Thread: Qatar: History and Culture

When I tell people I live in Qatar, I often get blank looks or at most, "Oh, that's in the Middle East somewhere isn't it?" Qatar is a peninsula that juts out into the Arabian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia. The word 'peninsula' in Arabic is 'al jazeera', the name of the Qatari news network.
This is an informative video put together by Qatari students in the US explaining some features of Qatar's history and culture.

Thanks for sharing. Had to giggle when they raced SUvs in the dunes to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.
What is the local word for the metal niqab? First time I saw them was in Switzerland. We stayed at the same hotel as an OPEC convention. Fascinating cultural education for a teenage kid who hadn't discovered bellydance yet :)

Wow, they really do bump noses in greeting there. I was told that, but I couldn't tell at the time if they were putting one over on me or not, I guess not. :-)

Thank you for posting this…I enjoyed the video and learned about Qatar!

Hi Sabrina, I asked a local friend about the metal niqab as I hadn't seen many worn here. She waved her hand airily and said that in Qatar they're only worn by older and/or bedu ladies.
In Oman however lots of women both old and young wear them. Nowadays they're made out of stiffened fabric with one or two pieces of 'boning' to keep the shape and stop it flapping around. Often the nigab has an edging the same colour or pattern as the galabeya the lady is wearing and in Oman they don't hold back on the colours!
Qatari ladies, if they cover their faces and not all do, wear a chiffon layered niqab with the gap for their eyes. If they prefer to cover their eyes too, they'll often turn the end of their hijab sideways and drape that over their faces while they're in public.

Originally Posted by sabrinabellydancer

Thanks for sharing. Had to giggle when they raced SUvs in the dunes to the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean.
What is the local word for the metal niqab? First time I saw them was in Switzerland. We stayed at the same hotel as an OPEC convention. Fascinating cultural education for a teenage kid who hadn't discovered bellydance yet :)

There was an interesting segment on 60 minutes this past weekend, where they interviewed the emir, talked about the wealth in Qatar (free education, free healthcare, lots of guest workers building everything), some incredible buildings, and Qatar's role in the "Arab Spring".

check it out here: Qatar: A tiny country asserts powerful influence - 60 Minutes - CBS News

Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen that programme before. Sure, there are no taxes but it wasn't clarified that free education, healthcare etc are only for Qatari nationals not expats. For non-Qataris, electricity is definitely not free either!

The biggest price difference here is petrol (gas). It costs 1 Qatari Riyal per litre for premium, that's about 27 US cents. I run a V8 and it costs the equivalent of $30 US to fill it up each week. Where's the 'total joy' icon?

Originally Posted by cbarros

There was an interesting segment on 60 minutes this past weekend, where they interviewed the emir, talked about the wealth in Qatar (free education, free healthcare, lots of guest workers building everything), some incredible buildings, and Qatar's role in the "Arab Spring".

check it out here: Qatar: A tiny country asserts powerful influence - 60 Minutes - CBS News