Just last week I celebrated my birthday in Doha and now with the celebrations behind me, I can report about my various birthday adventures. I continue to treat every day as a special treat filled with new adventures and people. I am having a fantastic time.
Since my birthday was so close to my arrival, I didn't know what to expect. I either thought I would happily work on my dissertation (as a super present to myself) or the right thing would come along and it would be perfect...and, I was right. I am delighted to report that my friend Cindy invited me to a late dinner (called a Suhour during Ramadan) at the Ritz Carlton. Holy cow, did she just ask me to the Ritz? Several colleagues from various branch campuses were getting together for their annual beginning of the year outing. I was delighted to be included. Silly me I didn’t take a camera, but I found these pictures from another blog to show you more about the “tent.”
During Ramadan hotels lavishly decorate their ballrooms in spectacular ways to replicate an old world tent. But as you can see these tents are anything but old world! Each hotel secures decorating sponsorships for the month-long event. Everything from new carpet overlays, to specialty linens draped from the ceilings in a “tent” fashion. Everything including the extra tall parsons chairs (complete with matching pillows), three linens per table and dangling fabric tents were adored with lines of HUGE beaded tassels that were at least 6 inches long. It was a spectacle - I am sure this was similar to having dinner at the Emmy Awards or a celebrity wedding. It was phenomenal. One of my colleagues reminded me of his first outing in Doha. He said, "Surreal, isn't it?" Yes, yes. You could say that! Unbelievable.
The ambiance was unbeatable and the food was very nice. Everything from salads to soups, shawarma, and various combinations of rice,lamb and vegtables. The dessert table offered individual little shot glasses filled with different gourmet treats. Martha could certainly add a few tricks to her bag from this buffet! 
Chocolate pistachio straws placed in cream-filled pastries, mango moose with chocolate-covered extra-mini rice balls and my new favorite treat Omali, (a special bread pudding dish!)
Yummy, yummy omali (pronounced O-mali)
I am so thankful for new friends and for a special night at the Ritz. As a dear friend reminded me, That is quite an adventure for a kid from Dupont, Indiana who grew up in the feed mill! Let me go on the record and say, I am very thankful.
Friday night continued in the same fashion, a special dinner for me and another colleague who shares the same birthday. A group of colleagues went to a delightful Italian dinner at The Pearl, a man-made island full of Rodeo Drive-esque shops (like a Bentley dealership) and very nice restaurants. It is also where a number of ex-pats live. The new harbor is filled with huge yachts and a beautiful outdoor walking area where underwater lights line the docks. It is beautiful.
Saturday night was an invitation to another Suhour, this time at the Intercontinental. Colleagues are really spoiling me with special invites and I am very appreciative of their generous friendship and transportation. At this outing the host presented each of us with a special fabric filled bag of treats to commemorate Garangaou, the middle of Ramadan. This new holiday is similar to Halloween, where children dress in traditional clothing and go to different houses asking for treats. This was started to help children mark the middle of the fasting season.
Monday marked my first day “on call” after a four year hiatus. Although I am on the third tier call level, by the time the calls get to me they are more interesting! I solved my first unique one this weekend at 2am. Oh, I had forgotten about late evening calls - this will take my body some getting used to!
Last night was another special occasion - another invitation to another souhour. This one had whirling dervishes! What are whirling dervishes? I am so glad that you asked! From what I understand, they are viewed as a mystical sect of Islam that prays to the music by turning around in circles, over and over and over again for a long period of time. Last night this male pair turned for at least 25 minutes. In a gesture of love they place their hand over their heart and turn to the left (the side of the heart) in unyielding devotion. They wear skirts (older men very long skirts with cording on the bottom) while the younger boy had a very colorful multi-skirt) It is impressive to watch! With all of these exciting things happening, I sprang for a new phone to catch all of these exciting adventures. Check out this video that I took.
Pretty cool, isn’t it? Can you imagine doing this for 30 minutes? Me neither. What a joy to watch! In addition to this video I took a few other pictures to share. As described above, these Ramadan dinners are lavish and beautiful - full of dramatic lighting, fabric and decoration. Last night, The Grand Hyatt showcased white leather couches and chairs around large coffee tables under purple lights. In essence, the ballroom was set up as a large living room where everyone had their own special spot. Here are a few other pictures of the event.
With all of these eating adventures, I am glad that I am fasting. I continue to fast during the day from sunrise to sunset. I am learning a lot through the process and continue to be amazed at the discipline it takes to fast, especially when you are in the oppressive heat. My intense headaches have subsided, but I believe only because I have been drinking a tremendous amount of water at night. This is my evening water intake for 2.5 days. Each bottle is 1.5 liters. I continue to refill them often.
It’s a good thing that I’ve concentrated my fun to the weekends because this last week was filled with daily concentrated efforts on my dissertation. Some days are easier than others, but every day I put forth a good 4+ hour effort. Every few days I take my computer to dinner in the clubhouse and spend a few hours there trying to knock it out.
The enterance of the club house
Well now that I have blogged and rested for the weekend, I should get back to dissertation writing and citing! Since I didn't post my last blog on facebook, friends asked me to remind readers it is below. Until the next time…
Great post....
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