SA Heritage Day in Qatar: a melting pot of possibility
It was hot. Humid and hot. Frizzy-hair hot; mascara-running hot; frazzled-baby hot. Qatar hot! But still they came. Close to 1000 South Africans. Of every shape, age, hue, and mother tongue. Smiling, talking, laughing, bantering, cheering, singing, dancing. Together. And I am moved. Tearful even. It’s taken five years – and a move to another […]
Convenience drives Qatar via delivery services
Be it groceries, fast food, flowers, or simply a cup of your favourite brew … it’s all but a click – and minutes – away in Doha, Qatar, thanks, in part, to fleets of two-wheel delivery whizzes. These are the door-to-door delivery dynamos who navigate the city’s busy highways and byways in all weathers to […]
Exhausting, exhilarating ‘in-your-face’ India is a must
30 years on, and India is as complex, chaotic and culturally alluring as ever. It was sensory overload then and possibly more so today. No photograph, video or personal account will ever prepare you for visiting India. And more so, if you jet in from the likes of Qatar, just a four-hour flight away, with […]
Opening the door(s) of Qatar
Ornate, Arabic, automatic, closed, revolving, wooden or whatever … As an expatriate living in Qatar in the Middle East, doors here can be very different. It’s both the visual contrast between doors here and those of our home countries, and the symbolic significance. Granted, a closed door may still indicate a dead-end, a glass one […]
Qatar’s great green escape – Katara Hills
Katara Hills is our antidote to Qatar’s flat, desert environment. It’s green, hilly, loaded with trees, has a freshwater stream and fabulous views over the ocean and other Doha landmarks. It’s all man-made and perfectly manicured, of course. But this matters not a jot when you’re seeking respite from the hustle and bustle of Doha […]
Adapting to a war (that’s not ours) in Qatar
Life goes on. Life goes on regardless of incoming missiles and ongoing uncertainty in Qatar, one of the six Gulf countries caught in the crossfire of the US-Israel-Iran war. In my previous post, just four days into a growing conflict that is not ours, I related how scary and surreal everything was. And it still […]
Living in a war (that’s not ours) in Qatar
Surreal and scary. That’s as it is for me – and so, so many others – living in Doha, Qatar, in the Middle East right now as I share what day-to-day life is like presently. I do so in my personal capacity – as just one of the 3 million people who live in Qatar, […]
All revved for Qatar’s F1 Grand Prix – and some
It’s the “and some” that I want to share. This is the fun, the mardi gras, carnival atmosphere – call it what you will – that happens alongside the high-octane racing at Qatar’s Formula One Grand Prix that I want to tell you about it. No doubt, such sideshows take place at each of the […]
Armenia a natural and cultural travel wonder
Affordable and ancient, beautiful and bountiful, Christian and culturally rich … the descriptors for Armenia roll off the tongue as easily as this landlocked country’s mountain rivers and lilting landscape. But scratch a little deeper and words get stuck in the back of the throat as you discover the complexities and harsh past of […]
Eid and its many meanings in Qatar
For the Muslim faithful, Eid (al-Fitr) marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and a time to give thanks and celebrate. And, by default, it also offers other faith groups living in the Middle East exciting “Eid break” benefits, too. Confused? Of course you are (unless you are Muslim or are already accustomed […]