BBC: Qatar Housing Crash

Qatar's steep housing price falls have made it onto a BBC news report.

The UK news channel, while pointing out that the country is forecast to grow by 16% this year, chronicles the over building which has lead to a surplus of demand over supply.

A representative of The Pearl, interviewed for the report, claims that it is taking a long term view and that it has not seen any price reduction.

Despite the title of the video, not everything in the report is negative.

The country can be pleased that it now pays the highest salary in the Gulf, a salary which is "luring" job seekers to the country.

The report also suggests that the outlook for prices in the long term is more positive.

You can see the full report here: Overbuilding Causes Qatar Crash.

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Coming to Qatar after May 01? Change your flight!

If you are coming to Qatar at the start of next month,and you are affected by the new visa rules. , it may be a good idea to change your flight and come a few days earlier.

Similarly, if you need to do a visa run, do one before the end of the month. That will give two months for you to decide what to do (or, even better, for the government to change its opinion).

Hopefully the government will delay or even cancel their plans to get rid of visa on arrival, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks to one of our readers for this wise suggestion!

Also see: Canceling your Qatar Visa

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Visa Change

IMPORTANT: This information has changed - please see our more recent Visa Update.

If you are planning to visit Qatar after 1st May please be aware that the current visa policy may be changing.

According to the Gulf Times at least some nationalities who used to be granted visa on arrival will now have to apply for a visa prior to arrival. These nationalities include France, America and the UK, which has a warning on its website.

I'm assuming that the report, which appeared in the Gulf Times and not the Peninsula on the 1st April, is not an April Fool's joke!

The sudden change in policy is likely to catch out thousands of visitors, many of whom come to Qatar to visit relatives.

If you are not sure whether the changes will apply to you, telephone your airline or travel agent to make sure.

Is Qatar ready?

This seems very short notice, and it is possible that Qatar will change its mind.

If not, hopefully the country is setting up the systems and personnel needed to deal with a massive increase in visa applications.

My own father telephoned the Qatar embassy in Britain (formerly very helpful) 14 times last year in an attempt to get an extended visa to Qatar. On the one occasion the phone was answered the person answering was neither polite nor helpful.

I also notice that there is yet to be any mention of the policy on the Qatar embassy page in America!

Tourism

It also seems a shame to take a move which will obviously seriously hamper tourism after the government has put so much effort into developing it.

Obviously the country doesn't need the money tourism generates, but it seems to want tourism nevertheless.

The city has built a brilliant souk and an arts museum which many visitors will enjoy, while the number of hotels in the country has exploded. It also holds numerous sporting events which attracts visitors from all over the world. But applying for a visa, especially if combined with unresponsive embassies, will soon put a dent in visitor numbers.

Read more: Gulf Times | Global Voices | Qatar Living

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Exile in Qatar

M.F. Hussein, the Indian artist persecuted for his nude paintings of Hindu deities, Hussein Bin Laden, long haired grandson of Omar Bin Laden, and Khaled Mishal, head of Hamas, have something in common.

All, at some time or another, have been given refuge by the state of Qatar.

In her latest super article for Qatar Visitor, Qatar Exile, Shabina S. Khatri covers the story of these exiles, interviewing Mishal's son in the process.

Read the full story here: Exile in Qatar.

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Doha

Qatar Censorship and Google Safe Search

Qatar has gone for a new, more light hearted censorship image.


Here's the old one for comparison:


Humerous ads doesn't change the fact that censorship is really, really annoying. This time I was going to the website to check out a flash player I was thinking of having done for one of my websites - the last time I came across it was when trying to access a website about safe colours.

Qatar now also forces Google safe search on us.

Again the problem is you can be searching for something quite innocuous and have it be blocked.

I searched for this man, former Lord Mayor of London, and a character in a children's story and and pantomine.

No luck!

At least not in the search results. Ads, for some reason, are allowed!

Tags

censorship

Arab Net Goes Live

The Arab Net conference, the first of its kind and scale in the Arab World, has now gone live.

We've been blogging about it for a while, and for me it's been fascinating how they have managed their online pr.

They reached out to us - and many like us - knowing that we would fall for the gentle flattery of an Arab Net logo to put on our site and a link back from Arab Net. (Yes, we are susceptible to flattery - although we did pull back at the thought of doing three blog posts a day on the conference. We don't blog as much as we used to, and it would throw the balance of this blog just a bit out of balance!)

Keeping up with the Conference

You don't have to be at the conference to follow what is going on - you can catch up with the latest on Twitter.

Right now, Qatar is being well represented. If you look on the Arab Net Twitter stream, you can see Mohammed Nannabhay, head of online at Al Jazeera and a staple of the Qatar internet.

And if you have a fast enough internet connection - not always the case in the Arab world you can watch it live here: Arab Net - Live.

Boosting Interest

One of the things which the conference will hopefully do - and which I think they are trying hard to do by building up links with bloggers - is build up interest in the Arab network.

Things have developed enormously since I set up a blog several years but a lot of people in Qatar, at least, do just not take it seriously - even as Qatar Living grinds the newspapers classifieds into the dust!

I spoke to one website developer, and he told me that many Qatar businessmen still view the internet as a toy for children.

None of ICT's conferences have been full (despite the excellent food provided at the Sharq Village and Spa :) ) and I can see now that there are only 99 viewers on the Arab Net live streaming.

At ICT's conference of media there were experts with tonnes of advice for newspaper owners, but little changed.

If interest is not boosted Qatar is likely to be left behind in the next web boom!

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Qatar Life Insurance

My life insurance in the UK ran out last year, and it proved a nightmare to try and renew.

What I wanted was a company in the UK to continue the insurance policy, but having lived several years out of the UK that didn't prove easy.

I investigated a couple of options in Qatar. However, I found that either the amount paid out was unsatisfactory, or that there were aspects of the terms and conditions which made me uncomfortable.

Eventually, I ended up in the ridiculous position of getting my uncle in the UK (a financial advisor himself) to find me a company which could provide life insurance.

I was fortunate that at the time I was looking for life insurance things in Qatar were changing.

Cowboy companies were being kicked out (I hear at least one went to Dubai!) and the Qatar Financial Centre was inviting quality firms to set up in the country.

After having problems finding a decent company ourselves, we are delighted to announce that one of these companies, Nexus, has taken an advertisement out with us.

As part of the deal, they have agreed to provide a monthly article on finance for expats - with a particular focus on Qatar.

You can read the first article here: Life Insurance in Qatar!

We hope you find it useful - and that if you are looking for life insurance you find the whole thing less of a maze than we did!

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Qatar's First Chamber Music Festival

It's an exciting week for Qatar music fans, as the Qatar Philarmonic Orchestra have their first Chamber Music Festival. The orchestra will be playing daily from March 23rd to the 26th at the Ladies Club in Aspire Zone

Tickets, which are priced at between QAR50 and QAR150, can be obtained at Virgin Megastore in Landmark and Villaggio or through Ticketing Box Office. You can find more information about the program by emailing qpopr@qf.org.qa.

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Qatar Moto GP 2010

MotoGP Qatar 2010 Preview - Is Stoner back on form?

After total domination by Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Fiat) through the previous training at Losail Circuit, Australian Casey Stoner put one over the Italian hero and put in the fastest lap of the week. Meanwhile the Spanish rider, Jorge Lorenzo, trailed well behind in 6th. However, Lorenzo is taking pain killers to cope with an injured hand which he said was making braking difficult. He later said that the preparation of the bike was "fantastic".

Qatar is once again the opening race of the season. Hopefully, this year the race will not be "washed out" like last year when a ferocious downpour forced the organisers to postpone the race for 24 hours. Not what one expects in the desert!

Rossi, the "Schumacher of MotoGP", is, of course, a multi-world championship winner, only Stoner having beaten him to the Championship 2 years ago. No one else seems to be in the running, although lap times were very close among the leaders and Lorenzo was challenging Rossi very closely last year.

The Qatar Moto GP race is unique being the only night race in the calender.

Day 2 Classification.

1. Stoner Ducati Marlborough 1.55.352
2. Rossi Yamaha Fiat 1.55.860
3.Davizioso Honda Repsol 1.55.880
4.Hayden Ducati Marlborough 1.56.116
5. Capirossi Suzuki .195
6. Lorenzo Yamaha Fiat .504
7. De Punlet Honda Repsol .505
8. Edwards Yamaha Monster .772
9 Kallo Ducati Pramac .767
10. Spies Yamaha Monster .780


Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

2010 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX - FERRARI 1,2

John reports on the recent Formula One race in Bahrain.

Ferrari had the best possible start to the season taking the first 2 places.

New Boy on the block.

Fernando Alsonso took first place after cheekily overtaking his team mate at the first corner and later taking advantage of a power loss in Vettel's Red Bull car to take the lead. Massa (Ferrari) and Louis Hamilton (McLaren) were also able to pass the ailing Red Bull to complete the podium.

More a procession than a race.

Sadly, the race could not exactly be described as exciting. The new regulations brought in in 2010 2010 did not improve racing, in fact rather the opposite. The cars had to carry full race fuel from the start as refueling had been banned. This meant the only stops were for new tyres. What this lead to was drivers having to conserve fuel and tyres, meaning even less overtaking than before and consequently a fairly boring race, which was more or less a procession.

Schumacher disillusioned.

The main comment about this was made by Michael Schumacher, who said that it was impossible to overtake and that while these regulations remained in force, that was how it would remain. Having said that, Rosberg (Mercedes) was able to overtake Hamilton early in the race but the former World Champion was only able to regain it during the pit stops. Some other overtaking took place but was due to driver errors, such as Hulkenberg spinning.

As they started, so they finished.

Or more or less. Apart from Vettel's drop from first to fourth, the drivers mainly finished in the positions in which they qualified.

Carnage amongst the newcomers.

As might be expected, the new teams suffered all types of problems and failures and many failed to finish. Hispania suffered first but that was to be expected as they had struggled to make the start, had had a change of ownership weeks before the race and had not done any testing prior to arriving in Bahrain. Chandok spent most of Saturday sitting in the pits, so did not even know the circuit when he started. Actually, he still doesn't - he crashed on the first lap!

Williams didn't shine.

Sadly, Williams, the team with Qatar connections did not shine, Barrichello taking the last available championship point in 10th position. Hulkenberg, who had such a fantastic start to the weekend, looked as if he would out-qualify Barrichello but failed to live up to the early promise and did even worse during the race, with a spin which left him at the back end of the field with a slightly damaged car.

Some overtaking down the field.

Some people are dismissive of the teams lower down the grid but in recent years this is where there is more interest and action and Bahrain 2010 was no exception. Lotus proved to have the best reliability, not only did both its cars finished the race, which was its only target for the weekend but showed a respectable pace, a major achievement considering how little time they had to put the car together and the lack of testing.

World's second longest circuit.

Following a new section of track with 8 more corners being installed after the 2009 race, Sakhir now has the World's second longest circuit at just under 6.3 kilometers and lap times are around the 2 minute mark. Although perhaps slightly overshadowed by the newer Abu Dhabi circuit, the facilities are still excellent. It is a pity then that the racing cannot be more exciting. Something Qatar needs to bear in mind while modifying Losail circuit!

Starting Grid Positions.

1.Vettel

2.Alonso

3.Massa

4.Hamilton.

5.Rosberg

6.Webber

7.Schumacher

8.Button

9.Kubica

10.Sutil

-------------------------------------

11.Barrichello

12.Liuzi

13.Hulkenberg

14.De La Rosa

15.Buemi

16.Kobay

-------------------------------------

17.Petrov

18.Algosuari

19.Glock

20.Trulli

21.Kovalainen

22.Grassi

23.Senna

24.Chandhok.


Final Placings.

1.Alonso - Ferrari

2.Massa - Ferrari

3.Hamilton - McLaren

4.Vettel - Red Bull

5.Rosberg -Mercedes

6.Schumacher -Mercedes

7.Button -McLaren

8.Webber -Red Bull

9.Liuzi -Force India

10.Barrichello-Williams

-----------------------------------------------

11.Kubica -Renault

12.Sutil -Force India

13.Algosuari -Toro Rosso

14.Hulkenberg-Williams

15.Kovaleinon-Lotus

16.Buemi -Toro Rosso

17.Trulli -Lotus

18.De La Rosa-Sauber

19.Senna -Hispañola

20.Glock -Virgin

21.Petrov -Renault

22.Kobayashi -Sauber

23.Grassi -Virgin

24.Chandok -Hispañola

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Beating the Heat in Qatar

I'm sweating as I write this.

It's nearing the end of March and it's hot. We're told that it's going to cool down soon, but that will only be the prelude to the summer.

One girls uses the water spray at Aspire to cool down.

By the end of a particularly hot summer, the sea can be like hot soup.

The temperature in the city is only exacerbated by thousands of air-conditioners blowing out hot air into the city, paradoxically increasing the need for the cool air they generate inside!

(Sadly, the wind towers which kept Qataris cool in the past have all but disapeared!)

Many Qataris tell me, though, that they can deal with the heat - as long as its dry. It's when it humid that it becomes really intolerable.

With the immediate future looking quite hot, Sonya has come up with a very timely article on how to beat the heat in Qatar.

Have a read - and don't forget to let us know your own tips and tricks!

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.

Arab Net Conference Getting Closer

The ArabNet conference kick off is rapidly approaching!

At the conference you’ll be able to connect with over 300 decision makers, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the MENA, Europe, and Silicon Valley who will be gathered discuss emerging opportunities in Arab web business.

Some of 40 speakers will include Samih Toukan, founder of Maktoob.com, acquired by Yahoo for over $150M; Russell Buckley, VP of Global Alliances at AdMob and Global Chairman of the Mobile Marketing Association and Ghassan Haddad, Director of Internationalization at Facebook,

Participants will also be able to participate in 8 comprehensive panels each featuring 6 experts from the Arab World, Europe, and Silicon Valley, to discuss topics including Social Media, Content, Online Advertising, E-commerce, Startup Financing,.

Two competitions will take place on the first day of the conference. The first, sponsored by Aramex, will feature the regions most promising startups while the Ideathon, sponsored by Google, will star ten of the region’s most innovative business ideas.

If you anyway involved in the emerging Qatar net, this should be a great chance to network, rub shoulders with the giants, and hopefully come away with some great contacts and ideas!

Visit http://www.ArabNet.me for the Full Program & List of Speakers or to register.

Like this post? Sign up for the Qatar Visitor Newsletter.