Souq Waqif

I wanted to share a few more pictures of Souq Waqif. 

Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village and Heritage Village

Main walkway in Souq Waqif

Colored chicks at Souq Waqif

At Souq Waqif

My husband and I have been to Souq Waqif a few times now so I thought that I'd share a few pictures of it.  If you are just visiting Qatar or even moving here it's one place you should definitely see. There are shops for all kinds of things, a lot of it touristy but some shops have other things that you can bargain for. There are spice shops, tea shops, scarf shops, bike shops, and even an animal section. The live animal section isn't my favorite place since it's outside and the weather has been hot so the animals don't look too healthy. I'd rather go to a rescue place out here if I wanted a dog or cat personally.


 Heritage Village

During Eid (the three days after Ramadan) the Qatar Heritage Village was open.  It's usually only open a few days out of the year, on holidays. I wanted to see what it was all about so I went. It's a small fenced in area with outdoor booths near Rumeila Park near the Corniche. The Heritage Village resembles a traditional Qatari village and exhibits crafts and foods and folksong performances from the pre-oil period. There I saw Qatari women doing henna art on local people, women cooking traditional breads and muffins, a woman weaving rugs, and men making rope and mats. There was also a stage with a live performance. It was not outside (because it was very hot!) but in an air conditioned tent.

Heritage Village outside booths.

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Heritage Village

Katara Cultural Village

Another place we've been is Katara Village. The Katara Cultural Village has a beautiful amphitheater that houses the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (which I haven't been to yet, but would love to!), restaurants, a beach, art galleries and great ice cream. It's right by the ocean so the views are beautiful for a nice stroll when the weather is cooler.

Katara Village

Katara Village Amphitheater

Katar Village

Katara Village artwork

Katara Village Amphitheater

Katara Village

Katara Village artwork

Katara Village

Crafts, Sewing and Reading

 

Since I am not working yet I've been finding things to do to keep me busy and constructive.  I've been working out (I'm currently doing the Insanity workout), digital scrap booking and paper scrap booking, and I am learning how to make a quilt on the sewing machine. These are all things I never have time to do when I'm working, so it's nice to have the time to do them now.

On a hunt one day for craft supplies we went looking for several places.  We came up with two very decent art supply stores and one sewing machine/supply store. Before I tell you about these places I must explain this one thing. There are no addresses here; only P.O. boxes. When you receive directions here it is something like this: take this road and make left at the traffic light and turn left at this roundabout etc. When trying to find a specific store landmarks are the best (and maybe only) way to find what you are looking for. I usually call the store (if I can find a phone number on the internet) and ask them what is around them and if there are any specific landmarks.
Back to the art/craft supply stores that we found. Al Rawnaq has several locations but the one that I like the most is behind Souq Waqif on Ahmed bin Ali Street.  It's tucked back in a corner on a street full of other stores that is always busy with traffic and it is usually difficult to find a parking spot.  There are two levels to this store. There are a lot of hair items such as barretts, headbands and clips etc. There are scarves and ribbons and feathers as well and a minimal amount of fabrics, some local perfumes, and an array of buttons. There is also a section for knitting, and sewing. They have some basic sewing machine tools/accessories. You can get a little bit of a lot of different things here. 

The next store we found was Jarir Bookstore next to the Ramada signal. Yes it's a bookstore but it has a good supply of crafts as well. It kind of reminded us of Best Buy (a store in the US). It has a small section of movies, another of books (not many American book titles), another section of electronics, another section of crafts. The craft section has a great selection of projects such as mosaic tile designs, molding clay, tie die, drawing materials, water colors, scrapbooks etc. A great store for crafts, whoever not that great for books. 

Next we went to a sewing shop call Singer. This store is located near Doha City (the store) on Al Muthaf St near the Al Mirqab roundabout. What a great store. They have basic sewing machine supplies and tools and a few models of sewing machines (mostly Singer but also some other brands). The men there are really helpful and they are happy to show you how to do something on the sewing machine if you ask. They have some antique sewing machines in the window dating all the way back to the 1800s. This is a pretty nice little sewing shop.  

In the US scrap booking is really popular and there are many stores dedicated just to this. Here in Qatar that is not the case. The first two stores have some supplies but not everything you need to scrapbook. My advice is that you order it online (this goes for American book titles as well as there is a limited supply here). 

If you are new to Doha and are looking for crafts/sewing supplies, hopefully this helps.

Eyebrow Threading

A few weeks ago I went to one of the salons here in Qatar to get my eyebrows "done". In the States I have always gotten my eyebrows waxed so when I made the appointment I didn't expect anything different. When I sat down in the chair and leaned my head back you have to imagine my surprise when there was no wax involved. I have to say that before this I had never heard of threading before. It was much less painful than waxing and it was faster as well which was nice! 


Here is a website that explains how threading is done:
http://eyelashtint.net/eyebrow-threading-and-how-it-is-done/

Qatar Family Visa

 

When I came to Qatar for the first time I was able to buy a tourist visa at the Doha airport at immigrations. Each one is good for 30 days and then you can pay to renew it for another 30 days and after that you have to leave the country and come back and buy another visa. I believe that you can do this as many times as you need to, but I'm not sure.
However we decided to go ahead and get a family visa for me.
There are two medical appointments that you must have before you can get a family visa. The first medical appointment is to verify your blood type (they take a blood sample from your finger) and have your picture taken. Once the results come back your next appointment is scheduled.

For this appointment you go to the Ministry of Health. You go into the building and take a number and then you go into the waiting room and wait until your number is called. Once your number is called you go up to the counter and show your passport and pay for what you are having done and they print you a slip to take to the next phase of your appointment. You then wait in line to have another blood sample taken (this time it's a bit more) to test for HIV. After that you wait in line to have your chest x-ray done (this is to make sure that you don't have TB).  This whole process took me about 3 hours because of waiting in the lines. I have been hold that at times it can take up to 4 hours so I guess that I was lucky! A bit of advice: go in the morning (it's not as busy) and make sure you have an appointment.

All of the results come back in a few days and then you are issued a family visa, which is good for 6 months. If you then apply for a resident permit at a later time you have to go through this process as well. Family visas do not allow you to work and they don't give you medical either. Once you have the resident permit you can buy your health card (this is good for one year) and you can work. The easiest way is to have a sponsor before you come to Qatar to take care of all of this.

One thing we didn't know until I got here is that my husband has to show 6 months of local bank statements with a certain amount in them in order for me to be sponsored to work here (and get a resident permit). Once the 6 months have passed we can then apply for my resident permit. The resident permits are good for one year.

I wanted to explain this process because it's kind of complicated.  Hopefully this helps anyone else coming here to Qatar to live.  Plus it's very different then the US so it's kind of interesting for friends and family to read about! Hope it wasn't too boring though!


Here is a website that explains some more of the documents you need and other details.

http://qatar.angloinfo.com/moving/residency/family-residence-visa/ 

Eid Al-Fitr Will Soon Be Here!

Eid Al-Fitr begins here in Qatar on the first day of the 10th month of the lunar calendar, which will be this weekend (Sunday August 19).  Eid Al Fitr translates as the "festival of breaking the fast". This holiday marks the end of Ramadan and the end of fasting with three days of daytime feasts. Yes this means we will have our Doha brunches back! This is a national holiday so banks and schools will be closed for these three days and all Muslims will be off of work.

I've read in some articles that Eid Al Fitr is to Muslims what Christmas to Christians. Family and friends dress in their finest clothes and gather together and exchange gifts. Some even buy new furniture for this event.  Muslims also take this time to make sure that the poor in the community have enough food so they may celebrate as well.

I've also read that during this time expats can find good store sales.  I'll have to report back to you about this one!

Restaurant Review

 Vapiano!

When we were in Germany our friend Jenny took us to a restaurant named Vapiano. The food is all natural and fresh, the prices are affordable, and they cook your meal at a cooking station right in front of you. You couldn't ask for anything more! Well tonight we found one here! Not by chance actually, our neighbor told us about it.  I have to say it was all that I expected and hoped it could be!

Bolognese on Tagliatelle pasta

Beef Carpaccio

First you pick whether you are having a pasta, salad or pizza. You can also get a soup and an appetizer as well. For the pasta first you choose what type of pasta you want; papardelle, spaghetti, conchiglie, campanelle, tagliatelle etc. Then you have four categories to choose from for your style; traditional, classic, deluxe or premium. There are several choices under each style. Each category is a different price. Other choices include chicken and they also have ravioli and of course beef bacon (yes we are still in the Middle East). If you want pizza you pick your style also (classic, traditional, deluxe and premium).

Tacchino Piccante

When you walk in you are given your "chip card" and then proceed to the cooking station counter to order your made-to-order food. I ordered the classic with a bolognese sauce with the tagliatelle pasta. Yum! My husband got the Tacchino Piccante which has marinated chicken breast with chili-orange sauce, pok choy and capsicum. We also ordered the beef carpaccio appetizer (thinly sliced beef tenderloin covered with rucola leafs, mushroom, and shaved parmesan cheese and cipriani sauce), and we each had a drink all for $127 Riyals ($34 USD). It's like fine-casual dining! Plus the decor has urban upscale Italian feel to it. Vapiano is located at the Gate Mall across from City Center mall.