Brunch at the Ramada: Review

“Why on earth would anyone want to leave England?” My aunt’s disapproving words, spoken on my last trip home, drifted through my head as I floated in the warm water, gazing dreamily up at the cloudless blue sky.

We were at The Ramada. Every Friday morning, The Ramada has a "brunch and swim". On this day, almost everyone there was expatriate and Western. Not surprising, for this is the end of Ramadan, when it is forbidden for Muslims to eat or drink in the daylight hours. It must be very difficult for those waiters who are Muslim to watch us Westerners stuff our face with successive plates of food.

Unfortunately the brunch is light on Arabic food, though it includes stalwarts like Tabouleh (Lebanese salad) and Om Ali (a traditional Arabic pudding). It has standard breakfast fare (or, at least, its non-pork equivalent), though the bacon and mushrooms are overdone and the toast a little soggy.

The seafood section, on the other hand, was superb. There was prawn salad, grilled hamour (a local fish) and “trout fish”. You can have omelettes and noodles cooked for you while you wait, and there’s Haagen Daaz ice-cream and candy floss for the kids. Overall there was an excellent selection of food. However, it was busy on the day we went, and the waiters were struggling to cope, which meant a very long wait for coffee and tea.

After the meal, you can relax by the swimming pool in the hotel grounds. There’s a Jacuzzi, pool with a large (if ugly) bar, and children’s pool with a superb slide. It’s supposed to be for 6-9 years old, but as we were in Qatar no-one blinked an eye at a two year old and a thirty-two year old whizzing down it in glee.

All in all, excellent value for 90 riyals (24 dollars). Unfortunately, from next week, swimming will be at an additional charge. Tax included, the price will be 165 riyals (45 dollars). See you at the Mercure!

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Salt Marshes

The salt marshes at Al Thakira, near Al Khor, make a welcome change of scenery from the desert.

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Buying property in Qatar: Essential information and unbiased opinion

Future updates to this post will be made on the Property Guide section of our website.

Since 2004 foreigners have been able to buy property in Qatar. However, unbiased and practical information on the web is extremely limited: this is a place where you need to get down on the ground and dig around. We’ve tried to do at least some of that for you.

What’s the choice?

Foreigners can buy property in designated areas. The three main ones are The Pearl, West Bay lagoon and Al Khor but other places are now becoming available. The Pearl is currently being promoted hard, but if you ring Barwa (see below for number) they will offer you other areas.

Currency

Prices are sometimes quoted in riyals, sometimes in dollars. 1 dollar is equal to 3.64 riyals. The currency is tied to the dollar, and so is not subject to short term fluctuations.

Property Prices

Hunter and Hunter are charging from 112,000 dollars for a studio apartment to 205,000 dollars for a one bedroom apartment on The Pearl.

The Pearl’s representative offered us a 3 bedroom apartment (312 square metres), top floor with views of the marina for between 2.8 (nearly 770,000 dollars) and 3.14 million riyals (about 862,000 dollars). Town houses vary from 1.9 million (522,000 dollars) to 3.6 million riyals (988,000 dollars). They all have views of the sea.

Barwa Real Estate Agents offered us villas in West Bay for 2-4 million riyals and in Al Khor for between 1.5 and 2 million riyals(550,000 to 1,100,000 dollars).

The Pearl, Qatar

Overview:

- Man-made island constructed on former pearl diving reef linked by causeway to main land.
- 2.5 billion dollar, 985 acre development which will create 30km of new coastline. According to The Pearl Qatar’s website it will have 40,000 residents and 11,000 villas, town homes, penthouses and apartments.
- Aims to develop Mediterranean atmosphere and style. Will essentially be a gated and self sufficient community, completely shut off from all the riff-raff like me!
- Shops will be targeted at the “top end of the market” i.e. expensive (but there are loads of shops in the City Center mall a few minutes away).
- Will contain three marinas and berths for 700 boats and three five star hotels. There will also be “canals, lakes and internal navigable coves”!

How high above sea-level are the properties?

Marina houses are two metres above sea-level, other properties 8 metres.

Going for the Italian style...

Legal details:

The Pearl – their representative claims you don’t need a lawyer. You sign a standard agreement reserving your right for occupation with the legal department of The Pearl. When you make the final payment you get the title of the property. You have to register the property with the land department at your own cost.

Purchase details

At the Pearl at least the property is completely freehold. Purchase will consist of an initial 20% deposit. The rest is payable in installments over the next two years, with the final 5% paid on completion. Mortgages can be used to pay up to 85% of the price.

Other costs

You pay for the registration of your property with the land department. There is no capital gains or inheritance tax. If you sell your property before it has been completed you pay a 2.5% transfer fee. The developer also has first right of refusal. However, these conditions end when you have taken complete possession of the property.

Is property selling well?

It’s going like hot cakes.

Is there a shortage then?

There seems to be, but buildings are shooting up everywhere, so this could change.

What about visas?

When you buy a property you can obtain residency for you and your dependents. This is guaranteed as long as you are “disease free” (this refers to infectious diseases like HIV and TB), and you do not have a criminal record. You have to organize the visa yourself (or pay someone to do it for you). This involves going to immigration (not the most fun place in the world) and providing proof of ownership. You can also obtain residency for your dependents. This includes parents, wives, husbands and children. According to the Pearl’s representative, when children get married they are no longer considered to be dependents.

Note – it is well worth paying someone to do your paperwork/immigration for you. If you do so it is not normally necessary to go to immigration in person. This should really be done for you by the developer, as it would both save you a lot of hassle and time and cost them peanuts.

Renting out property

Expatriates are allowed to rent out property and can either do so through an agency or by themselves. They retain their residency when renting out property.

Alcohol

Restaurants and cafes on The Pearl will have alcohol licenses.

Who do I buy from?

With The Pearl you can buy through agents or directly from the developers.

Other property is extremely hard to find on the internet, (sometimes it almost seems as if it’s a secret), and requires real digging around to find. The best method is to contact agents with a local presence directly.

Estate Agents

The best – sometimes the only way – to get hold of these guys is to ring them. There are only two of many below, but they answered the phone (not as usual as you might expect, especially just before Ramadan), were helpful and spoke good English.

Barwa (0974 499-8888) – have no email or website but their receptionists speak good English. They also sell in other areas besides The Pearl, and have land for sale.

Mirage – Mirage actually have a website (http://www.mirageproperty.com/) and an email address:info@mirageproperty.com, (they don’t actually reply, so maybe it’s just an illusion). Their agent in Qatar is Ab Sher: Mobile: 5710790 Office 4444431 extension 123. Address: P.O. Box 22621, Doha, Qatar.

On-line Estate Agents

Findaproperty.com currently have three properties listed on-line.

What’s going to happen to prices?

Prices in the short to medium term are notoriously difficult to predict. Developers, obviously, are predicting a price rise. However, the real estate boom has to be tied in part to the huge inflow of money into Qatar from the high price of gas and oil. It’s possible that a fall in these prices could affect prices in the short to medium term.

On the other hand, developers claim this is just the start of what is going to happen.

Could it be possible that this is the start of a real estate boom (or bubble)? Could Qatar emulate Dubai? Well, Qatar may have a long way to go, but it has the oil and gas money to do it.

Are there any other reasons to buy?

Well, have you thought about taxes? This is a tax free country. If you are living here for the long term, or want to rent your property, rents are sky high – rental yields are currently 10% (http://www.ameinfo.com/). Of course, there’s no guarantee these rents will remain high.

The government is putting a huge effort into developing the country (with plans to invest 150 billion dollars over the next five years) and is obviously trying to follow in Dubai’s footsteps.

If you are planning to live here:

- There’s good fishing, scuba diving and sailing.

- There’s a huge range of nationalities and restaurants.

- This is a relaxed and liberal country for the area, and you can easily buy alcohol.

- Schools are good value for money.

- It is virtually crime-free.

Other reasons not to buy:

If you are planning to live here:

Qatar is great for a few days, and is developing rapidly. However, you need to be sure you could live here in the long term. A few things to consider are:

- You are not allowed to purchase alcohol during Ramadan, even in hotels, although you can stock up prior to Ramadan.

- If you like opera and theatre – forget it. Come back in a few years when the place is developed a bit more.

- It can be bloody hot in the summer, even in the evening.

- Bureaucracy!

Terrorist threat?

Where isn’t there a terrorist threat? I’m from London and there have been a lot fewer deaths here than in London. Having said that, we are in the Middle East, close to Saudi Arabia. There is perhaps a danger that Qatar’s modernization and liberalization could make it a target for terrorists.

Further information:

Check out The Pearl - Qatar Website for pictures and FAQS, and the Qatar Property section of our website for more articles.

Contact:

The Pearl-Qatar: PO Box 7256, Doha, State of Qatar
Tel: +974 4463400Fax - +974 4438971
Email: info@thepearlqatar.com

Links:

Laying down roots in Qatar A journalist’s blog. Describes a visit to the home of the first expatriate to build his own house in Qatar.
Property for sale/rent in Crete
Qatar Real Estate
Hotel Search
Qatar on Travel Advisor

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Ramadan Boom

A army cannon fires to mark the end of the day's Ramadan fasting.

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Escape from Qatar - continued

By Steve


Back to introduction

Trial the First: or Nobody Knows Anything

Now, I gave my notice in 3 months in advance and they issued the forms shortly after this, all in Arabic of course. So eager and keen, with shiny shoes and winged feet I did set off from the school with my forms, fully armed with all the facts, to the Min of Ed offices.

First stop, the third floor, which is the personnel dept. “No no no not here” they tell me "4th floor first". Oh, this was after they ripped up my form and gave me another one… thankfully, as the new one doesn’t require me to go to the State Library etc for a stamp. Ok so then, first stop 4th floor. “No no no” they tell me, “Your school must be do this first”. Ok first stop the school. Ah. Everyone has gone home. Then I discovered that as the process cancels your sponsorship, it should not be done more than 7 days before you leave… Also, in order to get paid you have to get clearance from your bank, but I couldn’t do that as someone had cancelled my pay for the previous month and so I couldn’t close my bank account…

Trial the Second: The Banks; Who Think They Know, But Don’t

Your primary bank / credit card supplier needs 45 days to cancel your credit card. They will lock your account to the credit limit of your card for 30 days as soon as you cancel it. They will not, of course, tell you that they are going to do this… you can unlock it if you find a guarantor who has an account at the same branch. Anyway, note that to the cancellation period you must add enough time to get the bank’s letter of clearance, without which you cannot get your closing pay or final clearance. In case anything goes wrong I suggest this is done at least a week early. Therefore, at least 2 months before you go you have to cancel your primary bank credit card… not much use if you are terminated on the contracted 30 day notice…

If, like some of us, you got a second credit card with a different bank, i.e. not your primary salary bank, the cancellation times are different. Commercial Bank stopped my 2nd card, and said they needed ‘about’ one week for clearance, but again be warned; I was first told they needed no time, then 3 days, then a week, then 15 days… this last was 14 days before I was leaving… Really, no-one knows anything, but they all think they do. Check everything twice. At least. They eventually sorted it out in 24 hours as I hadn’t used the card for a while and had actually left it at the bank since the previous week, thinking they had cancelled it… They hadn’t. Grrr!!

Of course, having settled my card and cancelled it, I found out when I went back to my primary bank to get my clearance letter from them that they in turn must get one from your secondary bank (if you pay by direct debit) saying you are clear before they issue it. The second bank had just 20 minutes earlier told me that I didn’t need a letter from them… grrrr. As I had yet to be paid I needed the clearance letter, but also needed to keep the account open and they, surprisingly, said that was ok. The Commercial bank letter cost QR50 and it takes them 5 days after you cancel your credit cards (note this is for second cards; they still have the 45 days rule if you also bank with them). HSBC charge QR100 and did it on the spot, but obviously this was 45 days after I cancelled my credit card and I have no other loans. If you have a car loan ask your bank about the procedures.

Trial The Third: or Queuing at Qtel, Who Tell You Nothing

City Centre Qtel are hopeless unless you are bill paying so don’t go there. Ever. Especially for this. In fact the Al Sadd main office is the only place you do this, I was told. You cannot, as for all Qtel services, do it on the phone…

I have only the very simplest Qtel package for my landline and a pre-paid mobile, what could be more simple? I never use the phone except for pre-pay internet. I would expect the system to be basically the same for broadband users, but it may be more complex. Who knows? Well not Qtel for a start! The fourth person I spoke to, at the Al Sadd branch, gave me a phone (which, by the way, didn’t work properly… ) and the upshot is that you have to pay your bill, cancel the service and 24 hours later go back and get your form stamped and a clearance letter. Easy. You must have done this before work will finalise you, leaving you without a phone or home internet until you leave.

You MUST have your ID and passport with you when you fill in the cancellation form (at customer service queue A). Again, once I’d zipped home to get these and returned to Qtel the lovely lady cancelled me on the spot and indeed 24 hours later I got the clearance letter and stamp (at the information desk). The 24 hours gives time for calls to mobiles to get registered. Note that if you have international dialling and/or a post-paid mobile this may be longer. Ask them as they change it all the time.

Trial the Fourth: The Ministry Know-How

So anyway, back to my Employer’s forms… the school filled in their bit, a colleague filled out the guarantor form to say he will pay any bills of mine for up to a year after I leave… and I, fleet of foot, went back, with high hopes, to the Ministry. Fourth floor. Salary dept. No problem, he says as he writes down all this money that I will be getting (considerably more than I was expecting for some reason). And did he look pleased with himself. Until I asked why I hadn’t been paid for November on pay day the previous week. Cue consternation, consultation, exasperation and finally, explanation; It was someone else’s fault. Definitely not his. Ah.

Luckily, some departments are well over staffed and a chap I know from the school helped out. Don’t close your bank account they said, or we cannot pay you until the day before you leave… yeah like I’d risk that! They had to recalculate, re-apply for and re-write (and re-confirm of course) my final pay. And add 20% to it because of the recent pay increases. My Boss pulled out all the stops and they found my papers in the bottom of a drawer underneath a pile of paperclip requisition forms or something in a completely different ministry and I was duly issued with a cheque (correct as well!) a full week before I left! Couldn’t believe it! Then the cheque was taken off me as it was only the cheque to the Min of Ed to cover my eventual pay cheque… not actually my cheque at all. Of course. Money is transferred between ministries on an individual basis, not budgeted and then dolled out. So every single person’s every pay packet must get arranged, transferred, paid in, checked, paid out. By hand. Every month. Wow.

The rest wasn’t so bad really. 1st floor for housing (he wanted my key… I just asked if I could sleep at his house for the next 10 days and he signed the form!) back to the fourth floor to stamp this. Back to the housing guy to sign for gas and electricity, as ours are included, and back to the 4th to get that stamped. Down to the 2nd floor to the supply dept for god knows what reason. No-one checked me in a file or on a computer or anything! In fact they would have got ‘one of the boys’, by which they mean Indians/Pakistanis (they have a little catching up to do around here…) to do it but they had all been given 2 weeks off to fill up the seats at the Asian games.

Trial The Last

So the final bit. All is done. Please sign this part nice Mr. 3rd floor man. “No no no not sign before 7 days you go out Qatar.” Ummm what? I am glad Qatar Airways have a free cancellation and rebooking service, I booked and cancelled four times! Juggling pay by dates just to keep a seat on my preferred flight. I couldn’t get the flight voucher from the Ministry until after all this is completed and while the refund procedure is too not too bad, QR100 I was told, I couldn’t pay for the ticket as of course I had had to cancel my credit card and hadn’t been paid! Again at the fourth time of trying a chap at QA said ok no problem I mark it ‘billed’ and it won’t be cancelled as it looks like you paid. Huh? Oh well, it worked so who am I to complain?!

So back I went 7 days before I was due to leave. I got my Qtel form and everything, nicely timed to finish it all off on the Thursday morning. Except my next stop on the third floor was the travel section, who gave me a new form to fill in at the immigration dept. It is they, not the employers, who have to cancel the sponsorship. Then come back here he said and looked at his watch. No time today do on Sunday. Arrrghh. I had been too efficient for them and now had no internet over the weekend!

So Sunday came and I asked where I should go. I didn’t know where they were talking about so they said try the Post Office as there is an immigration service there. The nice non-English speaker told me to ‘go on roundabout and next and next see bridge’ and desperate hand gestures. I trusted him and duly drove off looking for a bridge. I finally found the traffic police building, you’ll have been there to get your driving licence transferred, and asked a bloke where the immigration dept was. And hey presto there I was… in the right place! But in the wrong room of course. Go to the right side of the building, ground floor, entrance three and get a ticket and wait. It’s really easy when you know how! I just walked around pleading with anyone who spoke English and a nice chap just stopped his queue and did my stamp. Easy. Back to the min of ed to get paid.

Um no, in fact, of course. The final check and staple guy said ‘no this not right’ he wanted the guarantor form stamped, not just signed, and a photocopy of the guarantor’s ID card. No-where on the paper does it say we have to do this so I went to the head of department and ‘suggested’ that they amend the form. Of course no-one knows whose job it would be to do such a thing so it’ll never happen! Anyway there was just enough time to belt the 13km back to the school and then the 13km back to the min of ed. Ok finish finish I said!! No now go downstairs to ground floor. Every peice of paper has to have a paperwork number put on it and a copy kept by a bloke on the ground floor. He worryingly unstapled all my forms and split them up. He smiled and said go 4th floor for pay. I got my flight ticket (3rd floor). Pay cheque? No. The manager had gone home early. Aaarrghh! Come back tomorrow! Next day, it was waiting for me. Humdallah!

Last thing, and a good job I asked as no-one told me… you still have to have the normal exit permission papers to leave the country. And have them stamped at the airport of course. A final note on the Min of Ed: To change sponsorship, and this extends to two years after you leave, a ‘no objection letter’ is required from the previous employers. I am informed by the horse’s mouth that the Min of Ed do not give no objection letters. Otherwise you are free to come and go as a normal visitor.

Overall it cost me only QR200 and, in the end, just over 230km of extra driving around the city! (68.8 on the final day alone!) I quite enjoyed it, as nothing really went wrong compared to what I had heard from other people. One lady who didn’t do all this when she left at the end of last still hasn’t been paid, and probably won’t be. So grin and bear it, it ain’t so bad! There is enough time to do the last day in one go.

So the perfect schedule should look like this:
Choose a day to finish on; Hand in your notice and wait for your forms. Your school does bits, your guarantor does bits. Ask the local boss to check your pay is being counted. Wait. Count 3 days before your leaving date. 45 before this date cancel your credit card and 10 days before cancel any 2nd cards). 4 days before you leave cancel your phone at 8 am, then get your bank letter and then get work to do all their housing and supply bits. At 8am 24 hours later get the Qtel stamp, go straight to the immigration dept and then go to get your pay and flight coupon. This gives 2 whole days spare! Good luck!

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Fancy a holiday in Qatar, anyone?

Qatar has been working hard to promote itself as an attractive destination. But is it working, and is it worth going?

Growth in travel

Anyone who has been in Qatar for long will have noticed the extraordinary growth in buildings, many of them hotels. Sometimes it seems that every time you turn your back a building shoots up behind you. (Unlike in the public sector, private construction is super fast). This growth in infrastructure has been matched by a growth in population, much of it expatriate or transient.

Obviously, with all the extra people coming into the country there is increasing pressure on Doha's airport, and sometimes it seems there is barely room to stand. And it’s going to get busier. Not only is Qatar Airways expanding at a phenomenal rate, planning to double the number of planes it has by 2015, there is also an ever increasing number of airways flying to Qatar. (See the full list of airlines that fly to Qatar at the end of the article – including some that you’ve probably never heard of before).

New airport

Qatar is responding by both increasing the size of its existing airport, and by building a multi-billion dollar new airport which will cover 2,200 hectares (8.5 square kilometres) of land, some of it reclaimed from the sea. This new airport will be able to handle millions more travellers a year.

Getting the punters to come

How is Qatar going to get all these travellers to come? Well, it is conveniently placed, although its claim to be the centre of the world might be a slight exaggeration. (It also claims Qatar will change your life. Hmm). There are some great stopover deals available, and it is promoting itself as a place for conferences through its MICE. (No, it doesn’t use small furry rodents as diplomats – it’s an acronym for meeting, incentives, conferences and exhibitions). It’s also increasingly liberal (i.e. easy to get a drink). The shopping is fantastic, and at the moment it can still be very good value for money - see my article on A Night with a Whirling Dervish!

Is it working?

You bet! There isn’t an empty hotel in the place, even though they keep sticking up more. Last year saw 600,000 tourists (Qatar Tourism Authority) and Qatar hopes to more than double that by 2010.

Is it worth a visit, then?

For a few days, yes. There’s actually quite a lot you can do including dune bashing, game fishing, scuba diving, sand boarding and sailing. And you can bet your life Qatar will keep on adding to what’s here. See their flashy website for what’s on (and see if you can work out the difference between coming events and future events! And past events, for that matter.)

What about sport?

There’s a huge emphasis on sports, despite (or perhaps because of) Qatar’s growing obesity problem. The coming Asian Games are only one example of this. Not only are most of these events free or very reasonable (50 riyals for the world super bike racing, for example), you can also win prizes.

Which airline?

Qatar Airways has superb service. (The wine’s nice too). As it keeps reminding us, it’s a five-star airline. If you’re flying direct to Doha, however, it’s not always the cheapest – personally, I use Gulf Air when I pay for my own flights, but I’m a cheapskate. As ever, you need to look around and suss out the best deal. (See below for Travel Advisor and Expedia links).

The Privilege Club

If you are living in Qatar (and that often means free flights on Qatar Airways) you should definitely join Qatar Airways privilege club. In addition to air miles, you also earn other bonuses like extra baggage, admission to the business lounge and priority upgrades.

The Future

Qatar still has a lot to do. Last weekend I went off in search of the burial mounds in Umm Salal Ali. There were no signs, and the locals denied all knowledge of their existence. On the way back (having admitted defeat) we stopped to see a fort in Um Salal Mohammed. Although the fort had been refurbished (read knocked down and rebuilt) and was open, again there was no guide, no information and no exhibits, only an empty porta cabin It wasn’t a wasted journey – we saw a different side of Qatar, dustier and more run-down with camels in make shift pens – but it’s not very impressive for a country which is trying to develop its tourism industry.

Nevertheless, Doha is trying to follow in the footsteps of Dubai, and certainly has the money and resources to do so. Watch out world, there’s a small, flat desert country out to make a name for itself.

See also:

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Cheap flights to Qatar

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Full list of airlines that fly to Qatar

American airlines, Air Arabia, Air India, Biman: Bangladeshi Airlines, British Airways, DHL, Egypt Air, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iran Air, Iran Aseman Airlines, KLM, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Martinair, MEA, Oman Air, PIA, Royal Jordanian, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Shaheen Air International, Sri Lankan Airlines, Sudan Airways, Syrian Arab Airlines, Ukraine International Airlines, Yemenia



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A Night with a Whirling Dervish

Friday night saw us at the Ramadan tent in The Marriott Hotel. Ramadan tents traditionally provide free food for the poor, but have been adopted by the big hotels to, er, make money. Some tents start at Iftar, at sunset, but The Marriott’s tent starts at nine o’ clock.

The tent Actually, to my disappointment, it wasn’t a tent, but a room done up like a tent. The decor is very traditional and luxurious, with moons and stars hanging down from the ceiling. You can sit at a table, or lounge on a sofa with a shisha, as waiters walk round swinging coals to keep them hot. It actually feels very decadent, which is strange, since this is Ramadan, the month of fasting and abstention.

Food The food took the form of a buffet, with traditional Arabic and Turkish foods. There were almost no meat dishes: the second evening meal in Ramadan is normally a light one. I started with a shorbet gaza, or carrot soup, followed by Arabic bread, fattoush and tabouli ( Lebanese salads), humus and mohamarra: a dip made from red pepper, garlic, pomegranates and walnuts. I finished off with a delicious basbousa umm ali, an old Egyptian recipe which can perhaps best be described as a cross between rice and bread pudding.

Drink The buffet includes a range of sweet juices to accompany the meal, none of which I’d ever heard of, topped with roasted pine nuts. They included orkusus, a dark juice made from a type of grass and karkade which is made from hibiscus flowers. After the meal we finished off with strong Turkish coffee.

Shisha Shisha refers to the smoking of tobacco with a hookah. There were three types of tobacco to choose from: apple, grape and strawberry. The smoke is smooth, not at all like cigarettes, and very relaxing.

The Entertainment Through most of the evening there was traditional Arabic music, pleasant but over-loud. However, the highlight of the evening was the whirling dervish. Whirling dervishes were originally mystic dancers, and the dance involves spinning around, often very fast, for 20 minutes or so. As the dervish does this, his huge costume rises and falls making incredible shapes, at times obscuring his body so that only the blur of his feet are visible. And he doesn’t fall over when he finishes!

Service The service was excellent from start to finish, and when we admired the friendly waitress’s traditional clothing she was happy to pose for a picture.

Price The buffet cost 75 riyals + 17½ percent tax and service. Shisha was 25 riyals, a Turkish coffee 17 Riyals. For seven of us the total bill came to 819 Riyals: incredible value, considering the entertainment, and we couldn’t help comparing it to what we could have paid in England!

Location The Marriot hotel is located on Ras Abu Abboud Street next to the Sailing Club and close to the Dhow Workshop and Oasis hotel. Drive along the Corniche, past the harbour, and take the third exit off the roundabout by the Doha Club.

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Ramadan

Fasting in the desert

Note: You can see an update and expanded version of this post here: Ramadan in Qatar.

In Qatar, as in the rest of the world, we are entering the final stage of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Muslims don’t, of course, fast at night, but from dawn to dusk. The last ten days are the most important to Muslims and a time of prayer and meditation for many.

The most important night is Lailut-Ul-Qadr, the 27th night of Ramadan, or the night of power, when the first verse of the Koran was revealed to Mohammad. According to Mohammad, this night is more important than a thousand months. Some Muslims spend the entire night in prayer.

Every day will start before dawn with Suhur, the pre-fast meal. During the day the devout will abstain not just from food, but also from drink, sex and other pleasures. Many Muslim friends have told me that the thing they find hardest is not smoking.

During the day Muslims hope that the fasting will not only draw them closer to God, but also lead to greater empathy with the poor and hungry. All capable Muslims must give Zakat, a proportion of their wealth which is donated to the poor and needy. Throughout Ramadan, food and drink is distributed for free in Ramadan tents.

In Qatar, Ramadan also means major changes in lifestyle. Working hours are often dramatically reduced, and nearly everything in the city is closed from midday, re-opening after eight o' clock in the evening. Many people sleep in the afternoon, and sometimes it seems that day has been moved to night. One Sudanese friend compared fasting in Qatar to Sudan:

“The people here are just playing at fasting. They should try it in the Sudan, living in a hut with no fan, let alone AC, and working hard in the sun all day. That’s fasting!”

Fasting may not be as easy as he suggests, but the changes in lifestyle probably means it is easier for many indoor workers to observe Ramadan than it is in many Western countries. In addition Muslims outdoor workers, (rarely Qatari), often work night shifts, with colleagues of other religions replacing them in the day.

At the end of the day it's traditional for Muslims to break the fast with water and dates. They then pray, before eating the main meal of the day. (Some people have a second, lighter, meal later in the evening). This is a lovely time to drive on Qatar’s normally busy streets! The busiest place is the Corniche, with many families choosing to break their fast under the palm trees at the sea front.

All this fasting doesn't mean that there is no fun to be had. Feasts are laid out at night, and music and entertainment is laid on. Indeed, sometimes it seems more eating takes place during Ramadan than at normal times, and certainly some people put on weight during Ramadan! Expatriates and visitors of other religions are welcome to join in this feasting.

Non-Muslims are not required to participate in the fasting, although it's advisable to show respect in public places. Food and drink during the day can be obtained at hotels and some clubs, although the sale (not the consumption) of alcohol is banned for the duration of the month. These restrictions on eating and drinking do not, of course, apply to children, the sick, the pregnant or the frail.

Tips:

Do say:
Ramadan Mubarrak / Ramadan Kareem
(Roughly equivalent to Happy Ramadan).

Don’t say:
“I’m starving. Pass the biscuit tin, will you?”

Links

Ramadan in Qatar: Fasting and Health

The Five Pillars of Islam

Adhan: The Muslim Prayer Call

Festivals in Qatar

Qatar, Ramadan and Expats

Ramadan on Wikipedia


An idiots guide to Ramadan (BBC website)

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Pearl Fishing

Visit the Gold Souk and ask to look at pearls and a shop owner will show you a huge range of perfect, identical shiny Japanese cultured pearls. However, if you nag him, he will eventually bring out some original Qatari ones. These are not the same size, nor do they have the same perfect identical shape – but these are the remains of a once huge industry that provided the backbone of the Gulf economy.

It was not an easy industry. Men would leave their homes for months, although financial reward was far from certain. The process was dangerous, for the waters were shared with jellyfish, barracuda, sword fish and sharks.

Men would close their noses with clips made out of bone and wood, and grasp a stone to take them to the bottom of the sea. Once there, they would grasp the oysters, cutting them from rocks if necessary, and put them into bags attached to the line. When their bags were full, or they were exhausted, they would jerk the line sharply and their handler would pull them to the surface.

Each dive could last up to two minutes, and a diver would make 60 to 100 of these dives in a day. With depths of up to 200 feet, divers could suffer from hallucinations, earaches and the bends. These afflictions were attributed to evil djinns, and the sailors would treat the suffering diver by covering him with a sail, sitting upon him, reading him verses from the Koran and burning incense under his nose.

The retrieved pearls were sometimes skinned to improve their quality and appearance. A delicate balance had to be struck between improving the shape and removing too much of the skin. Ronald Codrai, in his book The Seven Sheikhdoms, recalls this being done during an auction. As more skins were removed and the appearance improved the bids went up.

Pearl trips were financed by merchants, who subsequently took half of the proceeds, subtracted costs and any cash advances and distributed the remaining profit among the crew. In a bad season the result could be debt. It’s not surprising, then, that with the combination of cultivated pearls from Japan and easy oil money coming in the industry died.

Nowadays memories of the pearl industry shape Qatar’s image and are exploited for tourist and business reasons. Statues of oysters and pearls are common and close to Doha is the massive Pearl Lagoon development. Or you could go and nag that shop owner to pull out some old Qatari pearls...


More on pearl diving

Pearl diving: A personal perspective

Buy pearls


The rise of the Qatari ruling family



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Arriving at the airport

Future updates will made to the website version of Arriving at the Airport

Al Maha Meet and Greet Service

If you want a really smooth arrival the Al Maha meet and greet service will meet you at the aircraft. They will take care of all your needs while you relax in their lounge. Al Maha also helps with departures and transfers. The cost is 70 riyals for the first person and 40 for additional persons. Tel +974 465 6672, Fax +974 4622612 Email: almahaservice@qatarairways.com.qa . You can also book them through any Qatar Airways office outside the country.

Baggage

Although you can buy alcohol in Qatar, it is illegal to bring it into the country. Pork is also not allowed in the country. Upon arrival, your baggage will be x-rayed before you can leave the airport. Some goods may have duty – cigarettes are charged at 100% duty.

Expat Medical Insurance.


Search and Book Hotels


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Qatar Visas

NOTE - Future updates will be made to the Visa Section of our website.

Also see our Qatar Visa Forum for discussion about visas.

Please check whether visa regulations have changed before your trip. We do our best to keep things correct and up-to-date but regulations can change quickly in Qatar.

Be careful - visitors overstaying must pay a fine for every day after the expiry of the visa.

Tourist visas

A two week visa on arrival is available for the residents of 33 countries including Britain, America, Canada and Australia (see below for full list) at a cost of 55 Riyals. Payment can be made at the immigration desk with Visa, Visa-Electron, Mastercard, Maestro or E-Cash. It can be extended for a further two weeks. A hotel booking or the presence of relatives in the country are required. Two week visas can also be arranged by hotel and tourist operators. A three-week joint tourist visa for Qatar and Oman is available; Qatar must be the first port of entry. This can be extended for a further week.

Passports must be valid for six months after the date of return. Exit visas are not required.

Full list of countries
Visa on arrival is available for the residents of these countries:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, The Netherlands, USA, UK, Vatican City.

Business Visas

These are organised by Qatari Companies for nationals from the full list of countries below. They are valid for two weeks. They can be extended for two weeks at airport immigration although it may be possible to extend them for longer. An exit visa is only needed if the individual on the business visa has stayed longer than four weeks.

Work Visas

Expatriates will normally enter on a single entry visa valid for three months. This will be arranged by the employer. Police clearance (“Certificate of good conduct”) from your country may be required prior to entry. Once in the country expatriates will need residents permits and work visas, normally arranged by their companies. In order to get this, expatriates will need a health check, which will include a blood test and chest x-ray. This will be followed by fingerprinting. You must also get your blood type tested. This can be done at Doha Clinic in Al Mirquab Al Jadeed street for a nominal fee.

Family visas

Workers sponsor their own families. In some circumstances, expatriates need to go ahead of their family and arrange their own resident permits before applying for a family visas. Apply at the department of Labour on C ring road next to the American Hospital and opposite the Avis Garage. You will be given a form to complete with a list of the relevant documents: approval letter from work, bank statement of salary for the last six months (for non-government employees), marriage certificates, children's birth certificates and education certificates (although you don't always need these in practice). The last three should be certified, but in practice you probably don't need to. Photocopies are acceptable. You also need passport photos of yourself, your spouse and your children. Alternatively, you may be able to bring your family on tourist visas. After they have arrived you can convert their visa to a residence permit.

Qatar Visit Visas

Residents in Qatar can sponsor family members. The visit visa lasts for one month but can renewed for up to five months for immediate family and for up to two months for other family residents. Residents in the country should apply at the immigration department near Landmark.

Exit Visas

Holders of work visas will require an exit visa before leaving their country. To get an exit visa they will require permission from their sponsor. You may also require a guarantor – a person who is willing to sign a letter guaranteeing that he will repay any of your debts before you are granted an exit visa. Dependants (women and children) do not need exit visas. Your exit visa must be stamped at the immigration building opposite the airport before leaving the country. If you do need an exit visa, you can print out a copy from here. If you don't read and write Arabic, you can take it to a typist. (Typists are available in Souq Wqaif, at immigration and in the Sofatel area).

Visit Visas

You can arrange for visit visas for your families. These are for one month but can be extended for up to five months for immediate family and up to two months for other family. The cost is 220 riyals for the visa, 50 riyals for a companion in the visa and 220 riyals for each month the visa is renewed.

Also see: Escape from Qatar

Links

Ministry of Interior

Cancelling your Qatar Visa

Qatar Visitor Friends

Qatar Jobs

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

Things that won't surprise you (much) about Qatar.


1. There is Sharia law. This will account for many of the other non-surprises about Qatar. As far as I know, this only applies to Muslims and a separate code exists for non-Muslims, although I’m not about to try and find out the hard way. This is a mild version of Sharia law, however, and I haven’t seen many involuntary amputees walking about. In fact, flogging is the only physical punishment I have heard about. Unlike some other nearby nations, the only thing you’ll see in football stadiums is football.

2. Sex is illegal (unless you’re married (to the person you're having sex with (gay marriages don't count)), that is). People caught having sex outside marriage can be pretty severely punished here, especially if they are Muslims and therefore under Sharia law. The police won’t be hanging around your hotel room in the Sheraton, though. You only really need to worry about this if you’re working here, and you’re particularly careless or crass about it.

3. Being gay isn’t too popular here. Don’t worry; they won’t chop any parts of your body off. You’ll just be asked to leave on (more or less) the next plane.

4. The internet’s censored. But only for pornography. You can freely get to political, religious and Israeli websites. It’s an understandable and (as far as I know) popular censorship. After all, most countries censor pornography to some extent. And this isn’t some Taliban definition of pornography; you can still visit your Vogue website. When they say pornography, they mean the real thing. The only problem with this censorship is that it tends to catch innocent websites too. Can anyone tell me what’s on funny.com?

5. Magazines are censored. We’re getting a bit more Taliban here, because a bit too much leg is out. The great thing is the absolute care with which this is done. Those be-thighed pages will not be ripped out of your magazine – such discourtesy is not Qatar’s style. No, no; the offending limbs will be carefully coloured in. Don’t you love this place?

6. Petrol (gasoline) is stupidly cheap. It’s about 10p (19c) per litre. You know petrol stations in the rest of the world have those special signs where they can change the price easily? Not here. The price is on a sticker. It never changes.

7. People still wear traditional clothing. This is a black abaya for women, and a white thobe for men. Given the sun around here, the men got the best part of that bargain.

8. You need a car. Boy do you need a car. It is possible to survive without one. I chose the word ‘survive’ advisedly.

9. The standard of driving is awful. If you took the average British white-van man, lobotomised him, and poked his eyes out, he still couldn’t drive worse than this lot. If Keith Moon had been Qatari, he would have crashed before he got to the swimming pool.

10. Religion. The elephant in the room. They take it very seriously. Having said that, I would describe these people as pious rather than fanatical. They are religious in the way that monks are. They don’t want to cut your head off – they want to hand you a leaflet.


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