Qatar knol

As the Gulf Times pointed out today, Google has launched its new knol service, which allows anyone to create their own page on anything they want. The service has prompted much debate - is this a feeble attempt to combat the popularity of Wikipedia, an innovative new service of its own or a sinister move to dominate the content of the internet by a company that already dominates internet search? Like Wikipedia, Google allows users to create their own pages, although unlike Wikipedia users can choose to retain control of their pages, allow approved editing or, like Wikipedia, throw it open to all and sundry. It remains to be seen whether the site will be a success or not, but in the meantime you may want to check out our knol page on Qatar!

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Where is the Ministry of Information?

Finding the Censorship Department

(Directions below)

My mobile phone beeped and I excitedly checked it - I was waiting for news of delivery of some books from America. It was indeed news that my book had arrived, but the message was far from pleasing:

Dear Customer,

Your Package under AWB ... containing (BOOK) is being held at customs; kindly call us for further details.

Sender: Aramex

It turned out that one of my books had been nabbed at customs and I would have to go and pick it up. I began to have panicky thoughts. What if the wrong book had been sent to me: Terrorism Today, perhaps, or even - dare I even think of it - a Winnie the Pooh book containing pictures of piglet! I tried to rack my brain to think of what I had ordered, but what I remembered - books on the culture and history of Qatar and the Middle East - didn't seem particularly threatening to the peace, morality or security of Qatar.

Aramex assured me that having books nabbed at customs was quite normal, and gave me a receipt to take there. Fast forward past a morning of searching, getting directions on the phone from Aramex, searching, driving to Aramex and getting an (awful) map from Aramex, searching again and finally I found it: a little white building with a Qatari flag flying in a little back street in the middle of nowhere.

(Actually I find it quite reassuring that the Ministry of Information isn't in one of those huge buildings in West Bay - it shows the Qataris have their priorities right.(Actually it is not called the ministry of information, which is what Aramex called it, but the department of censorship (and that was part of a different department.)))

I went in, was told that the building was shut by a young man exiting, exited, decided I didn't trust the young man and un-exited. I eventually navigated my way to the second floor, where fortunately the censor was still present, albeit on his mobile phone with his feet stuck on the desk. I got the impression he didn't get many visitors.

Actually, the censor was so charming I couldn't remain annoyed.

"We don't get many visitors," he beamed at me. "Most people can't find us."

I wanted to know why he had taken my book, and he told me that the people at the airport sent them to him as they couldn't read English.

"I can see why you have taken these ones," I said, glancing at a large book entitled: "The History of Pornography." I could also see a book on armaments and another one entitled Nuclear Energy for Beginning Terrorists (actually I made up the last three words). "But I don't think mine will be offensive."

"I am sure it won't be," he smiled at me, guiding me into the next room. The packages were still lying there on the floor. "When did it arrive? Two days ago - we might not have finished yet."

However, we managed to find the package and the book, which was entitled Qatar. Not only was it not offensive, it had a picture .

"So you are interested in Qatar," the censor said delighted. We exchanged names and hand shakes all round, and I left feeling that at least next time I would be quite happy to take a trip down the censors.

Which was good, because the next time came quite soon. And a suspicion as to why the books were confiscated. Both the books, and they were two out of many I had ordered, weighed over half a kilo. They were the only two books that had been confiscated, and the onlt two books of any size. Which lead me to the conclusion that only heavy books are regarded as dangerous. Which makes sense, really. How could ou do someone any harm with small light paperback, even if you hit them over the head with it really really hard?

Anyway, for anyone else in the same situation, first don't worry (unless you have ordered a heavy History of Pornography), and second here's some directions.

Directions to the Ministry of Information

The Ministry of Information is located in the Bin Mahmood area. To get there, drive from Sports Roundabout past Hamad Medical Center and Lulu Hypermarket. Go straight ahead at the traffic lights. You will turn right just before a petrol station (gas station for all you American-English speakers.) That's before Mannai roundabout. Drive straight down Ibn Mahmoud Street and take the second left, which is before you get to the traffic lights. You will see two pink buildings. Drive past them and you will come to an old grey building with a Qatar flag flying. This is the Ministry of Information. Make your way to the second floor (I found the stairs quicker than the lift) and you should find your book there.

Also see: Qatar Book reviews

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Holidays and Mobile Phones

Here's a quick reminder to those of you heading off on long holidays, and who top up your mobiles with hala cards. Be sure to purchase a couple of Hala cards before you go. Otherwise you could find that your validity is running out. While in theory it is possible to top-up your mobile phone from abroad, we have found it impossible for hala card users. If your validity runs out while abroad, you could find yourself having to buy a new sim card from Qtel, as we did last year.

Also see: Mobile Phones in Qatar

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Araboh.com

A great new little site, which has been set up in Qatar by a recent business graduate of Carnegie Mellon university, is Araboh.com.

The site has been set up by an Iraqi lady, named Jinane, who was born and brought up in the UK. Fortunately for her, she had parents who were careful to preserve her language and as a result she has become bilingual. As a result she is perhaps the ideal person to set up a site providing Arabic books for children.

The books are graded in different levels from baby to teens adults. The books vary from Arabic topics (the number one seller is Hassan Sees Everything) to books with Western themes (Teletubbies: Dipsy Dances.) Prices also seem very reasonable - Hassan Sees Everything retails for a mere $2.50.

Bringing children up bilingually has major advantages for the children in the long term. However, as children tend to head towards the majority language in whatever country they are from, encouraging active bilingualism is not always easy, which is why so many languages are lost by children and grandchildren of immigrants. Any site like this is therefore invaluable to parents struggling to maintain their language abroad, as well as for those studying Arabic and of course for Muslim parents who wish to stimulate an interest in Arabic for religous reasons.

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Qatar Gov launches new statistics website

A new statistics website has been launched for Qatar at http://www.qsa.gov.qa/ - which is great, because as things are changing so fast many of the statistics quoted not just on websites but on major and respected news and facts sources are now out of date.

The new website, for example, gives the current population of website as 1,448,446. This contrasts to the 928,635 given by the CIA world factbook, which it says is a July 2008 estimate, and the 841,000 given by the BBC. Only Wikipedia, often criticised for its inaccuracies, gets it right with its estimate of over 1,400,000.

This increase in population is down to the huge expansion in the expatriate work force. A quick look at the birth and death rate shows that Qataris are multiplying rapidly: the number of deaths (1750) is outsripped by a factor of 9 by the number of births (14120).

It would be nice if the website provided dates - presumably these refer to 2007, but I wasn't sure exactly. It was also interesting that the number of visits to museums stood at 31,309 - as every musuem in the country seems to be shut at the moment (see Museum Frustrations or Why it is hard to be tourist in Qatar) I wonder how the statistics authority came to that conclusion.

It would be nice if there was more information included - I would like to know their estimates for Doha's population, which in 2004 was put at 400,000 but which, according to unpublished statistics a friend passed on to me, is now around 900,000. However, this may be available from their publications section, which for some reason I can not access from work!

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The Old Shoe-Seller

I am in the process of adding some old photographs to the website. I was particularly intrigued by the image of a shoe-seller and repairer below, not because it showed how much some things had changed, but because it showed how little had changed for some people.



Just for comparison's sake, here is an image of a shoe-seller pictured today in the Sofatel area close to Souq Waqif.



You can see more pictures of Doha, both in the past and in the present, on the Doha section of our website.

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Doha Movie: The Remake

We weren't very happy with quality of our last movie on You Tube so we uploaded it to Vimeo, and got substantially better quality in return. the You Tube version should be quicker to load, though, so we have left the original Doha Drive movie below.

Doha Drive 2 from qatar visitor on Vimeo.

Also see our detailed Doha page, complete with articles, images, movies and sounds.






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Desert Photography

In the latest article on the website, Abigail Harman, a prize-winning professional photographer, gives her tips for taking great photographs in the desert. The article covers composition; choice of equipment, with a discussion of the best lens to use in different situations; a discussion of how best to take advantage of different light and general tips for desert photography.

Abigail Harman, who is a member of the Australian Photography Society the World Institute of Photographic Masters, is a professional photographer who is based in Australia and has won many awards for her work.

In addition to desert photography, she specialises in family and child photography, and is known for her use of natural light in both black and white and in colour photographs. You can visit her Family Photography website to see superb examples of her family and child photography.

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British Embassy Press Release: New Access Road

The British Embassy have sent us the following press release. For more information about the British Embassy, its history and its new location see British Embassy open for business.

New Wahda St access road to British Embassy in West Bay: old route no longer accessible

As of today, the access road to the British Embassy in West Bay is changing. Visitors to the Embassy should now approach from the Rainbow (Arches) roundabout and take the Wahda St exit towards Qatar University. The first exit off Wahda St on the right leads to the Embassy carpark.

The Embassy understands that the previous access road from Lusail St (Aladdin’s roundabout) will be closed as of 1 July. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but believe the new route will make it considerably easier for our customers to reach the Embassy.

A revised map of the route to the Embassy is available on our website at www.britishembassy.gov.uk/qatar

British Embassy Doha
30 June, 2008

Also see:

Full list of embassies in Qatar

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