On April the 8th, two envelopes from the States found their way to my desk at Cornell. One was postmarked March the 20th. Which is reasonable. The other, though, took a holiday on its way to Doha. It left the starting post office on January the 9th, and stopped in an uncountable number of places-- presumably to take in the sights, the sun, local food, and so on. Tiring of its journey, the misguided envelope reached its destination-- almost a full 3 months after being postmarked.
Amongst the envelope contents was a new credit card, with a completely different number from my previous card. I wasn't going anywhere internationally for a while, and I don't use my credit card in Doha. Good timing there. At least it arrived in time for my June trip to Croatia.
This is why DHL and FedEx have a booming business in the Middle East, as do ambassador envoys who deliver communications to high up people in government. I read of these transactions in the newspaper, where the accounts include the method by which letters are delivered to the decision makers. None of them use the public postal system.
You know something ironic from a Western standpoint? I read in the paper once that Q-Post actually won (yes, won) an award for its efficient services in the Middle East. However, from a Middle Eastern standpoint, the 3-month gap between a package being sent and being received isn't unreasonable in the least. After all, I waited 3 weeks for a bank account to be established and a month for a car loan to be processed.
Important news, such as weddings/funerals/mandatory court summons, then, is best transmitted via e-mail.
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