Hastily-written expat haiku from a Muslim country

Sighting the new moon
People await the verdict
Does Eid start tomorrow?

North Qatar excursion

Yesterday I took a road trip to the north of Qatar, just to get out and have a look around. In honesty, I was doing a dive site reconnaissance mission, to see if there would be somewhere else worth going. There are coral beds on the north coast, but the problem is there is no gradual dropoff to constitute depth of any kind. Almost all the diving is boat-based here, unless you go to one of the man-made reefs (which we have been doing almost every weekend, but a change of scenery is always good...).

There aren't a lot of countries out there where you can go from one end to the other in less than half a day, but that's the case in 'the country which begins with Q'. In one hour's time, I made it from Doha, via the North Road, all the way up north-- a sleepy village called Madinat al Shamal, which is next to another sleepy village called Al Ruwais. At least half the population of Qatar lives in, or directly around, Doha. (Even if you go south, the road is still called the North Road-- so, no, I didn't made a ridiculous comment there by stating I went north on the North Road)

I found out that, other than a few more trees/ green outcroppings and a lot more rocks, North Qatar looks pretty much like the rest of the country.


There were more plant life outcroppings up north.


A Sidra tree. Sidra are known for their large branches, under which one can take shade in the desert. The logo of Qatar Foundation is a Sidra.


Stacked fish traps-- a common sight on coastal towns such as Madinat al Shamal.


Coast line, with blackened coral.


Submerged trees, looking toward Madinat al Shamal.

From Madinat al Shamal, I made my way west along the coast toward Al Zubara. There are a number of old forts and settlements along this part of Qatar. With my particular route, I came across one-- a small settlement called Algamel.


Abandoned Mosque.


Another view of the Mosque and manara (minaret). The manara is where the muezzin leads the call to Friday prayer and 5-times-daily prayer. Nowadays, the call to prayer usually comes over a loudspeaker (especially in shopping malls)/


Steps leading down from the top of the manara.


View from the top of the manara.


The stairwell to the manara was extremely narrow-- I had to sidestep.


The room just off the entrance, where people washed before entering the Mosque.

New Carnegie Mellon campus

I've been watching the building go up for the last year, so it will be exciting to go in and have a look.

A monumental campus in the making
Web posted at: 9/12/2008 3:43:11
Source ::: The Peninsula

The sunlight-flooded atrium. RIGHT: The external construction work of the building in progress.

DOHA • The new campus of Carngie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) will be an architectural wonder once complete, but even now the partially complete infrastructure is salubrious for its students and faculty.

"It is visually and functionally a spectacular building," said Charles E Chuck Thorpe, the Dean of the University, yesterday while speaking to the media during an orientation visit. "Structurally, the building has every thing that the university strives to create. The warm and inviting spaces throughout the building will foster the growth of the whole university," he told The Peninsula.

Flanked by Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) and Texas A&M University (TAMU) on both sides, the Carngie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) is moving fast towards its official opening shortly.

The university had moved into its new building at the beginning of the new semester. The construction is now in its final phase at Education City. The ground-breaking of the university's new building was held on May 17, 2006 and the grand opening will take place on February 22, 2009.

The expansive 42,000 square metres teaching and learning infrastructure will have three floors. For the next few years Carnegie Mellon will occupy the ground and first floors. Shortly, Northwestern University will make temporary quarters on the second floor.

Following the home campus's tradition as centre for cultural and social convergence, the Qatar campus has expansive vacant areas which serve multiple purposes. Designed by renowned Mexican architects Legoretta and Legoretta, the building has at its core an open three-storey atrium. The glass roofing of the atrium floods the hall with filtered sun light giving a natural ambience to the surrounding. The atrium will be home to food court, assembly area and an expansive walkway that can handle 400 people at a time. Situated on the main east-west passage through Education City, the walkway will be punctuated with trees and will serve as a meeting place for everyone in Education City.

"The walk-way through the building goes all the way to other education centres in the city. People walking around campus can go through CMUQ. This will make the university a centre of activity or a link hub. This interaction will foster a greater sense of community and collaboration between everyone in Education City," said Thorpe. With a Subway sandwich shop, Coffee Cottage and juice bar in the spacious atrium, it's sure to be the hub of campus.

The state-of-the-art feature is combined with a robust palate of colours, water features and trees. There are art walls decorated in coloured stones and glass works for ambience

Apart from this the Qatar campus has been setting an example for the home campus at Pittsburg. "Many of our innovative ideas were taken in by the Pittsburg campus."

The students are given state-of-the-art facilities to make their life at the campus full with experience. "We have board room for the business studies students to get the feel of being at work and many leading business men are mobbed into being the President at the Board Room Meetings. The faculty here is motivated and use innovative teaching ideas. Totally we are striving to be a center of learning," he said.

The students and the teachers are motivated to do researches and some of the students have gained recognition even in the home campus.

First Iftar...

Variety of foodstuff to satisfy Iftar appetites Published: Tuesday, 2 September, 2008, 01:32 AM Doha Time

Faithful wait to break their fast on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan at a tent near the Abu Bakr Siddiq mosque yesterday. Picture: Jayaram Korambil SMALL pancakes, barbecued kebabs, harees, samosas and a host of other traditional items sold at roadside stalls were most sought after as people rushed to buy them for breaking the fast yesterday evening, ahead of this year’s first Iftar. The National showroom area, the Dhow Roundabout area and the road adjacent to the Beirut Restaurant started getting crowded as early as 3pm, while the air was filled with the aroma of Qataif (small pancakes), pakoras (fried savouries), fried chillis and other items being cooked. Qataif are really popular among the locals and expatriates alike, who further fill them up with a stuffing of their own choice. A kilo was available at QR16. Meanwhile, fried items, even though it’s still hot and humid, were as popular as ever because of their affordability and spiciness. A meat-filled samosa was available for QR0.75, while chicken samosa was QR1 a piece and two vegetable samosas for QR1. And then, there was the Indian variety and the Pakistani variety of snacks. At the Indian kiosk, traditional fried items as Mathu Bara, Chilli Bhaji, Chicken Lollipop, Sweet Uppum, Dal Bara and others were available. An assorted pack cost QR11. “This year we’ve had to increase the price though. Last year, we were selling the same pack with 10 different items for QR8,” explained the stall-owner. At other joints, long line of vehicles and people formed to get their hands on Dahi Barha and Chana Chats, which were available for QR4 for a small plate. Some of these shops have been operating since the 70s and have become a one-stop point where people can buy food for the evening meal of Iftar. The whole area had a sizable presence of Traffic Police to manage the flow of vehicles. Treats such as harees, made of meat and wheat, was also distributed free from several Qatari houses to anyone with a taste for the potent dish. Kids and adults were seen thronging the gates of these houses, carrying their own bowls and empty dishes. Shopping centres and grocery shops meanwhile, saw huge number of shoppers all day yesterday as the build-up to the first Iftar became intense. Parking lots were literally filled with vehicles all day long and inside people were seen buying variety of fruits, fresh dairy products, juices and other items. “It has been like this since this morning,” a cashier at one of the Al Meera Centres in the heart of the city, said. In some areas, community Iftars were also held, as well as free food distributed to the needy. The rush, however, gave way to a sudden end right before the Maghreb prayer, when the faithful rejoiced and broke their fast.

So Dean walks into a gadget shop...

My friend the Mercenary Librarian tells this so well that I'm going to let him regale you today with the tale.
http://mercenarylibrarian.blogspot.com/2008/08/ego-trip.html

Ramadan Kareem!