Qatar continued

This is my last day in Qatar and the sun is shining; tomorrow I fly to Oman. It was also shining yesterday when we went to the beach south of Doha. We were at a private resort so the beach was lovely with beautiful sand and no garbage. The sun was warm and we enjoyed soaking it up. I went swimming and the water was clear and cool, but definitely fine for swimming, although I was the only person in the water. We had driven south to the area of the desert where there are many sand dunes. The first destination was the "Singing Dunes," and I was looking forward to comparing them to the singing dunes in Mongolia. Unfortunately they weren't in a singing mood since there had been rain and sand doesn't sing when it's wet.

The day before we had gone north in search of prehistoric petroglyphs that we had read about in guidebooks. We found the area, Al Jassasiyeh, but spent a long time searching for them. Finally we found the rocky ledge and then they were endless. There were lines and series of small circular holes leading to the aerial views of boats, as they were described in the the guidebooks, but I thought they looked like fish. There were also flower images, and we found small delicate flowers in the desert.

I had to check out the Arabian horses for my friend, Kitty, so we went to stables and saw many gorgeous horses in numerous stables. There were also two arenas where children were having lessons with a high seating area between the two arenas. It was fun going to different areas and seeing different horses. On Thursday evening with two other friends we went to the horse races which turned out to be an amazing evening. No gambling is allowed, yet there was an ATM truck in the parking lot. The whole racetrack area was very impressive. There were quite a few people wandering around.

The horses were majestic as they raced around the track. One of the most fun races was when a horse lost the jockey and then led the pack. It was an amazing horse that was having a great time. Towards the end of the race, he fell back to second, but everyone was laughing and cheering. Two Qatari men invited us up to the VIP section which was high up so we had great views of the whole track. What made it even more special was a full bright orange moon. The chairs were very comfortable, and we were offered various treats and a mouth-full of Qatari coffee (roasted only golden and with cardamom and saffron added).

There was face painting for children, and henna hand painting which I decided I had to have done. Both of my hands are now covered with flowing designs. It was a long process. The woman probably worked on my hands for half an hour, then I had to let it dry for about 2 hours and not touch anything so it wouldn't smear. Finally I was able to wash off the thick top layer, the designs were then a very light gold. Overnight they turned dark brown. Nice.

I spent part of a morning at the school where Becca teaches and volunteered in the 4th and 5th grades. I did poetry and math word problems with small groups of students. The kids were sweet and it was fun talking to them. The school is very modern and seems to have everything, even a coffee shop for teachers. The teachers say the children are spoiled and don't know how to do things for themselves or to clean up since they are accustomed to having nannies and drivers. I got to swim in the Olympic-size pool twice.

The Islamic Museum here is the best in the world according to the guidebooks and has textiles, brass, manuscripts, glass, and ceramics from all over the Islamic world, including Spain, Turkey, Central Asia, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran. The building was designed by the world famous architect, IM Pei, and is very impressive.

We visited the market, or souq, twice. It's been rebuilt to resemble what it was like before and has narrow passageways with many small shops with a variety of items: spices, cookware, clothing, fabric, toys, jewelry, carpets, etc. There are a number of restaurants and coffee shops and is a busy and fun place to explore.

I've certainly enjoyed my time in Qatar. Becca has been a wonderful tour guide and has taken me many places; I've enjoyed great food, and have met some very nice people. I have very positive impressions of Qatar.