A Day of Culture

Everyone may assume that I have been spending all of my time hunting for groceries but I wanted everyone to know that I have in fact made time to enjoy the Qatari culture.  The people here are very proud of their culture and spend a lot of money to preserve their traditions.  The Middle East gets only bad press (thank you CNN) but in fact here they are proud people just doing the same everyday activities that you do.......like drive the Maserati, watch the maids and cooks do all the work, shop for designer clothes, count money and watch the investments soar upwards.

 

 

I luckily am not busy doing the above activities so I have plenty of time to be a tour this beautiful country. 

 

First I would like to admit that I am  not a huge I.M. Pei fan. (After what he did to the Louvre!)   

Anyway that is for another blog. In 2008 the Islamic Museum of Art opened in Doha.  I.M. Pei did a fantastic job designing this building.  Absolutely perfect on the outside and the inside.  It is filled with items from mostly the 8th to the 15th century. It is laid out well without being the least bit overwhelming like so many museums can be. It is a place you want to go back and roam through over and over.  There is a park in this area as well, but we did not have time to enjoy it as we had to head back home to get ready for the opening night of the Doha Symphony!

 



 

After a quick change we were off to the Qatar Opera House located in the Katara Cultural Village. The Opera  House is just one of many buildings in this area which are located along a beach on the Arabian Gulf.  First we ate at a Lebanese Restaurant - very yummy - and then found our way back to the Opera House.  We had seats in the sold out crowd surrounded by about 90% expats. Not a popular activity for the Qatari people.

The concert was fantastic - a little Beethoven and a little Arabic music.  The musicians come from all over the world and their talent was impressive.  The next concert we have decided to attend is the Brass Fanfare in November.

 

A very busy culture filled day which left me no time to count my money. I will need to get a maid to do that.

After all, I am just trying to fit in!