Our last night in Doha till we return

We spent our last night  in Doha at the Souq, but getting there, driving through town at around 5:00 PM when laborers were leaving work, was quite an ordeal. The size of some of the construction sites is just astronomical. They are building an underground rail system, so some of the sites are huge holes in the ground right now with tens of power cranes on every portion of the site and hundreds of laborers.

A typical site in Doha. Men getting off work getting on the bus to take them to the camps where they  sleep. Traffic congested and inching along, power cranes lit up at night, some so they can keep working.through the night.

This is a bit blurry, but it captures something about Doha. Stephen says there  may be a million workers here constructing all of the projects going on in Doha. There is international concern for their safety and for their living conditions, but the paper here reports that Qatar has the least construction injuries of any location.

The Souq Waqif is always a busy place. In this area women set up small grills and sell food they have prepared.

Another merchant at the Souq.  He was hammering and shaping the bracelets.His turban I think is more for tourists. I rarely see anyone wearing a turban on the streets

Another part of the Souq with a Mosque in the rear. 

At dinner last night with two of Stephen's co-workers - Leah, from Omaha, and Sandro, from Venice, Italy - I got to hear more about the challenges they face on the completion of the hospital they are working on. There is so much construction going on here that subcontractors can and do walk off jobs. With so much work going on in this town, it is a monumental challenge to coordinate all of the details in order to get the jobs done.

We leave tonight, but plan to return. 

The view from our apartment

Stephen's new neighborhood is more modern than the neighborhood where he lived at the Le Park Hotel. But in some ways it is less appealing to me. The traffic is very congested and it is difficult to cross some of the highways. There really is very little provision for pedestrians and drivers are aggressive and impatient. The road pictured here is an alley. The highway can be seen to the far right.

Katara Cultural Center

On Friday we visited the Katara Cultural Center again to see the art exhibits there and to have dinner at an Armenian and Lebanese restaurant. Katara is by the sea so it is very beautiful. The beach is interesting in its arrangement of out door furniture, but each time we have been there it has been on a Friday and the Sabbath, so the beach is empty of people.

It rains here so infrequently that this furniture can stay dry. There is not much of a tide here either.

Though there is no one on shore, the sailboats are numerous

And just like every space in Doha, there is more construction underway

Katara has a couple mosques on the site. This one is striking in all of its golden splendor

This is the formal entry to the amphitheater

The green panels are glass. The door is bronze.

A detail of the exterior of the amphitheater

Another mosque at Katara

The restaurant where we ate on a roof top deck. Mamig means something like Grandma.

Halloween In Doha

Stephen and I sort of celebrating Halloween by donning the authentic garb of this region

Stephen and co-worker Leah wanted to participate in the home office's Halloween festivities, so they both purchased items of dress common for men and women in this region. Leah lent me her veil and abaya for this picture. Stephen purchased his "white shirt" and head scarf at the souq. He let his beard grow for a few days but also enhanced it with a bit of charcoal. The sun glasses he already owned, a gift from Gabe at the time of the wedding.

Stephen continues his quest to wear his Pappy visor at every opportunity. He emailed this picture to Katherine and to Carrie, whose family produces the Van Winkle brand; Carrie got a big kick out of Stephen's support for their products.

This picture was taken in our apartment