Rydges Hotel in Doha Pulled down


Though I have never been there it was very familiar building for me .. it was not far from our home and i could see it from the window ....it looked a building in good condition ...but it is said to have been built in wrong location .. so it was bought from the owner and demolished ...I have never seen something like that ...our pride is rather to preserve the buildings in Hungary ...

I missed the Doha Food festival

I feel really sorry that I missed this festival . The first one in the city . All the restaurants came together and were offering their dishes for a value price . The most expensive dish was only 15 riyal( less than $5) - and it means five star hotels cuisine .The cheapest ones were 5 riyal - and i guess a lots of tasty things among them . The thing that I like in Doha that everyone can find a restaurant whatever his means are . The inexpensive restaurants offer many times really good dishes .My husband brings meals from such eateries at times and I remember an Indian egg plant dish for breakfast and a kind of grilled chicken pieces with wonderful bread from a Turkish eatery .

Numbers

121 accidents in Qatar on a single day due to a sand storm with wind of 24 knots

14C degrees minimum temperature = winter in Qatar

See my latest designs on Qatar . Great gift for proud nationals or expats who want some keepsake on their years spent in Qatar . All of the items can be customized - you can easily add your own logo , text , initials !

You might not find always the souvenir you like in Qatar's gift shops .In this case you can browse my designs .Fridge magnets are always seen and practical gifts .
Please note : if you order it to your address in Qatar then you should wait at least 4 -5 weeks until it arrives .

See tricks of online shopping in Qatar

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Qatari woman at the taxi station

It was at Villaggio Mall 's taxi station ... there were around three families waiting ... There was a queue . Then came up a Qatari(looking) woman -she stood right to the first place to get the first taxi coming ... The Indian supervisor sent her to the last place - taboor -he said ... the woman did not want to accept ... she could not understand how this Indian guy is sending her to the last place ... after all she is Qatari ...
But the supervisor was firm and sent her to wait ....
I could see through her veil how much she felt humiliated ... she had to wait like a foreigner ..she tried to call her family - but nobody had time .... then she just stood there staring bitterly into the dark parking space ... She must have been thinking about the golden age of Qatar when the Hindi guys served them first and would not dare to tell them taboor...Things have changed .....

Buffet breakfast - Le Notre , Villaggio Mall

Though I was not fascinated by the lunch we had there a year ago - I decided then to try their breakfast . The buffet table's selection were not as big as I expected ...though there were a large selection of cakes - somehow this was not exactly the thing I wished to have for my breakfast .I expected a lots of bakery products , some cereals - but we foud some little croissants and that was all . We were almost disappointed and took some grilled frankfurters and some salads with tiny sandwiches when it turned out that some parts of the breakfast are served for you as it is freshly prepared . In a bowl they served the rolls and bread - which were excellent ... their American coffee was also very good . The selection of drink is only tea or coffee . I expected some freshly made orange juice - but such thing was not included in the price . They served for as an omlette -which was rather a plain thing ,falafel -wonderful and the freshly made fatira stuffed with cheese or vegetables were also five star dish .
As you can notice it was a blend of Arabic and continental morning dishes ...
After all it was not bad - especially if you know what to expect ...The place was half empty - some local families had breakfast there and some western looking ones .. The background music was the jazz hits from 1930's ...The waitresses really were waiting , standing by to take away the plates or to serve you .
You pay 59 QR for that + 12% service charges ...
As not too many places have buffet breakfast in Doha - this place can be called the number one buffet breakfast cafe here ...

Recently awarded design

5.5" x 8.5" stationery is great for all your baby shower invitations, birth announcement . Choose from five paper types and colors. Laser and inkjet compatible. Playful floral pattern with some retro feel . Decorative gift by Alma Wad . Customize it with your own words ,initials .

retro floral pattern by almawad
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Today's Best January 11, 2010

Top 10 Stationeries January 11, 2010

Thai Smiles restaurant - Al Bida park

at long last a restaurant at Al Bida park . that was my first thought when I saw Thai Smiles near the mosque of the park .
It is a small place but very much above the standard of other eateries in the park. The interior decor is just my cup of tea , Burgundy walls with some golden floral motifs - it is fine art deco . The waitress is friendly and helpful . The noodles soup is fresh full of things that you would expect from a soup ... spring rolls were OK .We must come back one day to try their main dishes .. It has got excellent reviews and the location is wonderful with the park all around .Just the perfect thing for families with kids .
My best wishes to the staff .

I. Phone : 431 6466

II. Mobile : 696 6209

numbers

Studies have found that reading level of children in the Arab region is weak, with a child spending only an average of six minutes annually to read books beyond curriculum.

Vintage Child Reading by YesterdayCafe
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My Impressions Doha Book Fair

Lots of books -most of them in Arabic .
Lots of books in English too .
But nothing made me really excited ...

Scientologists are selling their stuff . .. That made me sick ...

French corner ... some books ... not very interesting ... there was a very thin book called " the Great Book of Arabian Inventions " - it was a pure insult in this form ...

And the best of all : A French woman was offering some French chocolates from a box to anybody who had Qatari look ! I was watching her for a while ...

"Liberty, equality, fraternity "



really - this motto was not advertised ...

pink pastel by almawad
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Qatar's National Day
It has been the third year that it was celebrated on 18th December . Before it was at the beginning of September . Then suddenly it was shifted to this date .
A thing that could not really happen in Hungary - I guess .
Seeing the rehearsal was a pure joy : we went to play with the kids to Al-Bida park and saw the show of old boats . Those sailing boats which had been used here for centuries crossed the bay slowly with stylish dignity .There had been around 800 ships in Doha harbour 50 years ago - fishermen's boat ,pearl divers their staff 's boat , merchants' boats and so on ..
After the boat show we could see some 50 camels and riders strolling along the destroyed area of Rumeila district ...Qatar zaman
It was just rehearsal ... No wonder that
we had great expectations for the day itself .Vodaphone and and iloveqatar organized programs in the Aspire park which seemed to be fun ... they promised bouncing castles , sparklers , face painting , dance ,musicians , free local food between 10am -6 pm.
It was raining - but we still went there around 2 pm - there were some bouncing castles that was true - but no sparklers , no face paintings , no dance ,no music ... not even a Qatari flag for the kids , no festive atmosphere ...just crowdy bouncing castles ... and rain .
It was very disappointing ... for some it was even worse ....just read this thread

I think that next year I will make do with the rehearsal ....

Christmas stories from my childhood - my auntie's house

Pretty Vintage Miss by almawad
 We started a new life with my family in a new town . After my father got a better position we lived a more comfortable life than before  but we were not happy at all . In our previous dwelling place everything looked better  and my elder brother and I wished to move back . It was not possible and we had to find to good point in the town . It was not easy ! It had only a few things that we liked and one of those was the house of my auntie ...

Every thing used to be so beautiful at my auntie's house . High ceilings , odd geometric patterned curtains ,fine ceramics ,gorgeous old furniture ... as all the house had been covered by some golden dust of a bygone era .As a little girl I did not know words and notions like art-deco or bourgeois or artistic sense .
Their Christmas tree was so beautiful too - full of interesting decoration which were not available at shops at that time ... her cakes were traditional delicacies spiced up with original ideas . I had always felt that to be with them at Christmas was a great privilege .Our parents were chatting after lunch and we were merrily merrily playing ....Firmly , I believed that all those beauty and charm in their house was due to the fact that they had only one child and that is how they could afford it ! And   I happened  to feel   jealous  and wished our home was filled with luxury and beauty like that !

 But one year - instead of the usual cheer - we found that bad mood reigned in their home when we arrived on Christmas Day  .My cousin did not want to come out and play with us.  He closed himself inside his bedroom . Under the tree there were the unopened gifts .He did not want to open them and refused to taste the wonderful lunch as well .

My auntie was sad .It was very embarrassing to hear her explanation : "Santa does not exit . We had to tell him . He had been longing for a little brother or sister for years and he has been writing letters to Santa to get one .Unfortunately it is not possible . "

When I first heard it I was very much surprised at the fact that he still believed in Santa. Then I remembered how nice that my parents never lied to us about this issue. They had always told us that this was just a game.

All that was sad but we were children . We did not understood the weight of their problem .We were merry as usual with my brothers .This one cheered up my auntie .We appreciated her Xmas lunch , admired her wonderfully decorated tree and were grateful for the presents .We went home sooner than usual .

Our flat was much smaller and furnished at an average level of the 1970's Hungary .There were two old paintings on the wall ,my mother had a porcelain dinner set for special occasions . That was all the luxury we had .Still all that made me very happy at that moment . It was then that I understood how great gift is to have brothers growing up with me !
________________________________

My auntie 's home is still lovely . I live far from her and can not go home for Xmas usually . Luckily their days and their Xmas is always merry - full of laughter and cheers. Their three grandchildren live near them and they make their days very special all the year around .



Read more Christmas Stories

It was nice weather at Messaid at Eid . Families were enjoying sunshine , large waves the sand ... What makes me scared is that nowhere a boat or any other thing to save lives though there are so many people there at every weekend ...
Beaches should have toilets as well for public safety reasons . And where are the beaches with ladies only hours ? It was more than two years ago that I read in the local news that there will be three beaches belonging to the municipalities ? Where are those beaches ? What takes so long ?
They need a fence around the beach , some toilets , some shade or a club house than that it is . They should hire someone to sell tickets , some security guard and some folk should take care of the safety of the swimmers .

It was a nice meeting for Doha Mum's Group . The Indonesian mums hosted a breakfast for the international group . It was held at Al Waab 2 compound 's beautiful and spacious club house .Babies had their own play room. It was really great . I wish we could always have such wonderful facilities !
Are you interested in joining an international Mum's Club in Doha ?
You can do it here

TODAY BEST AWARD FOR MY TIE DESIGN .Star shaped flowers all over the tie .Tiny patterns in cream color against brown background . Wearable fashion by Alma Wad . Great gift for Dad . Award winning design : Today's Best November 17, 2009 in zazzle.com( US site)

star flowers by almawad
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Visiting Doha Zoo

We were lucky enough to be able to feed the girraffes .















The ducks were in a hurry not to miss the feeding .










The Zebras were having dinner .

Nice designs for little boys

I went shopping yesterday. Some new clothes were needed for a little boy . Great part of the money was left in my pocket.I was completely astonished: skeletons, skulls, monsters - that is trendy nowadays. At least, they want us believe that it is so .
Message for the Designers: I do not want my child to wear the symbols of death and killing !
However,I like colorful fun, cute characters, animals, toys, transport ...
Is this too much to ask?

The Tribeca film festival in 2009 - review

Sunset in Doha Bay by almawad
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The Tribeca film festival really enchanted me .Also I must admit that I saw only one performance : a cartoon about a horse Assilia . The very special thing about it was that it was made in Hungary by an Iraqi -Hungarian director ,Al Zedi .
The way of watching the film was also magnificent .There was a huge screen on the Corniche - thousands of deckchair ... while we faced this cityscape by the sea -palm trees and skyscrapers - we were having some Middle Eastern stuffed cabbage sold by local women in tents around us .
Among the tents huge floral shaped retro style lamps were moving here and there ... there were tents in royal style to sit down and take a rest ....

I heard that the rest of the festival was huge success .. all performances were full of people hungry for films that have something to say ...

Yet the lack of public transport made me stay at home ...though I wished to watch very much other films as well ...