The Foreign is Familiar: A Week Inside Doha, Qatar

The Foreign is Familiar: A Week Inside Doha, Qatar

PHOTO ESSAY

Image Sources: http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/qaas.gif & http://www.saach.tv/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Qatar-Saudi-Arabia-UAE-Bahrian.jpg

Where is Qatar?

13 Hour Flight

7 Hour Time Difference from NY

“…fewer than 250,000 native Qataris who make up the country's

population -- grandchildren of pearl fishermen -- are now the

world's richest people, with an average annual income of about

$100,000. They are also the world's most brazen investors -- in

property, art, television, sports, mining, and banking.”

Population: Approximately 2 Million People (1.5 million males)

Qatari Nationals are less than 15% of the population

Most of the population are non-Qatari & prevelantly male laborers

(Indian, Nepali, Sri Lankan, Filipino and Sudanese)

Each Qatari national is entitled to just over $100K per year

Doha is the capital and has been likened to the NYC of the Middle East.

Information Sources – The Lonely Planet & http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/15/news/world/qatar-wealth.pr.fortune/

Doha, Qatar

Ariel Photo Source: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/130814080644-qat02-qatar-skyline-620xa.jpg

1 min time lapse video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HsgAtCowqE

Our guide

quipped that the

Qatari “national

bird” – the

CRANE

Construction is a

constant state of

existence in Doha.

Qatari Men’s Clothing

“white to be cool”

Thobe

Ghutra

Qatari Women’s Clothing

“black to be modest”

Abaya

Hijab

Souq Waqif

“Standing Market”

Fanar Islamic Cultural Center

http://www.fanar.gov.qa/

Museum of Islamic Art

Public Use of Tech

Public use of technology is fascination of

mine, but also very interesting in Qatar

because of some of the prohibitions on

photography.

I saw over and over again (Qatari men and

women in particular), the use of 2

smartphones (typically iPhones).

I could not be sure what this woman was doing with her

smartphone in this picture, but I had observed the irony in

the same museum with two other women in burkas checking

Facebook. I took the risk of snapping this from the second

floor balcony.

Education City

Since DRIVING is so

much part of Qatari life

and we spent a lot of our

time being transported

from one location to

another, the road signs

were something I took a

keen interest in because

of their unique use of

English. Here is the Qatari

equivalent to “Don’t

Use Your Cellphone

While Driving”.

Signs

Public “CLEANLINESS” Campaign Signs•Don’t throw garbage over public beaches;•Don’t spit on public property;•Don’t dump your garbage;•Don’t throw garbage in your neighborhood;•Don’t spit on public streets;•?????.

The ads also carry the primary slogan ”We see you, you are not alone.”

Source for billboard above: http://aalieh.com/2014/04/07/we-all-see-you/

My Obligatory

Camel “Selfie”

My Formal “Look Behind Me” Camel Pose

Camels for the Tourist “Travel”

Experience

The Camel Market

Work Life

I Love Qatar – Info for ExPats/Professionals

• It’s all about family

• Great place to live and have kids

thrive

• Exposure to different personalities

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtaWkeOjvyA

I Work In Qatar: From the Laborers

• Tea and Coffee Men and Women

• The “Blue Men”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUEmnFPxARk

Find Out Moreequaltimes.org

4 min time lapse video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruGHcGp0aFM