Life in Qatar is ever interesting to new-time residents and visitors alike, given its Arabic culture, desert landscapes and often outrageous signs of wealth. This is part 2 of 50 tips about Qatar.

If you missed the first half, which included everything from affection to football, here it is – 50 tips about Qatar.

Now we’re onto additional A to Z matters that are intrinsic to living in the Middle East.

26. Heat

For all the positives about living in Qatar, the heat is a big negative and no-no. When the temperature hits highs of 45C-plus from June to September, AC becomes your best friend. Well, it’s air-conditioning or an air ticket to cooler climes.

27. Jobs

As the fastest growing economy in the Gulf (the real gross domestic product is forecast to increase by 2.78 percent in 2028), the job market is generally good. Unemployment is 0.1% (it makes you want to cry when compared to South Africa). To be fair, however, those who find themselves without employment are expected to return to their home countries within a matter of months.     

Qatar is awash with jobs because of the rapid development and the need for certain skill sets that are not necessarily available internally. Hence, the high number of ex-pats, migrants or residents.

A peculiarity about the jobs in Qatar is how they are populated by certain nationalities. The Kenyans work in security, Pakistanis in the police force, Filipinos in housekeeping and the Nepalese and Bangladeshis in construction work. Of course, there are exceptions, but in the majority of cases, it’s a tall, smiling, smartly dressed Kenyan who keeps the peace in shopping centres, international hotels and other public places.

The salaries are generally good. It has to be to meet the costs of living here.

It’s a young person’s city. Teachers, for example, are not employed after the age of 50.

28. Metro

I am the Metro’s number one cheerleader. The underground is efficient, clean and cheap, and now comes with the added bonus of the Metro Express convoy. These vehicles drive you to and from your home for free (within certain parts of the city). This means I still don’t need to drive here.

There are 37 stations on the Metro, with the longest line – the red line – running for 40km from Hamad International Airport at one end to the new growth area of Doha, Lusail, at the other.

29. Museums

Qatar has brilliant museums. Whether it’s sport (3-2-1 Sports Museum), art (Mathaf, Fire Station, Museum of Islamic Art), illusionary or historical (Qatar National Museum), you will learn. This learning happens because of the engaging, interactive nature of the curation.

30. Nationalities

At last count, there are about 121 different nationalities living in Qatar. We have 51 different nationalities in our church alone. Indians make up the largest percentage, followed by Filipinos, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans.

There are apparently about 6 500 South Africans living here too.

There used to be more Americans and Brits here, but their numbers have decreased in the past decade. 

31. Oil and gas

Oil and gas are the reason why Qatar is so wealthy. They have both in abundance. In fact, 40% of all new LNG in the market will come from Qatar by 2029. 

Life has charged remarkedly in Qatar since oil was discovered in Dukhan in 1940.

32. Pearls

Qatar’s original wealth came from pearls. The country has a rich pearl diving history which is reflected in its heritage today. The manmade Pearl Islands were so named after the thriving industry whose demise in the late 1940s came as oil was discovered.   

There’s a UNESCO heritage site at Al Zubarah that is home the largest untouched fishing and pearling village in the world.

33. Peacemakers

Qatar used hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to put themselves on the world map, but right now it is the diplomacy efforts in the Palestine / Israel debacle that is gaining global kudos. The Qatari government is playing a leading role in trying to broker peace between the warring factions in the Gaza / Israel debacle.

34. Peninsula

Now that you know that Doha is not Dubai, which is across the Gulf waters in the United Arab Emirates, you might be interested to leave that Qatar is a tiny peninsula.

Qatar is only 11 571 square kilometres in size, which is the same size as the county of Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, and smaller than South Africa’s smallest province of Gauteng at 18 178 square kilometres. This means you can drive from Doha to the top of the country in about an hour.

With its peninsula status (Al Jazeera means Peninsula) comes a 560-km coastline and accompanying water recreational activities.

  

35. Population

There are about 2.7 million people living in Qatar. But this figure fluctuates thanks to the revolving door of migrant labour. In the build-up to the FIFA 2022 World Cup in November last year, the country hit the 3-million mark, the majority of whom come from India. There are also large numbers of Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Filipinos and Nepalese. People from the so-called global South have increased in numbers while those from Europe and America have generally declined.

The Qatari people who are only ones are entitled to a Qatari passport, except in exceptional circumstances, make up about 10% to 12% of the population.  

    

36. Rain

Rain? What’s that I asked after eight months without experiencing a drop of rain in the country. Almost two years later I now know that when it does rain, it rains. So much so, that basements and roads flood, roofs collapse and there is general mayhem. But as quickly as the rain comes, so it disappears.

37. Ramadan

The holy month of Ramadan changes the way everyone lives in Qatar during this period. The decorations, the fasting, the Iftar meals, working hours, shopping hours, shortened school times and the celebratory Eid period makes this for an interesting alternative few weeks. 

38. Recycling

While Qatar might claim to have big recycling and sustainability plans underway, my lived experience tells me otherwise. This is because everything seems to packaged or wrapped in plastic which might still be semi-acceptable if a strong recycling system and ethos was in place.

Instead, all things plastic (and more besides) generally just gets turfed.

This is hard to accept in a such a wealth, forward-thinking country.  

Yes, there are the odd recycling bins at public events, but no obvious national drive to save the planet by being more eco-minded.

39. Religion

Ironically, we are living in Qatar because of our Christian faith, albeit this a Muslim country. With so many foreigners living in Qatar, a large percentage of whom are Christian, the government chose to set aside a large tract of land for “people of the book”.

This dedicated space on what is a light industrial area in Qatar, some 25 minutes’ drive from the city centre, is known as the Religious Complex.

Within this massive compound, surrounded by a car park with 8 000 to 10 000 bays, are the Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican and Church of South Indian (CSI) sections. Come Christmas in Qatar and there is never enough parking.

The Anglican section alone receives 60 000 visits each month, and the Catholic section up to 200 000 visits monthly.

40. Revolving door

The revolving door of life in Qatar spins quickly. People come and people go – all the time. There are new faces at church every week. After almost two years of living in Qatar, I am no longer a newbie. Yes, there are those who have lived here for more than a decade or two, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

So, just as you get to really know someone, sadly, they’re gone.

In addition, come summer when the temperatures go up, those who can return to their home countries. I call it the summer lemming season.

41. Rhythm

Doha dances to a different beat to that of South Africa, and I dare say most other places outside the Middle East. It is a rhythm that is tied up in Qatar’s weather and its religion.

This means:

• Thursday here is Friday when the weekend begins
• Friday is our new Sunday, and
• Sunday is the new Monday

We have an additional service on Sunday evening so that Christians can come to church after work.

42. Riyal

The currency in Qatar is Qatar Riyals. QAR10 is R52. A big mac costs from QAR14.   

43. Safe

Qatar is one of the safest places in the world. It has an exceptionally low crime rate.  People leave their belongings out in public places when they pop to the toilets. Women can walk alone without fear at night.

44. Shops

This is a shop-till-you-drop destination.

There are dozens of malls across the city, with some of them boasting as many as 600 shops. Many of them of opulent and home to the world’s leading international brands.

There are regular sales (thankfully), inclusive of “white Friday”, plenty of eating spots and massive entertainment areas for the children.

45. Smells

I love the fragrances of the Middle East – be it the perfumed shopping malls, the locust trees that smells like jasmine or the heady aromatic wafts of Arabic cuisine at Souq Waqif.

Speaking of which …

46. Souq Waqif

No visit to Qatar is complete without a trip to Doha’s popular traditional market, Souq Waqif. It is a marvellous blend of all things Arabic with the opportunity to haggle for goods, eat tasty Middle Eastern food (be it Lebanese, Yemeni or Moroccan etc) or simply watch the world go by while enjoying karak (Arabic tea) and even a shisha.

47. Sport

If you are sports fan, as we are, then you are spoilt for choice. Many international events have been held here like the FIFA 2022 on an international level. Others are held annually include the Formula 1 Grand Prix, the MotoGP and the Qatar National Tennis Champs.

Coming up in February 2024 are the FINA World Swimming Champs. Chad and co, we’ll be there cheering you on.  

But it’s roundabout and swings, as 15-man rugby has not yet staked its claim here. Still, we were privileged along with hosts of other South Africans to witness the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup on the telly in a pub.

48. Wealth

Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world thanks to its oil and gas supplies. It comes in at number 4, behind Luxembourg, Ireland and Singapore, at present.

You only have to visit a toilet in a shopping mall or glance at the cars that pull up alongside you at the traffic light to know there’s no shortage of money in Qatar.

Opulence on steroids.

49. What’s cheap

There are things, however, that are free or cheap in Qatar.

Walking, exhibitions and the public art are free.

• The Metro – only QAR2 a trip, with a maximum daily spend of QAR6 (R30).
• Petrol – QAR1.90 a litre, so about R10 a litre
• Water. Ironically in a country with no rivers or lakes, water is cheap. Drinking water, for example, costs just QAR0.75 for 500ml, which is R3.91. It is often given away for free.

Clothes and other goods during the sales are also extremely reasonable. Roll on Qatar National Day on 18 December (sale time).

50. QR codes

There are QR codes for everything in Qatar. In fact, if you are technologically challenged or without a smart phone you will not manage. Everything from entry to events to management of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Ehteraz app is regulated from the phone in the palm of your hand.  

Afterthought …

Of course, there are countless other weird and wonderful things not covered in this post … the beauty business, archaelogy, trips in the desert, flowers, fauna and flora, food glorious food, the labour market …

Please know that all these views are my own and I am not paid or compensated for anything I share. And yes, the research, opinions, photographs and mistakes are all mine too.

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