Chris Comments on Qatar

My favorite part of Doha was the Souq Waqif. An eclectic mix of streets, alleys and boulevards the souq provided for several opportunities to experience something new. We smoked shisha and ate camel kabobs at a Moroccan cafe along the main boulevard. We walked through alleys crowded by countless hole-in-the-wall stalls full of fake designer sunglasses, rolexes and other touristy merchandise run by immigrants from the subcontinent. We browsed antique shops full of relics from Qatar's pearl diving past and wandered down lanes filled with chirping birds in cages and shops dedicated to the sport of falconry.

I got a cheese and honey crepe made fresh in front of me by an off-duty Indonesian maid, and a box of what looked like sesame seed covered gulab jamuns (they weren't) from another.

Visiting the souq brought with it a refreshing bit of culture, a unique blend of nationalities that I hadn't ever experienced before. I would suggest going around 16:30, when we did, so you can arrive in time to reserve a table at one of the cafes along the boulevard and still be able to enjoy the crowds that come with nightfall.
--Chris

Comments

String Quartet Broken String

We attended a marvelous concert last night, at the Porto Museum of Casa do Infante , a beautifully-renovated 1325 building near the river. At one point it served as a customs house. The government sponsors Portuguese musicians to return from other European orchestras to perform in their homeland. We heard and saw this group play a traditional piece – Haydn string quartet Opus 20 #2. Then the modern Benjamin Britten's Three Divertimenti – the stunning last movement of which they performed as an encore. They performed (and I recorded) the Shostakovich Quartet #9, during which the first-violinist broke a string (it features several strongly-plucked chords!) and had to retreat&repeat!

EUA: tanto estrago em tão pouco tempo

As part of my effort to learn about Portugal, both the country and the language, I'm subscribing to the centrist newspaper, O Publico . There are plenty of newspapers: conservative tabloids, and socialist and communist-sponsored daily papers; I find O Publico to be most sober, with consistently interesting columnists and opinion pieces, in addition to some local (Porto) news, with just enough sporting news to keep me chatting with the taxi driver. Today's opinion piece sums up, I think, European pundits' view of the U.S. government. As the title puts it: so much damage in so little time. I shudder at the rank incompetence and corrupt behavior, demonstrating a cynical attitude toward public service, showing indeed that the cruelty is the point. What scandal, what damage will be the tipping point to collapse this government? And what will it take to recover from the damage? Who will be able to trust the US government again, ever? Only ni...

Música Tunas e Boémia

We attended an unusual concert last night: Música Tunas e Boémia (bands and parties) University student folk-music groups — big groups of 40 and more each! put on a great show of singing, playing, flag-twirling, tambourine-swinging, all at the major (private) concert hall. The most unusual thing about it was that nobody used any electronic device (except for microphone amplification)—no electric guitar or keyboard, no big drum set…every instrument and prop was hand-held. The singing was quite good, given the effort to synchronize 40 voices.

Thomas journals

Search This Blog