Qatar angling for Formula 1

Qatar is hoping to get a formula 1 championship, with the Qatar Motor and Motorcycling Federation planning a massive upgrade for the Losail international racing circuit.

The federation were recently dissapointed when the GP Grand Masters, dominated by Nigel Mansell, went bankrupt recently and Losail lost the annual race.

However, Qatar may have missed its opportunity, at least for the time being. Neighbour Bahrain already hosts the championship, while Abu Dhabi will be making its own F1 debut next season.






Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Losail F1

Qatar Happening website up

The Qatar Happening website is finally up, and it looks pretty good. It's well designed, although they do need to learn to add alt tags for the pictures (and shoot whoever does their SEO). I was also glad to see they have cinema times and reviews - click on the drop down menu for times at different cinemas. Being a website rather than a monthly edition should mean that they managed to get more events in, and indeed they have added a "Happening this Weekend" section. There's quite a bit more, but you'll want to be getting over there and checking it your yourself - so here's the link:

Qatar Happening

Let us know what you think!

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar Happening

La Cigale opens new outlets

La Cigale has announced that it has opened two of more its outlets. The Ozone Spa, which is open from 9am until 9pm,, provides massage and beauty treatments and includes treatment rooms, 2 Hydrotherapy Massage Areas, 2 Steam Rooms, Sauna, Jacuzzi and Relaxation Areas. There is also an outdoor lounge called "Sky View". The lounge, which is located on the 15th floor, is open from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m.

For more information on the hotel see our La Cigale page.






Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar Doha

Shore Based Skipper/Yacht Master course

A Coastal Skipper/Yacht Master Royal Yachting Association course will be held from the 20th April to the 25th July.

The RYA Coastal Skipper/Yachtmaster Offshore shorebased course is an advanced course in navigation, seamanship and meteorology, suitable for those with a background of sailing or motor cruising and/or racing. An RYA certificate is awarded for successful completion. The course will consist of 20 lessons of 2 hours each, which will be held at the Aeronautical College on Sunday and Wednesday evenings starting at 7 PM.

If you are interested, please contact:

Vince Mee E-Mail: vincemee@hotmail.com

John Coubrough E-Mail: jmcoubrough@yahoo.co.uk

You can find more information at their website www.ryacourses-qatar.com from mid March.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

sailing

Qtel Censorship

Nigel has an interesting post on Qatar internet censorship on Qatar living. His post follows the story that Qtel have blocked parts of facebook - not inflammatory material or pornography but an application which allows you to show miniature pictures of your friends! Presumably a mistake - again! Unfortunately, Qtel can rarely be bothered to rectify it's mistakes.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar censorship

Qatar Environment

When I first arrived in QatarI couldn’t believe how much energy was wasted. Energy on massive cars, energy on air-conditioning that was never shut off, energy on lights that blazed on all night, energy on a massive construction boom that has only become more frenetic since I arrived.

And never one word about the environment.

Yet despite the lack of awareness, Qatar is one of the countries that stands most to lose from global warming.

The country is low lying, and the Pearl development which it is so immensely proud of is, in places, just two meters above sea-level

What’s more, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees in the height of the summer, the country really doesn’t need to get any hotter.

The first sign of environmental awareness that I noticed was at a food festival, when the school hosting the festival had put out recycling bins. Each bin was to contain a different type of rubbish. Unfortunately, the guests didn’t notice, and the bins were filled with all kinds of different junk – and left-over cake.

But there have been other signs that Qatar is gaining in awareness.

In 2007 Qatar presided over the Montreal conference, and the conference agreed to accelerate the phase out of chemicals that damage the ozone layer.

Other signs have been slow to appear, despite frequent articles on the subject by local naturalist Francis Gillespie, but for the first time on the way to the beach this weekend I noticed signs urging residents not to litter the beaches.

When we got to the beach a large rubbish bin had been planted in the middle, and much of the rubbish we had seen in the past had disappeared.

And in the middle of the desert a camel farm is being established that will be powered purely by solar and wind power. The aim of the camel farm is, through managed farming, to combat or reverse the process of desertification.

Qatar is following a new trend in the region. The UAE is looking at building a huge solar panel farm, and even Saudi Arabia is investing in renewable energy. Countries in the region are also looking at nuclear power as an alternative to oil.

However, just look around and you will see Qatar has a long way to go before it becomes environmentally aware – not least with its huge buildings filled with large windows that leak the coolness from the air conditioners in the summer.

There is an increased environmental awareness. But I fear it is still too little, too late.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

environment Doha

The cross shall not be raised in Qatar...

Photo by Omar Chatriwala

And indeed it is not being raised. However, for the first time in centuries a cross-less, bell-less church has been raised in Qatar, on land donated by the Emir, and is being opened today.

Despite the low key nature of the opening, controversy has been sparked in Qatar, with some members of the strict Wahabbi faith firmly against the construction. One columnist wrote:

“The cross should not be raised in the sky of Qatar, nor should bells toll in Doha."

Other prominent Muslims in the country support the opening of the church. The former Dean of the Islamic university, Abdul Hamid al-Ansari, is one of those who supports the building of the church, believing that religious tolerance and the right to worship is a part of Islam.

"Having places of worship for various religions is a fundamental human right guaranteed by Islam."

There does seem to be support for tolerance for other monotheist religions in the Qu’ran:

“Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.”

However, some Muslims oppose the building of the mosque. To support this rejection, they have used a quote from a hadith in which Mohammed is reported to have said:

"No two religions will come together in the Arabian peninsula."

Abdul has argued that this quote was taken out of context and does not in fact refer to the whole Arabian Peninsula but to Medina and Mecca.

Despite the controversy, Qatar is sending a message of tolerance out to the world. It’s one the current ruling elite seem to be keen on fostering. In a recent interview with Qatar Today the Director of the Qatar Leadership Academy explained that the aims of the Academy were to develop:

“...open-minded young gentlemen, who acknowledge all religion, culture, colour and social background.”

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

church Doha cross

Strongest hint yet of revaluation

There have been so many rumours of revaluation over the last few months that we have long stopped mentioning them. However, it is worth mentioning a quote in the Gulf Daily News which is the strongest indication of revaluation yet.

According to the article, which quoted an unnamed Qatar central bank official, Qatar is considering revaluing or dropping its dollar peg last month. Specifically, the official was quoted as saying:

"Everything will be clear by the end of this month because our fiscal year ends on March 31, so by April the central bank will make an announcement," the official said.

After the report the Qatar riyal strengthened and a Deutsche Bank economist said:

"Combined with other recent comments that the Qatari riyal could be undervalued by around 30 per cent, this will likely to see appreciation pressure mount."








Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar currency

Qatar Internet Stats

A friend sent me some stats on internet usage recently, and I thought they made interesting reading. (I am sure they have already appeared in the Gulf Times, so no apologies for lack of originality.)

According to the stats, internet usage grew by 16% last year in Qatar, the majority of which was ADSL. Internet accounts had grown by 53,000 to over 80,000 in the third quarter of last year.

Interestingly, the report estimated internet penetration at 9%. I am not sure exactly what this means or how they estimate this - it seems like they may have calculated this by taking the number of internet accounts and the general population and working it out from there.

However, many households share an internet account, while general use of the internet is much higher than the number of accounts would suggest. Every office has internet, the parks have wireless internet these days, internet cafes are usually crammed and there are loads of cafes where you can use the internet for the price of a cup of coffee.

However, according to a friend who manages a major company's website, the people not using the internet are the Qataris. Another friend, who teaches computers in an independent school, confirmed this.

"The students come to school in a landcruiser or a pickup truck, but they don't even have a single computer in the house."

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar internet stats

Common Plants of Qatar : Qatar Natural History Group

The Qatar Natural History Group will be holding its monthly talk on Wednesday this week with an introduction to the plants of Qatar. Dr Renee Richer, a biologist at Cornell University, will be giving the talk, and will be bringing along samples, as well as explaining how these plants survive in a harsh desert climate.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar plants QNHG

Night Riders come to Qatar

A historical night race - the first one ever to be held in the Middle East - is to be held shortly on Losail race track on the 9th of this month for the first round of the Qatar Moto GP.

After recent testing proved that initial difficulties had been worked out, 3600 flood lights with a total power of 5.4 million watts will light up the desert track.

"They have done a fantastic job with the lights," said Toseland, a British rider. "I was here in November when just three corners were lit and to do what they have done is a great effort."

The race may prove challenging. Despite the number of floodlights, visibility is still not the same as the day, and one rider complained that during tests he found the shadows very tiring on the eyes.

During tests riders have also been struggling with the humidity, with Toseland resorting to a face mask.

Racing at night - the start will be 11 o'clock - means working a night shift, too. "Getting your body fired up when it wants to shut down is very difficult,' said Toseland. Rossi has also mentioned difficulties, complaining about the cold and suggesting a night race would make more sense later in the year.

Nevertheless, the race is going ahead with the rider's approval, and having this night race - not to mention doing so before Singapore (which will be holding a Formula 1 race in September) - is a coup for Qatar and the race organisers, who are hoping for bumper television audiences.

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travellers have to say about Qatar

Tags

Qatar race losail Moto GP