J: What to love about Qatar?

So, what do I have come to love about Doha, you ask? Well, except for the fact that my family is complete when we're here, here are some of the things I enjoy in Doha. :)

First, let me just say that I find it unfortunate how the middle-eastern countries are generalized with some kind of a negative connotation. It may be true that some of them are not in a good condition, but not all of them suffer the same dilemma. Middle-eastern countries, such as Qatar, has a very rich culture, they really preserve and treasure their heritage and these are some of the things people who are looking from outside the country is missing.

At first, I was also clueless about what this country is. I didn’t even know that there was a country called “Qatar” before my mom got here. And then, I was immediately curious and fascinated about their culture and their love for Islam. I immediately realized how rich this country is and how firm they are about what they believe in.

We have been living in Doha for about 5 years now, but we go back to the Philippines every year. The first time I came here was when I was still in college, My mom always makes the conscious decision every time I have a vacation from school, may it be just a semester break or summer vacation, to either fly back to the Philippines or fly my dad and I to Doha so we can spend time as a whole family whenever the chance arises. The moment we first landed here, I immediately felt that I am already, in fact, on the other side of the world, everything was different from where I came from, the Philippines.

I guess the 5 years that we stayed here is enough for me to appreciate Doha more. Yes, they are kinda strict with the dress code and stuff, they have to preserve their culture, but they are already modernizing. And, through those abayas, hijabs and thobes are luxurious, fancy and stylish men and women of Qatar, I am assuming.

Luxury at its finest

Qatar has been one of the most sought after destinations for luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Prada, Louis Vuitton and luxury car brands such as Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Maserati, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, etc. All these brands has a huge clamour from the middle-eastern market especially in Qatar, because the people here know how and where to spend their money. They can be practical as well, but these people never fall short on bringing home extremely luxurious things. And, with these stylish things around, it’s a perfect excuse to be dressed up at any day. I sometimes decide to dress casually, but when I want to really dress up, I never needed an excuse to do so.

Shopping is so fun and kinda expensive here in Doha. But window shopping and being able to even just fit or touch some of the expensive clothes, shoes or bags in the stores can make me feel nice already ;) The stores here are more welcoming, it does not have that feeling of alienation for the average people. Let’s admit it that some of the luxury stores in the Philippines have this alienating vibe, it’s as if the door of the stores, and sometimes the sales people, is quietly chanting that “if you will just look around and doesn’t look like you can buy stuff here, then don’t even bother coming in”, right?! I think many people will agree on this. But here, it’s completely different. You can wander in any stores and just look around without feeling judged!

I’ve already spent a reasonable amount of time here in Doha and though I can’t afford to buy all the luxurious things this country has to offer, I found joy in watching the people here strut with those sky high stilettos and shiny Hermes purses while getting off their Ferraris like I am watching them from a fashion show runway. It makes me kinda dreamy, haha! 

Culture all around

Qatar never, ever, ever, ever fell short in showing off their culture and tradition. They even have these cultural villages such as Katara and Souq Waqif, and visiting these places really enriches my culture and I kinda have a fuller grasp of their culture while walking around. I once wandered these streets with my cousin, ate PX, and she said that it reminds her of the movies about Jesus. It’s like we’re walking around the streets where Jesus has walked. And I must agree that it has that aura with the old cobbled streets and the built of the infrastructures, it’s like being transported to olden times.

Its cultural villages also feature different exhibits all year long. They have tons of art galleries here. They mostly feature artists from the region but they always make sure they also give recognition to the artists from different countries. They also love bringing in different educational exhibits featuring history, science and modern technologies. If you’re the kind of person who just loves walking into an exhibit and appreciate painting or photo exhibits, then you’ll love Qatar.

But, one of the many things that I really love seeing here are their mosques, aaaaah! They’re mosques are so beautiful. I always wanted to go inside and look if it is as rich inside as it looks like from the outside. There’s this one mosque in Katara called the ‘Golden Mosque’ because it looks shiny, like it’s made of gold and the mosque near Souq Waqif called ‘Fanar’ it is the Qatar Islamic Cultural Center and Mosque, its architecture is an eye-candy, it looks spiral and very nice when lit up.

Photo source: http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/s/so/souq_waqif_mosque.jpg

The Sunsets

There’s something breath taking about the sunsets here, maybe it’s that super bright sun all throughout the day finally retiring and giving the whole sky a very warm goodnight. It’s so simple yet it’s like the sun is wrapping everything in gold before finally setting. It’s a view worth soaking in to. I have been to my fair share of beach resorts and hotels here, and seeing the sun set while I’m soaked in the beach or just sitting by the window of my hotel room is something to smile about.

The Roundabouts

Roundabouts are huge here! I seldom see traffic lights on the road, but the decorated roundabouts are everywhere. Every major roundabout has a name, depending on what it’s designed with or what major facility is near it. It’s really clever and easy on the eyes, though going in and out of it is nerve-wrecking! Haha. But, remembering each roundabout is really convenient and easier to find, because I just base it from what I see. For an instance, the one near our area is called the TV R/A because it is directly across the Al-Jazeera TV station, the other one is the Oryx R/A, because they put a statue of an oryx, which is their national animal, in the middle of the R/A, etc. Another thing to love about these roundabouts are the fact that the vehicles there are just going in and out, just imagine being able to see it from the top and watch the cars come and go in a very fast pace, it’s something that I can consider as uniquely Doha ;)

Photo Source: http://loadpaper.com/large/Monuments_wallpapers_528.jpg

Photo Source: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4124/4954245673_68edba76cd.jpg

The Doha Tribeca Film Festival

They started this Festival on 2009 and it has been an annual thing since then. I was fortunate enough to be among the Press when they launched the festival here and just last year I was able to volunteer for the festival, different directors and actors from all over the region and other parts of the world came together to celebrate good movies. I have always believed that to peek through a different country’s way of life is to watch their movies and watch how they react to those movies. And watch their movies, I did! It gave me a better understanding as to what they believe in and how they look at things. It’s really magical and fascinating how much has changed in the arab world and how the young arabs are revolutionizing in their own fields without forgetting their roots. I think that volunteering for this festival is one of my most treasured moment because I was able to be part of something that is really sought after and the people that I met from different walks of life, who shares the same fascination to movies as I do, it’s a memory worth keeping and worth telling. It was also very interesting because I was able to do it with one of my very good friend J

The Skyline

It’s very hard to think that just few years ago all these places were just pure desserts, with no buildings, just plain dessert and now it is filled with proud and mighty skyscrapers, all twinkling during the night while showing off their colors and lights. I was able to dig up a photo of how the place where this skyline now stands used to look like. And, I think you’ll be surprised that the first building built there was Sheraton hotel and it used to stand there alone, but look at it now. I posted here a before and after photo.

Photo Source; Photo source: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2497/3783104432_ca07dc79b5_z.jpg

And, that is how I see Qatar and how I hope everyone else will. It’s young, rich in culture and very colourful! There’s so much more to see and do in Qatar if we just look past the stigma that was unnecessarily put upon all the other arab countries, you’ll see that these countries are really welcoming and are more than happy to let everyone be part of their culture, their very laid back, artistic and rhythmic culture. Stop the stigma and look at the fascinating things the Arab countries has to offer! 


-J!