Good news In Doha

 We happened to go for shopping to the New Lulu the other day . As we came home we noticed that the new motorway is made .It was like flying ... no  traffic jam , no roundabouts no cross  no junctions . We made  two third of our way to home   on that new motorway .  Then we had to  turn into the usual jammed roads . At snail pace !

Museum of Islamic Art by almawad
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Museum of Islamic Art is a very interesting building . If you are interested in architecture then the building itself is worth a visit . it is built in a man made island by the seaside promenade called  Corniche around here . The architect had been studying the islamic architecture for years before proposing this building design .  The result is a modern building with traditonal elements reminding one to famous  Mosques . 

It has got court with fountains and arches ... Refreshing and elegant .

court with fountains by almawad
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Turkish Vase by almawad
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 and it has got a lots of old objects to see ....


if you have not been to the museum yet
 I can highly recommend  to visit it ! 

Sarah Gazdhar , the four year old  , the one who was forgotten on the school bus was burried  in Doha.We just feel so bad and helpless . We adopted her into our heart . It feels a little bit as she was our child .

Many people keep asking why did it happen .So do I .
Answer number one : it can be that drivers or bus supervisors simply do not understand that locking someone into a bus or car in this heat can be very quickly fatal . They should be educated by videos to make them understand  how dangerous it is.

IN this video one can see  how quickly temperature rises inside the car . it is 27 C outside  and after one hour it is  over 50 C .
One can imagine how it is when the outside temperature is over 40 C . Plus children 's body get hot much faster than adult's .
In fact - it is so big danger around here that some minutes is enough and kids are baked inside a locked vehicle .
 The danger is so big  in the heat of Qatar that a system should be  done to be sure that no one will be left there .

 My child  had attended a small nursery  with 70 children and one bus . The place was not perfect but the principal took this issue very seriously . She did not trust the life of kids on untrained drivers and helpers . Every day she checked the bus personally  at arriving and at leaving . She registered personally who arrived and who left .
With big schools this system  does not work .Still there are other ideas  to use .

School Buses in Qatar

 Doha has got  very large number of students . Big ones and small ones .At the same time Doha's expat population is not steady . Many people come and go . So do the drivers   so do the teachers  and  bus attendants.
 When we trust our children on a school we have no option to check the driver  and the bus attendant if they are reliable persons .The school management  should do this job .


But it seems that they are  simply not interested . My child went to DPS MIS school for summer camp . She had a great time there  and  I believed that she is  at  the careful hands of professional adults . It was only after the camp that my six year old mentioned that once she fell asleep on the bus  and found herself alone and closed for some time . Luckily the driver came back  to check something then she was set free . Another time another little boy found himself forgotten in the bus . He managed to jump out through  a window .
He was a little bit bigger . The four year old Sarah Ghazdar was not so lucky . The driver did not come back and she could not set herself free . A little child died . She could have been yours  or ours .


Why ? Because schools are not supervised properly .Because bus drivers do not get proper training on their duties .Because bus attendants   do not care either  and many times simply the school does not  hire any .Because the drivers and attendants come from countries where they are not taught to think independently . They are taught only  to respect and follow ... and their common sense  is simply not working ...


Sorry to say so . But I am angry . I am furious .

A Little Girl who did not return home from school


It was just another school day at the kindergarten . Looking forward to meeting friends and having a day full of fun , singing , numbers,colors , rhyme .

For Sarah Gazdhar it was the last one . Somebody  forgot to check the school bus  after arriving .  A simple one minute job .Sarah fell asleep and was forgotten  there . It was 40 C outside . The bus was closed for four and half an hour . She  must had a terrible death .


That is the story .
It could have been your child or mine .
And the bus will come tomorrow and we will let our kids to school . Praying  that someone will not fail to do this one minute job .Hoping that no child will be left on the bus .

I found a gift shop in Islamic art museum it was selling neckties with patterns of famous traditional Islamic art .As a necktie designer myself I was pleased with their idea. There were also different kinds of  wrap paper with the same pattern on sale in case you like the pattern just do not wish to pay for a tie 130 QAR .

I found some hand painted china in cream color with golden motifs .They are nice presents .Just they are not cheap .  There were also  some cheaper mugs with printed motifs . Not as special as these ones but still they make a nice Middle Eastern souvenir .
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But best of all I liked this oval plate with calligraphy on it . It is a real exclusive piece . If they had a cheaper version I would buy it .







They are offering t-shirts with calligraphy .umbrellas ,posters , cards ,jewels whatever you would expect from a gift shop to sell.


The Museum itself is open between 10:30 and 5 30 entrance is free . It is on the Corniche

Pearl exhibition

It is on at Islamic Art Museum until the 5th of July . You can see a lots of pearls . Natural ones and cultivated ones .Pink , white , cream , golden ,black .From Qatar ,from Panama , from Australia , from the Philippines ,from Japan .The natural ones come in small cups and dishes -the cultivated ones by buckets . The heydays of pearl fishing around here was from 1850 -1940 . The era when the rich Westerner and Indian maharajas all wanted to decorate themselves and their surroundings by pearls . Then the pearl beds were depleted -then came Mikimoto the Japanese inventor with his cultivated pearls . The natural pearls are never as regular in shape as the cultivated ones . You can see a lots of jewels Indian dresses , Coco Chanel 's dress , Indian carpets all decorated by pearls . You can read a lots of interesting things on the pearls . It is rather dark inside the rooms and there is some mysterious music which made my preschooler feel uncomfortable .My bigger kid enjoyed it and found it relaxing .

It was worth the 20 riyal we payed for the tickets - for kids it was free ..

The Building of the museum itself is worth a visit ..but about that I am planning to write another article .

No photos were allowed inside the pearl rooms :(

Casol square silk scarf - Princess Grace Kelly style


Some vintage summer fashion from the era of Grace Kelly when wearing a scarf over the head was not banned in any European countries  from the era when France was not so restrictive and paranoid about a piece of clothes to cover the head  It was simply chic .

O tempora! O mores

!

Alma Wad's neckties for summer



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PLACIDO DOMINGO IN QATAR 2010

According to the official site of the singer the concert will take place at the PEARL QATAR - MARSA ARABIA

DATE : 13 th of May 2010
 TIME -7 pm  - from 6 pm onwards
Tickets : Virgin Megastore   -for more info call 
(+974)  4135823/4135824

online ticket 
350 - 600 -1200 rial 

Event : Antologia de la Zarzuela

Qatar ,the multicultural

This video features an international cultural night at CMU -Q ( an American University in Qatar ) -th performers are not professionals but simple students ..

If you love photography  then just have a look at the submitted images of the photo competition of the British Council .

2044    


is the year when the hatchlings of turtles will return
to the shores of Qatar to lay eggs at the same place where they saw the daylight themselves

Qatar Photo Gifts



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Qatar Airways flew home around 500 passengers to Europe landing in Lyon instead of Paris and in Edinburgh instead of London .
If Paris is not allowed how can Edinburgh be a legal destination these days ?

marine festival 2010 doha

 

we visited yesterday the event .it is a bit far .Somewhere near the hotel intercontinental -but at my greatest surprise the karwa driver knew the place and we arrived there smoothly . it was around half past four still very hot ...
the children were welcomed by a character called Bahoor - a seahorse - they were given buttons ,flags ,sheets to color and pencils .It was a nice beginning . Then there was at the beach this bouncing castle and beautiful sand sculptures and some of the designers were still working on them . I liked all of them - but I found the girl singing with an oud in her lap the best.I also liked a group of camel having rest .
Someone got the idea to sprinkle water on the sand thus our kids were making happily their own sand sculpture . I wish there was someone who does it in the public parks -as the sand is always dry in this country and playing in it is not great joy for the children .


There was a huge screen for movies by the seaside with comfortable sofas and chairs and beanbags to make you feel like home .I like that but the movie that was on was not very special some old Disney movie ...


WE saw kids drawings and painting and also from more professional artists on the
at the exhibition area . There was a tent full of special kind of sea creatures : mostly fishes and crabs . They were nice .I liked the lion fish with its stripes and an orange fish with blue dots .Like they made a fashion statement .:)


The food court was not very special . Everything was reasonably priced - but just the usual fast food meals .There was a small tent on which it was written "seafood cooking competition" -but who was competing with who -and who were the lucky ones who could taste the food -all of these details were not clear ..


It was a nice event without big surprises .Unfortunately the family's camera was not available . Tonight there will be a big parade a carnival on the Corniche.I just wonder the timing from 8 - 10 pm ... It is school tomorrow .. my kids can not get up the next day of they stay up late . Who for this timing was set?

Shopping guide for Hungarians living in the Gulf

It is not possible to find everything we miss -but there are some delicacy that are not well known here .

Sauer Kraut alias  savanyu kaposzta you will find them in 500 g packs in the Megamart
made in Holland by krautboy ...it is at the vegetables counter well hidden among salads and other ready cut veggies - it is very good

Ile Flottant alias madartej it is exactly the same taste  and it is made in France  it is a Carrefour product available at Carrefour supermarkets ...


Raspberry  alias malna at affordable price - nowadays I saw some among the frozen fruits  at Carrefour


Chestnut preserve  -gesztenye pure fele  - I saw sweet chestnut preserves in the Carrefour which is far from our  gesztenye massza but still  tastes to be good for filling cakes ,pancakes  - I saw around Xmas some natural flavored chestnut pure in big yellow tins at  Megamart but the price was putting me off ..

TURO  - if you wish to make something salty then  Almarai labneh will do .Perfect for korozott ,turos retes ,turos pogacs .Yocca cottage cheese tastes like sour cream with turo ...For sweet filling one must buy ricotta ( very expensive ) or you can make at home some turo  within half an hour ... I learned it here how to make turo fast way ....

SOUR CREAM  - alias tejfol . There is  sour cream here . I just write about it because I met some Hungarian housewives here who claimed that there is no sour cream around here ...

Qatar Marine Festival

It seems to be an exciting event full of great programs for kids and adults .
It will close on the 21st of April and events are scheduled in the afternoons at the Cultural Village  .
Sailing demonstration , sand art sculptures , sea food cooking contest , bossa ball and movie night for families ....

find out more

old boats of Qatar by almawad
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Numbers

500 is the number of transit passengers who must stay  in Qatar due to their canceled flights ....

Kurt Vonnegut : Slaughterhouse Five - book review

I do not usually read books on WWII . It is the hobby of my father .I grew up surrounded by those books -photo albums and for years i believed that I knew everything about the horror of that era .
Only when before graduating at secondary school I learned that my father nearly frozen to death in a basement where he had to spend days during the cold winter of 1945 while his village was cluster bombed by the Royal British Air Force .He was six years old then .From that story I knew that not only Jews and Russians were the victims during the war but also Hungarian civilian people died .Somehow they forgot to teach that at school .
We were massively brainwashed and we did not care much about the German civilian victim's stories .They started the war after all .
Only lately I heard some hints about the unfair attack on Dresden .I thought that it was like my father's village -a simple carpet bombing .
So I read the book of Kurt Vonnegut because I wished to know what it was like . Kurt Vonnegut was there .He was an American soldier a prisoner of war . Humiliated and forced to work by the Germans nearly bombed to death by his own people .His personal account interested me much.
It was an interesting reading . It told the story of Billy Pilgrim the young optimetrist student who was captured by the Germans within the first week he landed in Europe .
Billy was dying though survived and through his visions and dreams we could learn more about his past and his future .The tragedy of that beautiful city wounded his soul for life .He escaped to the aliens for comfort . Just to know that time is our four dimension and death is not so terrible if we understand the different time perception of those little green men .
Otherwise the truth about Dresden bombing is too horrible with our Earthling perception of time to be able to live with its memory .It was an open city . Strategically nothing important .Under the protection of Red Cross .Undefended .Full of refugees -as it seemed to be the only safe place in Germany .The war was about its end .
Then out of the blue sky came the planes and attacked the city .Allied forces .First the traditional cluster bombing .Which was bad but most people would have survived that if there was not a second bombing of burning materials which turned the shallow shelters into burning catacombs .Those people who managed to get out from there were rushing to the river which was burning as well .Those who escaped to the squares or public parks got special bombs .Fire tornadoes lifted up people .They burnt into ashes or melted into liquid substance .
Out of 35 thousand buildings only 7000 remain .Nobody knows exactly how many people died as the town was full of refugees . They estimate that more than a million people were residing there .
The author survived only because he was accommodated at a slaughterhouse which had a really deep meat cellar .
They day after the bombing when they came out of their shelters to get some food and water the allied forces were flying so low that they were able to see that some people still alive and were shooting on them by machine guns or dropped on them smaller bombs .
After all the author does not think that all this attack was designed by evil people -just ignorant .They just wanted to hasten the end of the war .
These remarks made me feel that the book was censored . Kurt Vonnegut had a letter published after his death in which he called the Dresden attack obscene brutality
Kurt Vonnegut is easy to read .Humanism is radiating from every page.
He claims that 135 thousand people died .Some claims 25 thousand only . The Russians used to speak about 500 thousand victims. If we see that how big percentage of the buildings were destroyed we have to suppose that similar percentage of people perished as well . The city was home to 600 thousand people and jammed with refugees .But nobody knows how many were there at that inferno .
This was the biggest massacre in Europe .
And it is still not taught at schools .It is not commemorated widely .
Dropping bombs on civilians and refugees is still in fashion not so far from Europe . . .
So it goes .

Slaughterhouse Art Poster by curious_inkling
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