Al Bandar Fish Market in Souq Waqif

fresh juice cocktail and shisha

Al Bandar Fish Market in Souq Waqif has a nice upstairs terrace great for enjoying juice and shisha in the evening.

Kissing Camels at Souq Waqif

Not sure if these camels were friends or what but they were cute!

Here's a video of the two camels from above.

There were lots of camels hanging out near the souq.

Felt Fabric: Souq Al Dira and Daiso

I went searching for felt in Qatar a few months back.  I started with the fabric section of Souq Waqif.  Nothing but then they recommended that I go to the Souq Al Dira (the fabric market), across the street from Souq Waqif.  This sounded exciting and it was!  There were so many shops with fabric and craft materials.  After going in many shops, I still didn't find felt or anyone who knew what it was but I did find some nice navy wool that would make due.  I found the very nice German wool at Al-Rawnaq Trading Center.  Then, I stumbled upon a huge craft shop, Areej Textiles, and of course there were some big rolls of felt, so mission accomplished.

Al-Rawnaq Trading Center
Souq Area
P.O. Box 9261
Doha, Qatar
44414505 / 44414460 / 44414420
alrawnaq@qatar.net.qa
www.alrawnaq.com

Areej Textiles
Souq Al-Dira
P.O. Box 1338
Doha, Qatar
44410014


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felt at Daiso in Hyatt Plaza

Walking around in Daiso today, I saw a huge felt section. Gah!

cute little cow with tanuki (racoon dogs)

Tokyo Bakery

Tokyo Bakery

I have passed this shop several times and it's never been open.  With the name, "Tokyo Bakery," of course I had to get all the details.  I called them and learned that the shop is closed forever but it's still possible to order from them.  I wonder what the food is like...

Tokyo Bakery
Al Mater Street
Doha, Qatar
near Ramez Shopping Center
44651837 / 55319786

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Dhow Cruise in the Bay at Night

views from the dhow in the bay

a dhow boat with West Bay in the background

lit up dhow boats

Went on a cruise on a dhow in the bay of Doha.  West Bay was so beautiful lit up and saw some really nice views of the skyscrapers and Palm Tree Island.

A dhow (داو) is a traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Larger dhows have crews of approximately thirty people, while smaller dhows typically have crews of around twelve.

Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra at Katara Cultural Village

Went to see the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra playing at Katara Cultural Village. One of the signature instruments used was the rababa.

The rababa (الربابة) is a type of string instrument so named no later than the 8th century and spread via Islamic trading routes over much of North Africa, the Middle East, parts of Europe, and the Far East. The bowed variety often has a spike at the bottom to rest on the ground, and is thus called a spike fiddle in certain areas, but there exist plucked versions like the kabuli rababa.  The rababa usually consists of a small, usually rounded body, the front of which is covered in a membrane such as parchment or sheepskin and has a long neck attached. There is a long thin neck with a pegbox at the end and there are one, two or three strings. There is no fingerboard. The instrument is held upright, either resting on the lap or on the floor. The bow is usually more curved than that of the violin.

"Arabic Riches to the World"

Concerto for Rababa and Orchestra

Marcel Khalife, composer

Nader Abbassi, conductor

Hassan Moataz El Molla, rababa

Katara Cultural Village

Drama Theatre, Building No. 16

The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is the flagship orchestra for the State of Qatar and a leading professional ensemble in the Middle East. The orchestra is one of the centers of the Qatar Foundation, contributing to the Foundation’s goals of education, science and research, and community development. It was founded by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned in 2007.  The orchestra of 101 musicians was chosen from more than 3,000 applicants through auditions held in European and Arab countries. The best of them were chosen by a jury consisting of international music professionals. Selection criteria were driven by musician quality. The Philharmonic held its Inaugural Concert on October 30th, 2008, conducted by the world-renowned Maestro Lorin Maazel.

http://qatarphilharmonicorchestra.org/

The ceiling of the theater sparkled like the night sky!

Brouq Nature Reserve

Brouq nature reserve sign

Welcome to Brouq nature reserve

Please do not come close to the gazelles and ostrich or their nests

Disturbing of this animals will subject you to legal questioning

bird

We didn't see any gazelles or ostrich but we did see this bird and these trees with yellow flowers.

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Wok of Fame in Villagio

Chinese lantern with Italian view.

Tried the 39 QR buffet at Wok of Fame in Villagio with fresh watermelon juice (16 QR).  The sweet red bean spring roll things and sesame rice balls were really good.

An evening at the souq and Bandar Aden, Yemeni Restaurant

bread, salad, lamb fahsa, chicken ogda, and soup

Dinner at Bandar Aden again in the souq.  Great as always and they got new menus! We tried a new dish, recommended by the waiter, called Fahsa.


Bandar Aden Yemeni Restaurant
http://www.bandaraden.com/


Fahsa is a Yemeni stew. It is a stew made of lamb cutlets with lamb soup, spices and "holba," fenugreek, after it’s cooked.

Souq Waqif busy at night

camels and construction

The camels are hard to see here but there were loads of them, all sitting down.

Computational Cities: Geometrical Modeling for Urban Design and Simulation

Attended a seminar, "Computational Cities: Geometrical Modeling for Urban Design and Simulation," by Professor Daniel G. Aliaga, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Purdue University, USA at the Qatar Environment & Energy Research Institute, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar.  It was very interesting and I learned about geometrical modeling vs. behavioral modeling for urban design.

Sweets

These sweets were filled with dates and pistachios. Really soft and yummy!

Happy Easter!

I was quite surprised to find all this American Easter chocolate at Lulu Hypermarket, the Indian supermarket!

How cute, Dove fairy bunnies!

Even MilkyWay!!!

Al-Mashaheer Restaurants & Bakeries

Went for dinner Al-Mashaheer Restaurants & Bakeries.  They have little private rooms where you can sit with pillows in traditional style.

While we waited for the private room, we walked along the street and found a stationary shop with some Japanese and Korean character goods.

appetizers

ful and bread

The ful was really good with the feta cheese and tomato.

Fūl medammis (فول مدمّس), or simply fūl, is an Egyptian dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice. A staple meal in Egypt, it is popular in the cuisines of the Levant, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Saudi Arabia.

liver

My friend said the liver was great, but I don't eat liver, so have to take his word for it!

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A stroll around Landmark Shopping Mall

There was this cute, hot pink car parked right outside.

Exciting news!!!  Victoria's Secret is coming to Qatar!!!  Apparently by Retail International Co.

ILoveQatar.net was doing a fundraiser at the Information Booth for Japan.  I donated 50 QR and got this cute t-shirt that says "hope" in Japanese and Arabic.

Qatar National Library

On a quest to find a specific book in Qatar, I become quite acquainted with a few of the libraries. I figured the natural solution for a book would be from Georgetown University library. At SFS-Q, anyone can get a library card for 50 QR which allows for them to check out some books from what's available in Qatar. SFS-Q alumni get to pay 250 QR for a library card and can order and check out books from main campus. Note: this is only for Qatar alumni, not main campus alumni. Hmm. So the book was located on main campus... So then I tried the Qatar National Library. Luckily, my elementary school DID have a card catalog so I actually knew how to use the one at Qatar National Library. Unfortunately, they also didn't have the book, but the gentlemen working at the library were very kind and helpful in trying to find it. They have a great collection of books though and a beautiful library.  It's a really great resource that could be used by more.  They also tell me they are in the process of computerizing the catalog and it's about half done.

At Qatar National Library, with a 100 QR deposit and copy of the QID, anyone can get a little paper library card which allows for 2 books to be borrowed at a time for 1 month.

Opening Hours:
Sunday-Thursday 7:30am-12:30pm, 4pm-6pm
Friday, Saturday closed

Qatar National Library

The entrance is on the side here.  Then you go up these stairs.

Some nice books on display.

Quite a lot of books!

card catalog

The card catalog...

There was even a good selection of Japanese books.

I liked the windows.

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