Ramadan Kareem

 Looks like City Center is decorated and ready for Ramadan.

There were cool traditional buildings and bird houses set up.  Looks fun!

The Holy Month of Ramadan begins from tomorrow, the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs announced yesterday. It is the last day of the month of Sha’baan today, the Moon Sighting Committee of the Awqaf Ministry, said.  Sha’baan is the month of the Islamic lunar Calendar Hijra after which the month of Ramadan begins. The Moon Sighting Committee met yesterday to sight the crescent and wait for people who might come to testify that they had seen the crescent but no-one turned up.  The Committee said that Ramadan, thus, begins from tomorrow and asked the devout to do pray and do good deeds during the Holy Month.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/160628-ramadan-begins-tomorrow.html 

Mochi at Landmark Open!

Finally there was someone at the Mochi stand in Landmark!  We tried chocolate and black sesame.  Both were yummy and 12 QR each.

Dinner at Khan Farouk Tarab Cafe in Katara

Tried Khan Farouk Tarab Cafe again, this time for dinner.  The atmosphere was nice and they had some live music being played and the performers would move around the restaurant.  There is a minimum of 100 QR per person.  We got quite a bit for dinner including yogurt & cucumber salad, tomato salad (which was really really spicy for some reason...), kebab, and koushari, a traditional Egyptian dish that is vegetarian and combines lentils, chick peas, macaroni, and rice in a tomato sauce subtly flavored with onions and garlic.  F said it would be only 1 QR in Egypt.  It was 34QR here.

Searching for Al Huwaila Fort

After Umm Salal Mohammed Fort, we drove further north to look for Al Huwaila Fort. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it and drove all around looking! We did see some camels by the side of the road who had jumped the fence! And we saw some nice views of the ocean as well as a bird house!

There were also some little plateau looking things that look fun for a bbq.

bird house

Umm Salal Mohammed Fort

I had previously been to the Barzan Towers in Umm Salal Mohammed and I thought maybe that was the fort.  But actually, there is another fort on the other side of the town which is the actual fort.  Now it is in a bit of ruin and also some worker houses seem to be built into it!

Umm Salal Mohammed Fort

Umm Salal Mohammed fort is a 19th century fortress rising four storeys high with thick fortified walls and typical Arabian crenellations, built during the reign of the late Sheikh Mohammed bin Jasim. The fort contains varied examples of decorative architectural elements.

palm tree wasteland

View Umm Salal Mohammed Fort in a larger map

Hya Exhibition at the Doha Exhibition Center

I went to Hya Exhibition which was the  latest designs and trends in abayas, kaftans and evening gowns at the Doha Exhibition Center.  There was even a Hello Kitty abaya!  Some were also very colorful.

Art Supplies at Al Wan in City Center

Al Wan
3rd Floor, City Center Mall, West Bay
P. O. Box 14323, Doha, Qatar
+974 4411 5268
+974 5551 3898
+974 4411 5269 (fax)
khalil_qa@hoshanpg.com

I recently discovered this art supplies store in City Center on the 3rd floor (opposite side of the shopping mall from the cinema).  They had loads of supplies including oil and acrylic paint, canvases, drawing supplies, photo albums, and more.  The prices also were reasonable and less than Colour Note.

supplies and canvases

store front

Views of Downtown Doha

Some views of downtown Doha near Souq Waqif and Souq Aseri.