It's been almost two months since our last post, but I assure you that life hasn't slowed down in the least. Back in May we were blessed with the company of my sister, Rachael, and her husband Mick. They spent a week with us here in Doha, and then we all traveled over to the UAE to visit Dubai and Fujairah. On our second to last day in Fujairah we got a phone call from my parents letting us know that our Nanny had passed away that day. Nanny was 92 years old and lived a wonderful life. She passed peacefully with my Mom and Poppop beside her. I was very blessed to be able to spend tons of quality time with her the during my last trip home. The next day I was able to get a flight out around the same time as Rachael and Mick to be home with my family for the next two and half weeks. Although our trip had ended on a sad note, we still had a great time entertaining our guests in the Middle East.
The first few days we spent lounging by the pool, soaking in the sun and allowing them to fight off jet lag. Since their second day in town happened to be Cinco de Mayo, we felt it was appropriate to celebrate with dinner at Paloma, a Tex-Mex restaurant located in the Intercontinental Hotel. I know they probably weren't planning on Mexican food while in Qatar, but we promised we'd get around to some of the more traditional Middle Eastern food eventually. We got to the restaurant thinking it would be packed for the holiday. Much to our surprise, there was absolutely no mention of Cinco de Mayo, no specials in celebration of the holiday, and plenty of tables up for grabs. Now... I'm completely aware of the fact that we're pretty darn far from Mexico, but we at least thought that a Mexican restaurant would be representing one of their most renowned holidays. Wishful thinking! We didn't let it dampen our spirits as we ordered up a round of margaritas. I know I've mentioned the strict regulations on alcohol in previous posts, but since this restaurant is located within a Western hotel, alcohol is available.
With our glasses empty and our bellies full, we made our way down to the beach to enjoy an impressive view of the Doha skyline and relax by the edge of the Persian Gulf for a moment. Temperatures were just starting to rise in May, but the night time air is perfect for enjoying evenings outside.
Intercontinental Hotel
Next stop for the night was my favorite place in Doha, Souq Waqif. Literally translated to "the standing market," this shopping destination is renowned for selling traditional garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to dozens of restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world, as well as Shisha lounges.
We grabbed a seat at one of our favorite cafes and ordered up a few cocktails. Alcohol is not available for purchase in the souq, but all of the restaurants have an impressive menu of fresh fruit drinks, smoothies, coffee and tea. The best night time activity here is to sit back and enjoy the view. The souq is crowded with people almost every night of the week. And it seems everyone is just as content with the favorite past time of people watching.
The next night we went back to Souq Waqif for a more adventurous meal at Al Adhamiyah Iraqi restaurant, which we haven't had a chance to try yet. We recently saw a write up in one of the local magazines which described "brilliant, authentic food". It was a must try in my book. We followed suit with the author of the article and tried a few of his recommendations including Kouzi al sham which has been described as an Iraqi version of a pie. Encased in a kind of bread, you break through the layer to uncover a delicious jumble of fragrant spiced rice with chicken, lamb, vermicelli, sultanas, and potato. This dish is served with a yoghurt sauce. We also ordered the safe, but always pleasing chicken tikka dish.
Kouzi al sham
Chicken Tikka
After dinner, we took a stroll through the souqs to walk off some of our meal and engage in some more people watching.
On the weekends, there is usually some type of musical event taking place at Souq Waqif. This particular night there was a large band of local Arab's singing mostly a cappella, but supplementing here and there with drums that were heated over a fire. I'm guessing this has something to do with the acoustics of the instrument.
We ended the night with a photo of the four of us. We spotted some beautiful stained glass windows and thought it was the perfect spot for a picture. Thanks to Ken for warning us that we were about to snap our photo in front of the windows of a mosque which is definitely not allowed. We quickly walked on and found a new spot for our photo. Stay tuned for our next adventure in the desert :)
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