Everything Bagel with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Cheese

Had brunch with the girls at Bread & Bagels in Beach Tower. I hadn't been here for a while and was pleasantly surprised. The bagels are better now and actually have a chance satisfy my cravings for a NY bagel....

everything bagel with sun-dried tomato cream cheese

It still is a bit small compared to the plump NY bagel.

Fish Market at the Intercontinental

fillet, veggies, and calamari

A lovely dinner at the Intercon's Fish Market.  The freshly made calamari was really incredible and quite unique compared to others that I've had.  This restaurant certainly one of my favorites now!!

2012 Qatar Motor Show

Went to see the Qatar Motor Show and saw lots of cool and fancy cars!

2012 Landcruiser: unofficial mascot

1964 Shelby Cobra (with a Missouri license plate!)

Some future car designs were also on display.  The designers were Italian.

Traditional Turkish Breakfast

Homemade traditional Turkish breakfast including menemen (my favorite which is egg, onion, tomato and green peppers, and spices), beef sausage, grape leaves, cheese rolls, potatoes, Turkish cheese, tomato, cucumber, raisin jam, and more!

It was delicious!

Puss in Boots by the Doha Players

Went to see the panto of Puss in Boots performed by the Doha Players.  It was great with many costume changes and cute jokes.

The kids loved it despite it being around 3 hours long!

Camel Races in Al-Shahaniya

Finally got to see the camel races! It was amazing and we drove along with the camels as they sprinted around the track. The camels had foam in their mouths.  They also had robot jockeys and the owners, driving along side, had remote controls so that the owners could hit the camel when they wanted it to go faster!

Musheireb Project

The Musheireb project is slowing engulfing my view of West Bay...  I think the project will be really cool when finished.

Accident on Jaidah Flyover

While I was on the Jaidah flyover, this 4 car accident happened right before my eyes.  It was shocking as the cars smashed into each other making a lot of scary noises and weird smells.  I was driving (as safely as possible) and keeping a lot of space between me and the car in front of me and without that space and the fast reflexes of the car behind me I imagine that I may have been involved as well.... Phew!

Bento at Oishii Sushi

tempura bento

Yum!

Petroglyphs in Al-Jassasiyah

We drove up north to see the petroglyphs, which are collections of rare and amazing signs carved in stone, in Al-Jassasiyah.

Around the coasts of Qatar are low limestone hills [jebel] bearing numbers of petroglyphs, ranging from detailed depictions of boats to the enigmatic formations known as cup-marks. These cups possibly are use for the game called “haloosa”. The origin and date are not known yet.

petroglyphs of boats

possibly a petroglyph of a game and a boat

these rocks looked like they were broken apart with dynomite

sheep and goats in the horizon

a goat in the back of the truck!

Views of West Bay from Beach Tower

Matfaia Aden and Yemeni Dessert at Bandar Aden

My new favorite dish: matfaia aden (king fish)

matfaia aden (king fish) and chicken ogda

Yemeni desserts: maasob and arika

These are traditional Yemeni desserts.  The first one is arika (bread, dates, honey, cheese, and cream) and the second is maasob (banana, bread, honey, cheese, dates, and cream).  They are both incredible delicious but so heavy and I can only manage a few bites especially after the heavy meal!

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

Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab at Mathaf

Currently there are many huge rocks in front of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art for Cai Guo-Qiang's Saraab.

Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab showcases more than fifty works, including seventeen newly commissioned artworks, by renowned contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang. Saraab ("mirage") spectacularly re-imagines historical relations between China and the Gulf region and, in turning east to consider artistic dynamics across Asia, reaffirms Mathaf's commitment to presenting a unique Arab perspective on modern and contemporary art.

These were huge ships surrounded by mist to show ambiguity.

This was a huge map of Qatar to China drawn like old Chinese drawings.

Much of his work was made from gun powder.

mosque

This art shows more ambiguity of whether the falcons are helping or harming the camel.

gunpowder on porcelain

99 horses, made of gun powder and gold, which can represent the 99 names of God.