My flight was early in the morning and I'd been quite busy lately, so I decided to stay and chill out in the hotel until evening. After all, it was amidst the holy month of Ramadan.
During Ramadan Muslims across the world fast from dawn to sunset. This year, the holy month fell during the harsh summer, so there's hardly any activity going on during the day. The city is as quiet or dead as a ghost town, at least until later in the evening.
All the GCC countries in the Arabian Gulf are similar to the point they are almost identical, ie, there's nothing much new or different from one country to another. Each mall may have a unique name, but once you've walked inside, all the outlets are identical, all the same, way-too-familiar chains of shops be it a boutique or a restaurant or a café. You wouldn't need a menu – you know too well what they have to offer.
Having said that, of course I didn't come to Qatar to lock myself up in the hotel room! I was feeling tired and lethargic, but managed to get ready and stepped out to a mall. It was just about the time to break fast, so seemingly people were having dinner at home and the mall was nearly empty.
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| Skyscrapers along Doha Corniche |
Here by some strange quirk I came across a group of Qatari women. This mall was located in the middle of a residential area, a bit away from downtown Doha, a neighbourhood that was lined with 'villas' for local Qataris. And not many tourist visit Qatar at this time of year.
They may've got curious about me as obviously I was a 'stranger', a woman seemingly travelling alone in the month of Ramadan (in Arab culture, Ramadan, just like Christmas, is a time for families to get together, and women don't really go out on their own). Those women were sisters in their 30s/40s and they insisted that I should come with them to their home which was just around the corner from the mall.
A typical house of a local Arab family in this part of the world is a huge mansion compared with western standard. According to the sisters, they usually gather here at their parents' and break fast together during Ramadan. I was told the surrounding 2-3 mansions were their brothers'. It was already well past sunset and everyone had finished dinner and was chilling out chatting over tea and coffee and many other interesting Arabic drinks and sweets. In addition to the several sisters, there were some 25 female family members including sisters-in-law and children. Their mother was an elderly woman but such an incredibly adorable and sweet grandma – I absolutely loved her!
Whenever there is someone unrelated to the family, customarily even at home men and women separate following the teachings of Islam. The huge sitting room was evidently for women and children only, and here I was introduced to every female member of the family and little boys that were present. All the male family were presumably gathering in a separate lounge entertaining male guests or neighbours. Some households have lounges (more like halls) that are large enough to accommodate up to 70-100 (or more) people at a time.
When at home or in a room where there're no men, Muslim women are not required to cover up the hair or the face or the entire body. Underneath the black 'abaya' (a type of very thin long coat Arab women wear in public) they were wearing very colourful dresses.
It was well past 22.00 and as I wanted to go to a local souq (bazaar) in central Doha, regrettably I had to get going. This lovely family invited me for the fast-breaking dinner the following day, and happily I accepted. I was truly grateful for their hospitality and will always cherish this very special moment.
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| Time to eat! |
Unfortunately this is the only photo I could take as you are not supposed to take photos of Muslim women, especially if and when they are not properly covered.
The photo shows only a preparation stage and lots more dishes and sweets followed one after another.
