Showing posts with label interesting facts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interesting facts. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Date fruit - interesting facts

I visited the 7th Date festival in Doha in August . I tried the date ice cream and bought very cheap date fruit .But I found not much information about this ancient fruit so I decided to write an article about it .



 

After being pollinated, fruits go through five distinct stages of growth, each marked by a distinct change in appearance, feel, scent, and taste. Internationally Arabic words for each stage of date fruit development are generally accepted.


 Hababouk -young and the size of a pea  

 kimri  -hard and green

khalal - ripe, crunchy, and with a moisture content of up to 60 percent  

rutab -ripe, soft, crisp, and succulent, with a moisture content of 35 to 40 percent 

 tamar perfectly ripe,flesh is dry, moisture level is under 20%
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In the Middle East, "seven dates a day keeps the doctor away" is the comparable proverb to "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

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It contains antioxidants, iron, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, and magnesium.
They are packed with antioxidants that promote heart health, such as carotenoid and phenolic acid.
These may also have brain-protective properties.
(More research is required)
It contains fibers that help with bowel movements.
 
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The bone-hard seeds are roasted as a substitute for coffee, and ground into flour as animal feed.
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Pressed into baskets or crates and buried in sand, it can be kept for up to two years.
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 The Date Palm is one of the most beneficial trees on the planet. An adult date palm yields 150-300 kg of fruit per year.

In its fourth to fifth year, the growing tree begins to bear fruit. It is at its most productive in its 30th year. Around the age of 100, productivity and vitality begin to decline.

They used to plant 100 trees per hectare, and such land is worth 12 times as much as cereal land.
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The most expensive date type in the world is the wrinkled  and dark   colored Ajwa date, which grows only in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
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Egypt is the world's leading producer of date fruit.
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Tamara is a female given name most often derived from "Tamra" (Arabic: tamrah) and the plural form "Tamar" (Arabic: tamr)=generic name of the fruit "date", "date palm", or "palm tree"

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Interesting things about Hotels in Qatar

I love reading hotel reviews and descriptions and the fine prints .One can learn really interesting things about them .

 I would not have thought for example that the age of  the single    guest is regulated  in Qatar according to their nationality .At least this is what I read on a five star hotel's fine prints :

"Please note that Qatari females must be 30 years old or above to check in and must show valid identification, unless accompanied by an adult. 

Qatari males must be 21 years old or above to check in. 

Guests under 21 years are not entitled to stay unless accompanied by an adult. 

Non Qatari guests must be over 18 years old to check in unless accompanied by an adult." ( source : booking.com  - The St. Regis Doha   The fine print )

More strange thing I found in Grand Hyatt Doha   -  The fine print " "The indoor pool is only accessible to those aged 18 years and above. "
I understand why the age limit for bars where alcohol is served but for a  pool I can not imagine the aim of this regulation .Especially ,that the outdoor pool can be used by the above mentioned age group .???

 The Fraser Suits Doha is " Offering views of the Doha Port and Indian Ocean "
 :) that was really funny -  the Arabian /Persian Gulf is the thing one can see from a Doha Hotel the Indian ocean is a bit far !

but  the same hotel offers time for ladies at the swimming pool "Please note that every Sunday and Wednesday between 11:00 AM and 08:00 PM, the outdoor pool is reserved for female guests." 

I found some more hotels which consider that the majority of  the Middle Eastern women tries to segregate when it is about swimming .

"Please note that on Saturdays, only ladies can access the hotel's swimming pool from 7 AM until 6 PM. "Safir Hotel Doha .Najma street


"Swimming pool is exclusive to ladies every Saturday from 8:00 until 16:00. "Plaza Inn 

"Some floors are dedicated to women and families." Retaj Al Rayyan in Dafna 


Qatar is a conservative Muslim country  -though most  hotels serve alcohol .Some Muslims guests feel uncomfortable about that and prefers to stay in hotels with NO alcohol at all . These facilities are not advertised one has to dig  the information about them up  . I found the following  dry hotels in Doha : The Royal Riviera Hotel Doha  in Old salata area  /Retaj Al Rayyan in Dafna /Saraya Corniche Hotel in Old Salata area /Retaj Royale in Old Salata area /Safir Hotel Doha .Najma street /Le Park Hotel in Al-Sadd area //Retaj Residence Al Corniche  /Wyndham Grand Regency Doha /




 and the last piece of info  : 
K108 Hotel Doha is a charity-oriented hotel where it donates 100% of its profits to charity and other important causes.

Monday, January 20, 2014

New Airport in Doha - what to expect and when

One of the most exciting thing to happen in Doha in 2014 is the opening of the New Airport which  is not just a new version of the old airport  where even the public clocks work well
( 6 years ago my mom was shocked to see a public clock not working properly at the airport when she arrived )

 but  it is a huge facility with futuristic /modern technology

  when ? within half year

 Some Facts

 driverless trains will carry 6 000 passangers per hour inside the airport

 making transfer will be fast -  30-minute minimum connect time expected

 Airport City spreads over 10 square kilometres

where estimated 200,000 people are expected to live and work

50 million passengers per year expected

1.4m tonnes of cargo  per year

7,600 parking stalls for vehicles

 69,000sqm Catering Facility  can serve over 90,000 meals per day

19,500 bags per hour will be handled by the baggage handling system

 luxurious facilities like spa, gym, squash courts and a swimming pool as well as a transit hotel 


source

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Numbers in Qatar - Population

Who are the people who live in Qatar ?What is the proportion of different nationalities ?
  Reading  an infographic   I learned  that  only 15 %  of the population  is Qatari.

    Roughly  there are 1,800,000  people in the country


24% Indian
16% Nepali
15% Qatari
13% Arabs ( non Qatari )
11% Filippino
7 %  other  ( westerners -latinos )
5%  Sri Lankan
5% Bangladeshi

Saturday, June 04, 2011

Numbers in Qatar

expected economic growth :15.8%
investing in infrastructure :40% of its budget
new international  airport :$11bn
deep water sea-port :$5.5bn
transport corridor in Doha :$1bn
roads                      :$20bn


Sunday, August 10, 2008




MIND BOGGLING NUMBERS ON THE WEDDING BUSINESS IN THE USA

2,160,000 weddings YEARLY
$86 Billion SPENT

9,000,000 weddings in China per year
$19,900 per wedding SPENT

Number of weddings in the world around 115,000 per day!

Wedding cities of the world :
1. Las Vegas
2.Istanbul ,Turkey
3.Gatlinburg ,US

Monday, January 21, 2008

Bobby Fischer died some days ago





Telling the truth I have not known too much about him .Thanks to Gulf- times I learnt some interesting facts on his life :
that he lived as refugee in Iceland because his homeland the USA wanted him for his anti- US attitude
having Jewish origins he criticzed the Jews very much
by the age 15 he was the youngest person ever to hold grand master title
at the top of his career he gave up playing
he spent much of the 1990's in Budapest appeared in public baths from time to time -looked like an old hobo ( there are some figures like that in our much beloved capital -and he was right
Budapest is a great place to live especially if one has five million dollars to spend )
he refused to advertise any products inspite of the great sums he had been offered for that
according to him chess as a sport died due to computers
However it is sad I can not feel sorry about that .
Chess will be again a nice recreation and not a political issue .It will be better - I think .
expat Qatar