From Old Souq to Gold Souq

January 25, 2007

Today was a day off, so after sleeping in a bit,posting yesterday’s blog, and lunching, we headed into Doha (the capitol and only city in Qatar) for some rubbernecking.

Qatar is an Emirate or Arabian state ruled by an Emir or in some cases known as a Sheik. The country was a Saudi colony until 1979 when it became an independent state - with the help of the U.S. It is rich in oil and natural gas and is modern and prosperous. Lots of ultra modern bulidings and seeming endless construction of new buildings.

In order to move into the country, you must be sponsored by a Qatari, have a job and a home already in place. Here is the very modern skyline as it looks out onto the Persian Gulf:



Some mosques:



Qatar is known for its perfect salt water pearls. Here’s the gang posing in front of a pearl fountain with the skyline in the background:




Nearby we found the Qatari version of the Red Neck Yacht Club:



Guided by Major Willett, base director of MWR (Morale, Welfare & Recreation), we went into the city to an area called “Old Souq”. A souq is a marketplace and this was a great one. Very clean, and very upscale in an atmosphere of old architecture:



In the souq we found an amazing variety of colors, fragrances and tastes.

Here is one of the many spice shops:


Bob bought some dates here:



We even found a Qatari luthier:



I'd be remiss if I didn't find the local "paddlesports" shop:



Falcons are held in esteem here like eagles are in the US. Here is a shop selling falcons. I’m told that an untrained falcon here sells for $35,000 and up.



I liked these camel blankets. I wish now I had looked into buying one:



Thom enjoyed a puff of Arabian tobacco from a hookah in a coffee bar. These tobaccos are fruit flavored. Turkish coffee was served and is very thick and strong. I didn’t care for it.



From the market we went to the Gold Souq, an area populated by a large number of shops dealing in gold, silver and pearl jewelry. By U.S. standards the gold is purported to be of high quality and bargain prices. Here is the window of just one of the numerous shops:



We looked over a large display of pearls.



Finally we headed over to a great Qatari restaurant called “King Kebab”. Upscale food, and great prices. The food was a mix of Indian, Lebanese and with a touch of Chinese. We all had more than we could eat and the bill came to about $10 per person. The dinner party was a great one:



To answer some of the comments, yes we heard Arabic singing coming out over loudspeakers once in Bahrain and once here in Qatar. In Qatar it was at sunset and I was told it was a call to prayer. Thom got it recorded on his video, so hopefully we'll be able to make that available. We also witnessed a group of men in their bowing and praying routine, but didn't take pictures of that. As far as fragrances, the gold shop mall had incenses burning and of course the spice shops had some neat smells of spices, dates and figs.

The band is singing a combination of cover songs (Devil Went Down to GA, Sweet Home Alabama) and originals. Thom, of course does "Riding With Private Malone" and "Red Neck Yacht Club" both of which are very well received. Bob does some of his hits - "Busy Man", "Runnin' Out of Reasons to Run", and "Steam". I usually do "Athens Grease" and "For A Little While". Its a blast seeing the soldiers singing along on that one.

Tomorrow we think we are scheduled to fly to Kuwait at 1700 hrs (that 5 o’clock for you civvies), but who knows what will really come about.

We’re learning that when military red tape is combined with war activities that it is impossible to really know until we are on the ground and ask where we are.

So hopefully my next post will be from Kuwait.

Thanks for all the great comments!

More to come.....