Not so modern - The Old Souqs

Souqs are actually shops, and in Qatar, shops tend to be located in groups. For instance there are the gold souqs, the furniture souqs, the computer souqs, ... well you get the picture. I'm still looking for the automotive souqs and the ever popular soup souqs.

Doha used to have an old souq. However, times move on, and it was decided that progress required knocking it down and replacing it with a new souq that looks like an old souq. This area is call Souq Waqif, but more commonly known as ... you guessed it ... the Old Souqs. It is huge and contains a maze of shops that sell everything you can imagine. It is particularly famous for spices. 

One of the nice features of the Old Souqs is the range of restaurants featuring foods of many different cultures. They all have outside areas where you can sit and eat, smoke shisha, and watch the people go by.

Here I am doing just that but particularly concentrating on my shisha. Now don't be confusing this with smoking anything illegal ... that's what I would call hashisha.

The Pearl

The Pearl is a man-made island that is 10 minutes from the college. While it is still under construction, I went there to see this amazing place. It is truly The Pearl of the Gulf.

Talk about high-end shops! As you enter The Pearl, you pass Rolls Royce, Maserati and Ferrari dealerships.

Once inside you can visit shops like Giorgio Armani and many I have never heard of because they are way out of my league, but it doesn't cost anything to look. I saw a golf shirt for just over 1,000 riyals (about $350). The marina is spectacular, and while not finished there were a few boats moored there ... some over 100 feet.

Not What I Expected

I'm not really sure what I expected once I got here, but my first impressions are certainly not what I envisioned. Doha is undergoing massive construction. You can't find a spot in Doha where you don't see construction going on. The picture above is taken in the city centre, and as you can see, it is very modern with some of the most fantastic architecture I've seen anywhere.

With a population of around 1.5 million, only about 350,000 are Qatari nationals with the rest being expats mostly from other Asian countries. There is definitely a class system here with Qatari's being on the top rung, followed by Westerners, like myself, then other Arab nationals, then the rest. It's not right, but it's nice to be in the upper echelon of these classes.

One of the most common comments from people at home when they heard I was coming here to work on a three-year contract was '... be careful and take care over there', which showed their concern that this might be a dangerous place being in the Middle East, which is commonly believed (by westerners) is a centre of terrorism. After being here such a short time, it is already evident that these concerns are unfounded. I have never lived in a city where I felt safer - except when driving, but more on that later.

Shop Till you Drop

One of the first things you need to do when you arrive in Doha is to shop to equip your apartment with necessities. Rhonda and Connie, her mom, took me to a few of the malls to get started. As in the rest of Doha, the malls are ultra modern, if not downright fantastic. The mall pictured above is the Villagio Mall which features 220 stores, a canal that runs  through the mall complete with gondolas, and a hockey rink in the food court area. The shops are mostly high-end ... I saw a cell phone for sale for a mere 24,000 Qatar riyals (about $8,000 CAD)!

College of the North Atlantic - Qatar

It is only my second day in Doha, but I get to see my new workplace - the College of the North Atlantic - Qatar. It still seems strange that I am working in Doha at a college based in Newfoundland. Sure doesn't look like Newfoundland in February! Although the college has one-quarter of the students at Niagara College, the campus is about four times bigger and very impressive. The Qatari students can be recognized by the traditional white thobes (for men) and black abayas (women) they are wearing.

The IT department where I will be working is nicely appointed and includes a solarium in the middle of it where you can actually go for a smoke ... unbelievable.

The people that I will be working with are mostly expats as well. They come from India, Somalia, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and yes, Canada. There is a large number of Canadian expats, although they are primarily from Newfoundland, so they still seem like people from a strange land, especially when they talk. It is doubly strange that they teach the Qataris English, but qualify it somewhat by calling it English as a Foreign Language ... seems foreign to me.

A New Land - Different Weather

My long flight finally ended at 1:00 AM on February 2nd where my boss, and  friend, Rhonda met me at the Doha International airport. She borrowed my winter jacket as she was cold, which seemed weird to me given that I had just come from Canada and Britain's biggest snow storm in 18 years ... it was 22 degrees C!!

We went straight to the Movenpick Hotel in Doha where I stayed for the night ... got to sleep around 3 AM. Since the college was sending a driver to pick me up at 7:30 AM, I didn't get a lot of sleep before facing my new country, my new city, my new residence and my new job. However, I was excited to look out my hotel window and see the view (above). It was sunny, warm, and it was a great view of the harbour, complete with palm trees and a small mosque next to the parking lot.

My first day was spent visiting my new apartment and going shopping for things I would need for the first few days. The apartment is more than satisfactory, being spacious and well equipped with furniture and appliances. The ceilings are high, the floors marble tile and the apartment has 4 large air conditioners, one in each bedroom, the living room and the kitchen.

The bedrooms are large and furnished with huge wardrobes and beds. The master bedroom has a 'super king size' bed ... great for when you crash after a night out on the town as it won't matter which direction you land on it. It also has a balcony you can see in the upper right of the picture.