Friday, February 27, 2015

Hungarian politician was in Qatar


Post by Katara.














Hungarian politician and the current Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary was in Qatar . He brought a nice Zsolnay vase as present and we do not know yet what he wanted to get .Last May it was the President of Hungary who visited this country .

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Camel on the roads Doha -funnny video





I found this on the facebook - a funny video shows a camel galopping on the roads of Doha .I do not know where or when it happened -it is just funny .Not an everyday scene !

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Aspire Torch Staircase Run

When ;

Mar 27 at 9:00am to Mar 28 at 12:00pm
Where
The Torch Hotel - Doha
aspire zone, Doha

What to expect
two-day race programme
1,304 steps
300 meter tower ,51st floor,

The first race will take place on 27th March at 9:00 AM. The event is open to all public with minimum age of 18 of all abilities who have undergone an intensive training prior to the race. World Champion Staircase runners will be there so you can challenge yourself against the best.

Race (2) will consist of the top 30 men and 30 women from race 1 will then race again in the afternoon of the 27th Mar. This heat will be to floor 30 only, starting at intervals.

On 28th March, Race (3) “The World Championships Race” itself will then take place. In separate finals, the top 30 male and female athletes will line up in a start formation inspired by motor racing. The race will start from spine road into the stairwell, up to floor 30 – change stairwell on floor 30 and then finish on floor 50.

Monday, February 23, 2015

statues in Doha featuring intrauterin life


Post by Qatar Tourism Guide.

I love those statues  - my only problem is that  they are by the road and they distract drivers .Sometimes they are covered -sometimes they are uncovered .Nice reminder about the miracle of life .

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Dora Madarasz - Hungarian table tennis player in Doha

Abu Dhabi warehouse fire kills ten

The victims were living in the warehouse illegally . They got trapped in the fire and died on Friday morning  .They  were residing above a car repair shop . They were not named  -just referred to as "migrant labourers " Building owner and supervisor was arrested .
 Authorities promise "zero tolerance" against those who disregard public safety rules .

Dubai - Marina Torch Tower on Fire



the fire started 2 am Saturday
it was burning for 3 hours- there were heavy winds at the time of the fire
nobody died or got seriously injured

world's fifth-tallest residential building
86-storey - 352 metres

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Qatar’s First International Film and Creative Industry Gathering


It was a magical might


wonderful weather , fabulous  scenery ,  and a jazz band from New York made our day memorable !

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Qafco Flower and Vegetable Show 2015



When 27 March
Where  Al- Banoush Club , Messaid
 What to expect : flowers .vegetables ,competition of amateurs and professionals ,vegetable carving ,butter carving ,ice carving , flower arrangement ,prize distribution

 for more info visit this page 

 for participants the briefing
 will be held 18 February at 4;30 at Al -Banoush Club


New School Building for the Philippines in Qatar

Philippines are going to have their own school 
building in Qatar  . It is  planned to be ready within two years and its cost is estimated QR100mn .
It will be able to seat 4 000 students . The site in Abu Hamour is the donation of the Qatari government .
Interesting facts  : the first Filipino school in 1992 had only 33 students - ten years later they already had 400 !

Sunday, February 15, 2015

I visited the Mughal and Safavid Albums exhibitions

I visited the MIA on their last day of Mughal and Safavid Albums exhibitions .It was about miniatures and calligraphy of India and Persia  in the 17 century . The rooms were dark and a bit like a maze - the small pages were illuminated behind the glass . It was difficult to notice small details .But there was a screen which had shown us every small thing .
I was astonished to see how "modern" were some of those 17 century book illustrations . Some of them had typical "art-nouveau " style ...
Yeah -this is not the first time I feel that some of the glorious art-nouveau pieces of Europe were simple theft .

Jazz in the Park on Wednesday


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition (DJWE) 2015


  When : February 24 -28

 Where : Qatar National Convention Centre
Opening time: 
From 12.00 pm to 10 pm Until February 28 
Friday hours are 4.pm to 10 pm

What to expect :500 exhibiting brands  ,five major halls ,covering a space of 25,000 square meters

Register for Jewelry Qatar to get your registration, discounts and exclusive services.
Website
http://www.djwe.qa/


Note ; though it is not mentioned  - kids were not allowed to the event previously



Qatar Solidarity Walk - Chapelhill victims

Friday, February 13, 2015

Gauguin might gone to Qatar


It is not official  -  but the original painting (1892) was sold for a huge amount ( 300 M USD )  its title is Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?)


 the seller was a Swiss person  - who sold it privately  to someone  - it is thought that Qatar Museum authority is the buyer  .




Numbers in Qatar - Birth and Death



New Borns of Qatari parents  -2014 november /december  : 1115
New Borns of Expat parents-  2014 november /december  :  1354

Death in Qatari population : -2014  november/december  :   117
Death in Expat population : - 2014  november /december :  280

Chapati and Karak at Katara

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Numbers in Qatar - 20 % students with asthma

20% of students
suffer from asthma in Qatar

source 

my own experience - my child had terrible attacks of cough -it happened that she was coughing six weeks in a row at nights  - the emergency doctors kept telling me that it was  just stubborn virus ...finally one Arab doctor gave her antibiotics and she became OK
but sooner or later the night coughs came back and the doctors at the emergency made us believe that it was normal ...:(
finally we found ourselves at a private clinics  where an Asian doctor drew our attention to studies about milk that we buy at the supermarket that   might trigger asthma .
so we cut back on our dairy consumption and especially no milk in the afternoon or evening
mysteriously the  night coughs vanished !
that is really a doctor who gave us that advice !

Monday, February 09, 2015

National Sports Day - some ideas on where to go

Katara, the Cultural Village
 from 7:30 till late night
what to expect :  sports activities
on its waterfront which will
be for women, men and children


MIA Park

  from 8am to 5pm on Tuesday 10th February
plenty of fun sports activities for all the family to take part in, as well as children's activities and competitions with prizes to be won
complimentary healthy food on offer

Aspire Park

at 9am  3km Fun Run from Khalifa  Stadium 
 at 10am Family cycling together
from 8:45 am to 1 pm sport activities for women only (  at Ladies Club )
from 1 to 4pm  family walk together  at the Torch Hotel 

Friday, February 06, 2015

Crime and punishment in Qatar - Did the abusive husband throw his wife from the balcony

It is not clear what nationality was the poor abused woman .They must have been Arabs as the  Sharq  daily paper reported first the case .
The story is tragic  -  there was an abusive  husband ,a drug addict who beats his wife up often . One day after the usual violence the woman was found  lying on the grass . Did she kill herself or  her abusive husband threw her out of their balcony ?
The court did not find any evidence proving that he was the  killer . Plus the couple 's little son claimed he saw his mom throwing herself from the balcony of their fourth floor .
The court acquitted the husband .


Thursday, February 05, 2015

Nursery without license - couple arrested


Wednesday, February 04, 2015

parachuting exercises in Sealine area

 I have just read in the local daily paper  a warning to residents of Qatar  -   one  can expect parachuting exercises in Sealine area  from February 15 to 19  from 6am to  1 pm .
 Be aware of that in case you are going to visit that area !
 For your own safety  ! 

Monday, February 02, 2015

Numbers in Qatar - details of the population

Population of  Qatar 

2,269,672  ( November 2014 )


25 % women


75% men


Age groups :     25 -64 y  70 %
                       0-15 y      14 %  
                       15 -24 y   14%

                     above 65y   1%    




                 

Cars Taxis on strike


The company is called Cars Taxis  - it is one of the Karwa
franchisees  - they have cars with yellow top .They got 450 taxis and  unhappy drivers . Most of them went on strike for the last 48 hours as they wish to get a hike of their commission .
The company's officials denied the fact of strike . source
Some years ago bus drivers of an Indian school went on a wildcat strike - simply they left the kids in the school .

Mughal and Safavid Albums


Sunday, February 01, 2015

Dolphin Show review - 2015

 We arrived one hour  before the evening show .  We parked our car in the new underground parking  . There are three floors  -if I remember well . Even  though it took  us a while until we found a free place . There was some foul smell inside ... we wished to get out as soon as possible .
We found ourselves by the edge of a busy road - as we came up to ground level. The opposite side was the Dolphin Show .No pedestrian crossing or traffic warden to let the families cross safely !
It was easy to buy tickets  -we arrived at 6  for the show of 7pm. No crowds  .Prices were OK  - if you want a better view  then it costs you 100 rial - if you  are happy to see the show from the side then it is 50 rial .


The doors open half an hour before the show .There was a big crowd wanting to enter . We decided to walk around  and not to join the crowd . We arrived back ten minutes before the show with tickets but it was very difficult to find any seat at all .

The dolphins were jumping , spinning round in the air even before the show . Then came a Russian compere  with an annoying style and  strong accent . But the  synchronized Swimming girls  were really nice . Dolphins were given time to  rest  and there was this " water ballet " performance during the  breaks .


The dolphins were jumping through different objects  -were playing with balls - even painted an abstract image .  There were three female ones in a small pool .  




The  final
  attraction was a 600 kg  walrus  - it was waiving at us ,doing push-up ,sit-ups and even once somersaulted  . When it was wet it smelt like a dog ..:)
All in all it was a nice show  - the music was too loud ,kids were running here and there ... there was a fence between the pool and the seats .So many kids were hanging on this fence - people let their very small totes  go there alone ...Three or four years old little kids  climbing on a fence near the pool !
Two years ago  even there was no fence at all !

expat Qatar