Baladiya1) September 20, 2014

Qatar Academy Opened New Branch

Qatar Academy Msheireb welcomed their first 6 classes in kindergarten, and grades 1 and 2 this month! pic.twitter.com/41DMAmjKhF
— Qatar Foundation (@QF) September 20, 2014

September 20 Fire at the Villaggio Mal

— Qatar Living (@qatarliving) September 21, 2014

It seems the everybody was safe and sound after a fire broke out at the food court of Villaggio Mall .I saw a video in the fb and it seemed that people left the place in civilized way -no stampedes or such things . Some years ago there was a terrible loss of life when a fire broke out in a Nike shop under a nursery .There was enough time to save the kids but nobody understands how but the firefighters were informed about the nursery only half an hour after they arrived . By then nearly everyone suffocated and those who did not died later in the ambulance car .
So those who had been living n Qatar for a while fire and Villaggio means an irreparable loss of lives .
God Save us from that tragedy would happen again !
Otherwise Villaggio is a long building and most of the facilities are downstairs and it is easy to leave it in case of emergency .It used to be my favourite place until that tragedy .

Qatar seismic station

 It is  a new  place " Qatar Network for Seismic Observation" .It detected an earthquake very far from Doha ."The 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurred 9,771km from Doha at a depth of 137km"
It has powerful devices .I hope that it will not detect earthquakes around here .A year ago or more there were two harmless earthquakes in Doha which caused much panic . I personally did not notice anything but my husband was asked to leave the tower building .

Buy it sell it School Uniform Qatar

IT has 900 members .It is a facebook group .You have to send a request for you can join .Your opportunity to buy or sell school uniforms and shoes here in Qatar. it is open to all schools and academies in Qatar.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/538287042882008/

BREAKFAST AT CASA PACO RESTAURANT - PEARL ,DOHA

Our culinary adventurousness took us to the fabulous Pearl island in Doha . We wished to try the breakfast At  Casa Paco ! 
Enjoy a Spanish Breakfast
was  the slogan of their advertisement ! We were very excited - we have never had a Spanish breakfast in our lives ! I expected  fresh Spanish bread and other culinary surprises .
As we entered la Croisette 22 -23  building we heard relaxing music of syrinx . It must be the music of this Casa Paco - I thought . We   had booked a table and I   told about it to someone who looked like  staff . Then he called someone and a woman came out from the kitchen to seat us .Her mouth was full of food , She was wearing the apron of a chef . Very unprofessional service  - that was my first thought .
 The soft melody of syrinx stopped as well - and  we heard  familiar  sounds of a radio station , Wait - I know it ! Yes - this is Oryx FM live  - the French radio station of Qatar ! How very strange ! This is a Spanish restaurant and I thought the music  should be Spanish too .Later I learnt that she was a parisienne !
 Then we got the breakfast . First came the toast . It was real  sandwich bread of the cheapest kind that is available in Doha - and even it was stale !It came with the cheapest jam and butter and honey  and none of them was Spanish !

It was like an insult ! I looked at the plastic flower at the table and I felt that something was wrong here ...
 When the eggs cooked in tomato sauce came we had no more bread . We had to pay 15 rial for two slices of extra toast from those stale sandwich bread ! The tiny sausages tasted  exactly like those Egyptian ones from the Carrefour !
 The eggs were OK ...but the breakfast finished here . It was the small breakfast . It was really small . Everyone was still hungry . I ordered small because according to previous experience portions are very generous here in Doha  and for 49 rial I expected a meal .. copius  one . The big breakfast came  with some extras   like :  bacon and a tiny portion of patatas bravas  , Two American style pancakes and finally  crispy  bastella pancakes . That was 99 rial and it was still not enough !

We decided to leave quickly . When paying the chef gave us coupons  for 50 % discount for their  buffet dinner . It would cost  us only 60 rials. We  did not feel like coming back ever .
 There is only one reason someone should come here - their terrace has wonderful view to the Marina ...and when the weather is mild it is nice sitting around there  ...

We got into the car and drove to the nearest supermarket as we were very hungry .... That was our  adventure with the Spanish  cuisine in Doha !

The New Airbus was welcomed by Qatar Airways

Congratulations @qatarairways on the handover of your first #A380! #QatarA380 http://t.co/u7jtbt3fhW pic.twitter.com/F86u1ffyDh
— Airbus (@Airbus) September 17, 2014

 There was a ceremony to welcome the A380 Jumbo aircraft at Hamad international airport . The modern and spacious passenger plane will operate between London and Doha .

cyber crime and punishement in qatar

Qatar yesterday issued a cybercrime prevention law
it took immediate effect 

The punishement for various cyber crimes :
child pornography :producing, promoting, using, importing or distributing child pornography
= 5 years jail term + fine of up to QR500,000

forging or using any official e-document = 10 years of jail
fine of up to QR200,000

identity thefts , steal movable property using the Internet,=3 years , QR100,000 fine
stealing numbers of bank cards or forging e-cards.=up to three years and a fine of up to QR200,000
source
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/news/qatar/300301/law-issued-to-combat-cybercrimes

Web Identity Cards by rolffimages
Create custom greeting cards at Zazzle.

Little Owl

Taken on June 18, 2014 in Qatar by Ashraf Kotb . Thank you for sharing it on Flickr . I have never seen  an owl in Qatar .

Numbers in Qatar: 70 %

70 % of the new students at Qatar university are female
2,286 females
936 male students

total number of students at QU :18,000

read on women conditions in the Arab World


source

Second fire at Civil Defense building in 3 weeks

PHOTOS: Second fire at Civil Defense building in 3 weeks. http://t.co/gBQ793rez9 pic.twitter.com/AKjrqni797
— Qatar Living (@qatarliving) September 14, 2014

Eid Al -adha celebration Souq Waqif

What to expect

25 .000 gifts for kids
recreational games
folklore dances, singing parties,
circus,
acrobat shows
art exhibition

Time: 4pm – 10pm  
Date: Day 2-5 of Eid Al Fitr
Organizer: Souq Waqif
Entrance Fee: Entertainment Tent QAR 20 
Ukrainian Circus QAR 50 General / 100 VIP

26 buses destroyed in fire

 26 old buses out of service caught fire on  Tuesday at 9 pm

 they were totally destroyed   though the fire brigades arrived within ten minutes

 they were fighting more than an hour with the fire 

 no loss of  life ....

 some days ago there was a fire at the health quarantine center which had killed 5 people there 

My Iznik Plate Workshops

Workshops

My Iznik Plate
5-8 years
2, 9, 16 November, 3:30pm - 5pm

You are invited to discover the vegetal world of the Islamic golden age, and explore one of the main areas of art in Islamic Art: Islimi or Arabesque. Let’s know more about the beautiful 16th Century Iznik ceramic created during the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. And let’s design and make our own paper plates, using wet-on-wet watercolor technique.

Booking: dzada@qm.org.qa

https://www.facebook.com/MIAQatar

New School Year started yesterday

385 schools opened their gates yesterday  for  243,000  students in Qatar .

Most schools began a new academic year but for the Indian community schools it is  the second term .
 There  is 25% more students this year compared to last year .Some newly built international schools are still open for admissions .Most of them are far from Doha center and expensive .

The traffic  jams are quite bad in the mornings and  the coming days it can be worse as Qatar University, which has more than 12,000 students  is going to open next week.

Yawning Koala by almawad
Browse Koala Posters online at Zazzle.com

Fire kills 5 Health Quarantine centre

How it is horrible to be in Quarantine and having no way to run away when the fire comes. Five people died from the smoke on Friday .Authorities have started investigations into the case ...

http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/407233/probe-as-five-die-in-blaze

numbers in qatar

from a doctor's log

475  patient a year
25 speaks English
78 speaks Arabic
90 speaks Urdu
133 speaks Hindi
149 speaks  Nepali

 source : an ad where medical translator courses are advertised

http://www.gulf-times.com/PDFLinks//PDFs/2014/9/7/Daily%20newspaper_2014_09_07_000000.pdf

An Old Man and his Pupil

Post by Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).

Three reasons to go to Al -Khor

Post by Qatar Summer Festival.

1 Kayaking tours at the family beach

Post by Qatar Summer Festival.

2 .snorkeling

3.Aerial scenic flights


to 27th September  the activities are on
fees range from 50 to 550 rials
from 1pm to 8  pm every day
Tickets can be purchased

at Al-Khor Mall parking area Gate 4

New Indian school in Nuaija ,Doha

Indian schools are openning at dazzling pace this summer .
Olive international school is the latest addition .
It accepts kids from KG age to 3 grade .
They do not say anything about their fees on their homepage .
You must visit them to learn more . They are managed by Patrician Schools which is a famous brand in education India .They promise that class room sizes will be limited to 25 students, with state of art learning facilities.

UK human rights workers dissappear in Qatar

According to Al-Jazeera the two UK human rights workers went missing just before they were about to leave the country .
One of them was complaining to a friend via sms that they were being followed by police and agents .Qatar officials could not be reached for comment .

The story is very strange -human right workers has been flocking to Qatar ever since it won the right of organizing FIFA world cup .They have never been arrested .

In spite of claims of 'slavery" third world country workers keep coming to Qatar in large number on their own decisions .The life on the constructions is not an easy one .It is certainly not a holiday here .Qatar was responding to criticism of human rights activists and promised to improve the workplace safety, housing and pay conditions .
Difficult to understand why those guys were arrested .

source

________________________________________
UPDATE
The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that two British men, who were arrested by security authorities on August 31, are being interrogated for violating the provisions of Qatar’s laws.

source

UK human right workers held in Qatar fred
A spokesperson for the British embassy in Qatar said: "The British embassy can confirm that Krishna Upadhyaya and Gundev Ghimire have been released."

source 

New Craze in Doha - Sumo Costume Fight

It is very funny -a crazy fighting in sumo costumes . The outfit can be rented at he company above !

Cycling News in Qatar

I love my bike - I have already told you about it - I left it in Hungary and I hoped to find a way to buy one here and ride around ...but so far it is just the beginning the new trend of riding a bike .Now it is not only for the poor Indian guys but for the eco-minded youngsters as well . It is  good news -it is getting accepted more and more .There are newly-built bicycle tracks along Salwa and Al Waab roads .Electric bikes (e-bike) will soon start rolling in Education City .And according to Qatar National Bicycle Master Plan all major roads will have dedicated bicycle paths in the future ...
Going to the supermarket by bike is still a dream ... a thing that is absolutely normal in my country .

Vintage Bicycle girl Business Card by almawad
View additional business cards at Zazzle

I like my bike

MY POST ABOUT CYCLING WAS WRITTEN IN 2008
Riding a bike in Qatar ? No way .
It is very dangerous on the roads and there are no bike paths at all .
During Ramadan when in afternoon the streets become deserted in the afternoon then it is nice .
I like my bike . I left it in HUngary . It had served me for so longtime . On the great plain in HUngary we use the bike as a mean of transport . Simply , it is practical to go to the market and here and there . We got more and more paths for bicycles at home . Even in Budapest ,one can find nowadays paths like that .
I learnt to ride the bike when I was six. It was my father's bike in fact .He used to hold me from behind until the glorious moment that I managed to keep my balance on that big bike .
I got my first bike when I was eight . I had been saving for that for a year . At the end of the school year my parents added some money to my savings and we bought a second hand but never used bike for my size . it was shining - it had the metal smell . I was sooo happy . It was stolen from me in the first week ...
My parents felt so sorry for me that they bought for me another one soon after that .

Dead dolphin was found in Wakra Beach

Dolphins are rare to  spot in Qatar .This time a dead one was found in Wakra .It was a real challenge to remove this  mammal which weighs in avergae 160 kg .
See pictures here


illustration

Bottlenose Dolphin 4 Postcard by corbisimages
Try post card printing using zazzle