It is Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, so I decided to be my curious self and go to the Fanar, the Islamic Cultural Center right by the souq. It is notable for its size, but also for the spiral minaret (tower), one of only two in the world. We got there while it was open, but the "guy who answers questions" wasn't there yet. So I looked at the exhibits explaining Islam, the Prophets and Messengers, the Five Covenants, and so on. I got the guts to go to the prayer room (or the actual mosque part) upstairs.
I'm glad I've been "trained" on mosque-going, since, unlike all the tourist-friendly mosques in Istanbul, this one had no warning signs in five different languages telling you to take off your shoes and cover your head.
The prayer room area was, like in Istanbul, a segregated area about the men's area. However, in Istanbul, since the mosques were one large room with the balcony overlooking it, I could go anywhere (including the main/men's section). Here, because it was much more of a functioning mosque, I went in the women's entrance and walked into the carpeted room.
It was much less ornate, more like a peaceful, library-esque feeling, with a few bookshelves along the wall, the typical striped carpet (to help them face Mecca), and a patterned screen that allowed us to look down to the men's section and the front of the room. I think that mosques are some of the most welcoming places of faith I've been in; churches and cathedrals would be next, then synagogues would probably be after that. I've never felt uncomfortable in any of them (which is a testament to all religions that I've experienced, thankfully) but there is something about taking off your shoes to walk on the ground that gives an extra fullness to the experience. Who is going to argue and fight when they are barefoot?
My cultural exchange continued when I met my partner for my Islamic Feminism class. He's an Egyptian male, the only other non-Qatari in the class and the only male. We finished our summary quickly, then turned to the more interesting subject, which was what our feminist beliefs were. He told me what he doesn't say in class, and, while I didn't necessarily agree with what he said, he clearly had thought about what was important in life for him and how a wife and mother would fit in to help make that happen.
And, of course, my final cultural exchange of the night was with other American students. Texas is like a foreign country, right? Though us exchange students from the main campuses are all westernized, people hold passports from Singapore to El Salvador. We ate at a Moroccan restaurant in the souq, where I had my first taste of camel! It was kofta, which I will say is a sausage-like form of it. It could have been better seasoned, but now I have camel leftovers in my fridge. And, like many, many nights out here, it ended with a short clown car ride to Bandar, and some tea. One of the girls mentioned that her friend saw a pet cheetah stick its head out a car window like a dog. This led to all of us brainstorming what our best exotic pet would be. The three winners? Tito, the macaroni penguin; Pistachio, a chimp trained to fetch beer; and a white tiger. Or any white big cat. Because who would mess with a guy with an albino leopard chilling on his couch?
While we were there, a wedding party passed through, and, while some of the others found the honked and chanting annoying, I am always excited to see something new and different.
I went to the biggest mall in Qatar today. I haven't been able to find any proof of that fact, but it is said that this 5-story monstrosity tops all the others.
An ice skating rink, a Toyota dealership, and a Carrefour (a Wal-mart-like everything store), and I'd believe it.
So we called a taxi and I, for the first time, didn't feel like I was getting ripped off! Mostly because I made him turn on the meter. This confidence in how to do things is nice. We got there, had lunch with the group of ten of us exchange students (who fit in two taxis...), then split up to do miscellaneous tasks of the shopping variety. Daedri and I have similar price cut-offs (and did I mention she's in doing a major in fashion design?), so shopping with her made it easy to pass the time.
Yeah, today hasn't been very adventureful. After the trip back from the mall (even easier, because we just had to hail a cab instead of calling for one), the exchange students were meeting at the cafeteria in LAS to do something for dinner.
Some people, actually most, weren't hungry, so the original plan of ordering out was ditched in favor of me making pasta for a group. I puttered in the kitchen with Daedri then served the piping hot pasta (macaroni and shells) on my best china (plastic storage containers) on gold serving platters (some plastic trays I found in one of my cabinets). It was delicious, and, according to the archies, by feeding Sam (who has been sick) and making him feel better I am also feeding his delightful condescending attitude.
Apparently, though, while I put the dishes back upstairs, Gabby and Sophie came out with cake (their addition to the smorgasbord). Disappointing, but it wasn't frosted, so I can forgive them. We went on a quick Education City (EC) tour, and then ended up back in the CMU-Q Student Affairs lounge for an hour-long discussion about resident life, Campus Life (the Qatar Foundation's unifying effort for all the campuses), and cultural information. Some good information (such as how to take out the trash) and some repeated. But A for effort. Good discoveries I made though: the Texas A&M kids have a travel stipend. Have I found follow adventurers?
Bad discoveries (or more like realizations): Classes start tomorrow.
Good realization: I get to make more friends!
Bad realization: Daedri has pictures of the mall, but I need to get them from her. Then, you too will be able to witness the glory of capitalism in the Middle East!
My, I'm just working through that bucket list like there is no tomorrow! I mean, the lack of classes and enthusiasm of other exchange students might also be helping...
I mentioned to Shaza yesterday that I wanted to walk the cornish, and, in her great friendship and initiative, called a cab for us to take. But then two became three, then four, then six... and fate smiled on us and sent us another cab from the heavens. (It was actually dropping someone else off at the dorm, so perfectly timed for us to steal it.)
The day, like all days I've experienced here, was beautiful. The air wasn't as crisp as it could have been (a bit of smog/dust on the horizon) but I am never going to complain.
Now, the taxis all think that we are tourists (and we are for a bit), but they are taking every chance to stretch out our pockets a little further. The cabdriver turned off the meter sometime during our trip, and just charged us a fare at the end that was about 10 riyals ($3) more than we should have had to pay, but we accepted it.
However, on the way back, some of the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) students were "taken for a ride" by a guy with a car who probably wasn't even a cabdriver.
But enough of that nonsense and back to the beautiful scenery and wonderful weather we got to experience on the cornish.
We started on East Bay, by Souk Waqif ("the souk") and the Islamic Arts Museum. We began to walk and chat along the fairly well-used boardwalk. A few people were fishing, but what gladdened me the most was the number of families out. Zane and Brent were getting jealous of all the tricycles, scooters, plastic riding cars, balls, and miscellaneous toys that were being used all up and down the waterline. Each family had a picnic, with some lawn chairs even, and were content to sit and enjoy.
About halfway around the bay that Doha lies on, we reached a park. I know I was starving by this point, and I think that Afaf was too. We poked around to find many cultural arts stores closed (since it was Friday, the Muslim day of community prayer and rest) and a pool-like feature that wound around them.
We followed the hollers of children to find a polished cement "slide." I dared to go down, and, after trying to walk back up the polished surface, had renewed respect for the 7-year-old right next to me who was down then up again in a flash.
With my stomach still grumbling, I followed the paper cups of tea to the "Yes Cafeteria." Can you just imagine the questions they get? And I'm sure they can only answer "yes."
Well, we said "yes" to six Mega Hotdogs, some chips, and some french fries (the other kind of chips). They undercharged us, so all of our food was obtained for something like $10. And I know I was ready for the feast.
At this point, we were about halfway around the bay, and I had every intention of continuing to follow it to reach my goal (you remember, "Walk the Corniche", even though I spelled it wrong). Soon after we finished our meal and resumed walking, a man started advertising his dhow to sail us around the bay. 40 riyals per person, he said. We said no. 15 riyals per person.
Then I perked up. Because, as you are aware, "Ride a dhow" was on my list too. And for $5 a person?
But we still had more of the cornish to walk, so a final refusal.
10 riyals. Final price. I was hooked. $20 for all of us? But I was going to try to be clever one last time. I countered with 50 riyals for the 6 of us, but he wouldn't budge. Poor Brent, who I fear has a phobia of bartering, was slowly shying away from this whole encounter.
This refusal was actually well-fated, since we decided to walk to East Bay (by the skyscrapers), then have a dhow take us back to the souk area. Though we had to pay 17 a piece, it was worth it for me to not have to walk around the bend again. And, riding a dhow is crossed off my list too!
During our meander along the bay, we became showing off our "knowledge" of Arabic, which is really just the Arabic numerals learned from license plates. Arabic doesn't actually use the "Arabic numerals" that we are used to. Instead, it uses the Indian set. We were reciting off our knowledge until we realized that the only way we could describe some of them was using our own numbers. So,
Zero: a dot One: like our "1", a line Two: a backwards "7" Three: a backwards "7" with an extra bump Four: a backwards "3" Five: a "0" or circle Six: a "7" Seven: a "V" Eight: an upside-down "V", or "A" with the crossbar missing Nine: like our "9"! We had heard people planning on going to the souk at about 5 for dinner and wandering, so we were on the lookout for the Texas A&M people, and ran into some shortly. They kindly allowed us to add to their dinner party, and we ate at the glitziest, gaudiest restaurant I have ever laid eyes on. The Iranian (Persian) fare was ok, but it was the green chile peppers masuarading as green beans that stole the show (and taste buds from four of the males sitting at my table). They were crying tears of pain, and Daedri and I were crying tears of laughter.
Michael is the only one I really feel sorry for. He seriously thought it was a green bean, but spit it out only after it left a painful mark. Ziad, Brent, and David did it to themselves, each trying to outdo the other. When Sophie joined in... we were all in tears.
After wandering the souk and sitting and talking at a sheesha place, it was time for Shakir and I to pick up the last of the CMU crew from the airport. Jessica was in a lively mood, ready to get back to a city she loved last spring on her IMPAQT trip, and we packed her off to the dorms in a jiffy.
cathedrals would be next, then synagogues would probably be after that. I've never felt uncomfortable in any of them (which is a testament to all religions that I've experienced, thankfully) but there is something about taking off your shoes to walk on the ground that gives an extra fullness to the experience. Who is going to argue and fight when they are barefoot?
e that happen.
