Our winter bucket list: 10 things to do in Qatar

We`re finally emerging from months of dreadful weather and I can`t wait for winter in Qatar... Qatari winters are actually more like Belgian summers: with average temperatures of 25 degrees celsius and occasional rain showers it`s the best time of the year for outdoor trips. Last winter mr. Blueberry was a newborn so apart from a trip to the park and an outing to the beach (Yes, I actually went to the beach with a 5 week old...), we hardly went out. There are some exciting things to do and to see here that I haven`t been able to yet and I am really longing to head out there and discover those remaining treasures! 

Here is our winter bucket list... 

1. Zekreet 

Zekreet is located on the west coast of Qatar and apparently there`s a lot to be seen there: it has an archaeological site (Woohoo!) with a fort, a film set in which an authentic Arabian village has been replicated, a beautiful beach and an oryx reserve. The oryx is a desert animal and very much cherished in Qatar. Ever took a closer look at the logo of Qatar Airways? That`s an oryx right there! 

2. Purple Island 

Purple Island is actually one of Qatar`s greenest spots with a large mangrove forest. `It owes its name to the ancient purple dye producing site that was situated on the island, which existed thousands of years ago. The purple dye was produced from a species of sea snails. This dye itself is special in that was only used for clothes worn by the ruling classes, and the elite.` (1)  

It`s located near to Al-Khor, a small town in the north. A trip there sounds quite adventurous: to get to the island you need to wade a little through water between the mangrove trees! After being stuck inside for such a long time I definitely need some excitement! (I just have to figure out how to get Adam to the island, lol!) 

Mangroves near Al-Khor. 

3. Banana Island

After an adventurous trip it`s time to relax! Banana Island is the perfect place to do just that! It is an artificial island just a short boat trip away from Doha. It`s got hotels, restaurants, spa`s, swimming pools, ... It`s more of a holiday resort, but if you make a reservation you can head out there for a day trip. The island welcomed its first guests last year and it`s nothing short of a wellness paradise. Want to take a look? You can here! 

4. Aquapark 

I`ve been wanting to go to Aquapark Qatar since... Forever! But 3 things were working against my plans of heading out there: I didn`t have a burkini, Ladies Day is every Tuesday (When my husband is out working which leaves me without a car.) and apparently they close for winter... I even read a couple of days ago that their last Ladies Day of the season is this week! This week?! The logic of their opening times is really beyond me, but I still hope to head out there soon... 

5. Shahaniyyah - Camel races 

At Shahaniyyah there is an actual camel race track! I can`t wait to take Adam there for a good old Arabian camel race! 

6. Dhow trip 

Dhows near the Corniche. 

A *dhow* is an authentic wooden Qatari fishing boat. Travel agencies organize dhow tours and it`s one of those typical touristic things here that I haven`t done yet. I`ve also been told that if you`re lucky, you might actually spot some dolphins out at sea... Seriously, folks, Qatar has dolphins! 

7. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum 

I heard about this museum before, but it wasn`t until I read last month`s *Time Out Doha* that I discovered it`s really worth a visit! 

Time Out Doha about the museum.

It`s basically a collection of historical and cultural artifacts of Sheikh Faisal himself, but there`s a lot on Qatari culture and heritage and that`s what I`m most interested in! The longer I live here the more my fascination for Qatari culture grows so I`m really eager to learn more about it!

8. Al Wakrah Park 

Al Wakrah is a little fishing town right outside of Doha, but it`s not that far from us. We`re basically living on the way from Doha to Wakrah and I`ve been there regularly for both the souq and the beach. Some of my friends also used to live there, so I am quite fond of the place. I recently discovered that Wakrah also has a park and I hear it`s really family friendly and close to the sea/beach, yay!

9. Falcon Souq 

I`ve been to Souq Waqif many times before, but what I didn`t know is that there`s a Falcon Souq nearby! As the falcon is the number one Qatari pet, I`ld like to check out the stores with falconry equipment and of course the actual falcons... 

10. Al Thakira beach 

We love to go to the beach in the winter and BBQ. You can mostly find us at Al Wakrah Family Beach or at Semeisma beach, but this winter I want to head a little more north and discover a new beach. Qatar has a very long coastline and has many beaches, so why particularly this one? Well, apparently there`s a lot of bird life going on there and you can spot flamingo`s... The only time I saw flamingo`s was in a Belgian zoo, so seeing them in real life, *in the wild*, seems like enough reason to head out there! 

Wow, it`s going to be a busy winter! :-D 

(1)http://www.qatar-tribune.com/viewnews.aspx?n=42F81767-BD6F-4EF9-A043-F0D83283B07F&d=20131013 

MENA Cooking Club: Qatari Margoog

I am SO excited to announce that this month at MENA Cooking Club we are visiting Qatar! So basically, I am staying home this month! ;-) Our host this month is Carrie from Witchy Kitchen. 

Doha is the capital of Qatar and has been my home for the past 2+ years. Here you can see its famous skyline, as seen from the Museum of Islamic Arts.

I`m going on my third year in Qatar and this place has definitely grown on me. There is so much to say about this tiny country on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula that I don`t really know where to start... I guess if you want to know a little more about Qatar: stick around on my blog and check out some of the previous posts I wrote about my experiences here and here. Also stay tuned for more in the future! 

But I haven`t really written much about Qatari cuisine... Unfortunately Google is not very helpful in this aspect: there`s very little information out there on Qatari food... Only Qtips offers some insight in this video. But that makes it all the more fun in my opinion! I fondly remember the first Qatari dish I tried out myself. It`s called saloonah and ever since it`s been a huge hit in our family! (I`ll be sharing my recipe for saloonah too, in shaa Allah.) With MENA Cooking Club this month I tried out a new main dish and again it`s definitely a recipe and dish to remember! 

The original recipe I used did seem quite difficult to me in the beginning as it adds some kind of wheat made dough balls. Eventually I found several recipes with all different interpretations to the wheat addition: some added dough balls of wheat mixed with water, others rolled out the dough balls first into some kind of tortillas and another recipe just added plain tortillas. As our Lulu (local supermarket) didn`t have my favorite tortillas in stock and I couldn`t really wrap my head around the dough balls, I decided to think out of the box and instead I used... Egyptian bread. So here`s my margoog with an Egyptian twist. :-)

Serves: 4 

Ingredients - Checklist: 
O 1 kg lamb pieces (I prefer with bones)
O 3-4 cups of water 
O 1 tsp salt
O 1 tsp black pepper
O 1/2 tsp cinnamon
O 1 tbs cumin 
O 1 dried black lemon 
O 2 tbs olive oil
O 2 red onions, diced
O 4 cloves garlic, diced 
O 1 green bell pepper, diced
O 3 `kousa` (small zucchini), cut into long rectangular pieces
O 3 small aubergines, cut into long rectangular pieces
O 2 large carrots, cut into long rectangular pieces
O 1 can tomato pieces (400 g)
O 1 handful of fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped 
O 1 Egyptian bread 

Preparations: 

• Heat olive oil in a large pot.
• Add onion and garlic, saute until onion becomes transparent and garlic turns golden.
• Add the lamb pieces and bake on both sides. 
• Add tomato pieces, salt, black pepper and cumin. 
• Add 3-4 cups of water. (Or until the meat is completely covered.)
• Add kousa, aubergines and carrots. 
• Bring to a boil, then add cinnamon and dried black lemon. 
• Add bell pepper. 
• Bring to medium heat, cover and let simmer for about an hour. 
• Cut the Egyptian bread in 2 halves and place them under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until the bread becomes crispy. 
• Let the bread cool. Once cool, break the bread in small pieces. 
• After the `saloonah` (The mixture of meat and vegetables) has been on the stove for about an hour, add the small pieces of bread.
• Let simmer for another half hour. 
• Add chopped cilantro before serving. 

Enjoy! :-) 

Eid-ul-Fitr party 2015

Last weekend we had our Eid-ul-Fitr party. I know, I know, Eid-ul-Fitr was way back in July, but as most of us girls in Qatar were traveling abroad during Eid, we decided to throw a party when most of us got back. 

We decided to make it a REAL party. So not just a get together with some cake and chai, but an actual party including gifts, dress up, decorations, ... all centered around a theme. We`ve had several ideas for a party theme, but the majority vote turned out in favor of *Arabian princesses*!

The party was at my home and I was in charge of making the decorations -Of course, I hear you thinking...-, so I got all crafty again and I was really pleased with how things turned out, alhamdouliLlah. I guess these decorations can suit any Eid party so if you`re looking for some inspiration, here they are... 

These golden moons and silver stars were already hanging from the ceiling in my hallway during Ramadan, but as they so beautifully fit our theme, I decided to let them hang there a little longer. :-) If you`re looking for a template of an 8 pointed star: just continue reading, I am sharing one below. 

I really love how these lanterns turned out. You can find the template for this (and other) lantern(s) here. 

If you`ve been reading my blog a little, you know I love garlands. I don`t know what it is about them, but I`ve got garlands hanging in practically every room of my house! (Okay, except the bathrooms.) I crochet them or make them out of paper. Here`s a template for an 8 pointed star, just print them in different colors, punch holes in them, string them together, eh voila! 

These little candle light lanterns really created a cozy atmosphere for our party. They are a must have for every Eid party! Here`s the template. 

(As you can see, I really love the crafts from Sweet Fajr. Definitely check out her website!)

Everyone made an Arabian inspired dish and I made Omani Chaklama and Saudi Champagne, both recipes can be found on my blog. 

By Zawani M.

As we got all dressed up -And it was great seeing how everyone interpreted the theme in their dress and accessories!- we really needed to take some pictures, so one of the girls put together a photo booth. She did an amazing job and I really loved how it turned out. I hope we can include a photo booth like this in our future Eid parties! 

But Eid is not all about partying, we also wanted to do something useful and one of the girls put together an islamic quiz. There were 10 questions and for every question answered correctly we got a lovely (hijabi) brooche/pin! I really learned some new things this way: did you know the name of the angels who write down our good and bad deeds? They are called `Kiraman Katibin`. Maa shaa Allah! 

Aren`t these pins lovely?! One of the sisters brought them from Malaysia, I absolutely love them! (And I ended up winning 4, alhamdouliLlah!)

AlhamdouliLlah, it was one of the best Eid-parties ever and I am really grateful to all the sisters who put their effort into making it such a success. Celebrating Eid, when you are living abroad, far away from muslim family and your muslim friends back home, can be really difficult. But we really had a blast and I am looking forward to our next Eid! 

How to survive Qatari summers... Activities for babies (6-12 months)

You and your baby are becoming utterly bored by staying inside all day and you`re looking for some inspiration on making these long days a little more exciting? You`ve come to the right place! :-)

Here are our summer activities... Enjoy!

 Playing with water balloons. 

Painting with home made paint.

Playing with colorful ice cubes.

How to survive Qatari summers... With a baby?!

Summers in Qatar are no walk in the park. Temperatures reach extremely high and humidity reaches its peak: it feels like you`re living in an oven or a sauna and when you dare to go outside in the middle of the day it is impossible to even sweat as it just immediately seems to evaporate. I am not exaggerating. It.is.that.hot.

This is my 3rd summer in Doha -but my 1st summer with a baby!- and here are my survival tips to get through this season:

1. Get.out.of.here!

Seriously though. What are you still doing here? If there`s one time of year you should hop on the plane and visit home or travel the world it is NOW. This isn`t your *regular* heat wave, like in Belgium where it lasts about 5 days and you know there is an end in sight... Temperatures will only start becoming more bearable around October... Yes, October! 

But I figure you`re stuck here -just like me- for whatever reason as that`s why you are reading this post ;-), so keep on reading...

2. Pinterest is your best friend!

I have to confess: I am definitely a Pinterest mom! I absolutely love to browse through all the creative ideas, pin them, save them and I actually put these ideas into reality! But even if you`re not that creative or crafty, trust me, Pinterest is your best friend during these hot summer months. It will make all those hours and days spent inside more bearable (both for you and your baby!). 

My son while (body) painting. 

But if you don`t feel like browsing Pinterest, I am compiling all our activities this summer in this post . You`re welcome! ;-) 

3. The mall is the place to be!

I don`t like the malls here. They are way too crowded, too busy and too noisy, BUT... Practically all the malls here have playgrounds and play areas for children and EVEN for little children and babies. And as it is way too hot to have our babies play outside or go to the park or the beach, the mall is our last resort to get out of the house... A very kind lady shared this list of playgrounds at Doha`s malls with me and I am planning to check out several of them. Over the last few weeks my son became way more mobile (crawling, standing, ...) and being confined inside really gets boring for him, so I am looking forward to discover some soft play areas at the malls during weekends! 

List of playgrounds and play areas: 

• Ezdan mall: a separate play room for under 4`s with costumes, kitchen and bedroom equipment and soft play. Rides for over 4`s. 
• Bennigans restaurant (near Khalifa tennis, near Dana club): a pub with a big indoor and outdoor playground. 
• Fuddruckers restaurant (near Khalifa tennis): a burger cafe with a small indoor playground. 
• Royal plaza mall: Ray`s reef children`s center with soft play, bumper cars and arts corner. 
• Landmark mall: Circusland with soft play, trampolines and rides. 
• City Center: a separate educational room for under 4`s and everything else for over 4`s. 
• Dar Al Salam mall: Fun Ville, a small indoor playground. 
• Centrepoint mall (Al Sadd): a small indoor playground. 
• Coral restaurant (Intercontinental hotel): a kid`s corner. 
• Old Movenpick hotel, Seasons restaurant: a huge separate playroom with inflatable playground and kids` food. (Only on Friday brunches)
• Villaggio: everything for everyone. 
• Chili`s (Lagoona mall): soft play. 
• Chili`s (near Ramada): upstairs soft play but needs supervision. 
• Dairy Queen (near Ramada): ice cream cafe with a small soft play. 
• Hyatt Plaza mall (next to Villaggio): Jungle Zone: everything for everyone. 
• The Pearl: Tickles and Giggles. 

Note: I haven`t visited any of these playgrounds myself yet, so if you have any feedback about them or if you know of any other indoor playgrounds, please share! :-) 

4. Mommy-baby playgroups!

You`re definitely not the only mom stuck here during summer, so it`s time to unite with your fellow mom friends and create a playgroup! Maybe you could meet up once a week with some fellow mommies and rotate houses every week: that way it remains a *new* experience every time for both mom and baby!

But if you don`t know any fellow moms with babies of a similar age as yours, you can check out these groups on Facebook: Positive Doha Playgroups and Muslim Mom`s playgroup for toddlers. Be sure to find some new mom friends there!

5. Get outside! (Just for a little bit)

Our favorite hang out spot around sunset.

I know, it sounds crazy to suggest to get out there in the blistering heat, but right before sunset is really a good time to catch some *fresh* air. Almost every evening I take a little walk with my son around this time or I look for a patch of grass and we just sit down and play for half an hour. I know it is hot and yes, you will sweat and yes, you might feel uncomfortable, but take it from me: I rather prefer taking my son out for a little bit so he is calm and enjoying himself by being outdoors than enduring *the witching hour* inside. ;-) 

So strap that baby in the stroller or in a carrier and take a little walk around the block, sit down on a blanket or a patch of grass, catch some air on your balcony. 

No matter how hot it is even at that time of day, both me and my son feel energized and happy after coming back from outside! 

Do you have any other tips or feedback? I`ld love to hear from you! :-)

Palestinian lentil soup

It`s been a busy month: the last day of Ramadan we traveled to Egypt to visit family and we stayed there until the beginning of August. When we got back, I had my hands full with mr. Blueberry and giant piles of laundry and as the deadline for this month`s cooking challenge drew closer I decided to choose the easiest recipe.

This August we`re visiting Palestine at MENA Cooking Club and I chose to make the Palestinian lentil soup. It`s really easy to make, doesn`t require ingredients that are hard to find and is healthy! A must try!

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients - Checklist:

• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 1 cup red lentils 
• 2 cubes vegetable stock
• 6 cups water
• 1 tbs cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 lemon
• salt to taste
• parsley for garnish 

Preparations:

• Chop onion in small pieces and wash lentils. 
• In a pot over medium heat, heat olive oil and add chopped onions. Saute until lightly browned. 
• Add lentils and stir for a few minutes. 
• Add water and vegetable stock. 
• Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat and let simmer for about 45 minutes. (Or until the lentils are very tender.)
• Add spices and juice of 1/2 lemon. 
• Blend everything until the soup has a creamy texture. 
• Pour into bowls and add a few leaves of parsley for garnish.

Enjoy! :-)

Source: adjusted from Kitchen of Palestine. 

Omani Sweets: Chaklama

This is a great treat to make with your kids for Eid! :-) 

Serves: about 40 small balls 

Ingredients - Checklist: 

O 4 cups coconut powder

O 1 tsp vanilla sugar 

O 1 tsp baking powder

O 1 tbs melted butter 

O 1 tin Nestle sweetened condensed milk (397 g)

Preparations: 

• Melt the butter in a little saucepan. 
• Mix the coconut powder, vanilla sugar, baking powder and melted butter together in a large bowl. 
• Pour in the milk and mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a soft, crumbly dough forms. 
• Preheat your oven to 180 C celsius. 
• Cover an oven tray with a sheet of baking paper. 
• Shape the dough into small balls and place them on the baking paper, leaving spaces between each ball. 
• Bake for about 10-15 minutes. (Until the balls turn golden brown.)
• Allow to cool and serve. 

July`s Cooking Challenge: Oman

I was really excited to find out that at MENA Cooking Club we`ll be exploring the Omani cuisine this month!

Oman isn`t that far from Qatar at all, it is located in the south of the Arabian peninsula, bordering Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. A sultanate, governed by Oman`s sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Oman is home to about 3.2 million people. 

National Geographic Traveler. 

This country really speaks to my imagination and I`ve told my husband ever since we came to live in Doha, that I want to visit it. I`m not sure what it is that attracts me so much about Oman, but I think it has something to do with the rich history of the country. It is the land where frankincense was cultivated and exported from to every corner of the world and the landscape of the country is dotted with mosques, castles and fortresses.

Muscat, Oman`s capital. National Geographic Traveler.

The vast majority of the country is desert. In the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, partly in Oman, you will find what is called *Rub` Al Khali* or the empty quarter: the world`s largest contiguous sand desert. 

The empty quarter, as seen in Saudi Arabia. National Geographic.

But Oman is also home to some incredible fauna and flora: every year in the most southern part of the Arabian peninsula near the Indian Ocean, the Dhofar mountains and the monsoon work together to turn this desolate land into a little Paradise: the transformation it undergoes is absolutely breath taking. The second episode of the BBC`s documentary series Wild Arabia, titled *The jewel of Arabia*, covers this amazing spectacle of nature.

Did I convince you already? Oman is definitely on my countries-to-visit-list, but for now I`ll have to be content with exploring its rich heritage in my own kitchen. 

This month`s host is Rafeeda from The Big Sweet Tooth and here are the two recipes I worked with: Omani Lamb Kabouli and Omani Chaklama.

Enjoy!

Omani Lamb Kabouli

Serves: 2-3 

Ingredients - Checklist: 
O 400-500 grams of lamb pieces with bones
O 4 1/2 cups of water 
O 1 cinnamon stick 
O 1/2 tsp whole cardamom pods 
O 1/2 tsp whole cloves 
O 1/2 tsp whole black peppers 
O 1/2 cup of water (extra)
O 1 large onion, diced 
O 2 tbs olive oil
O 2 cloves garlic, diced 
O 2 tbs raisins
O 1/2 tin canned chick peas 
O 2 tbs Omani mixed spices
O 1/4 tsp saffron powder 
O 1 1/2 cup basmati rice 
O 2 cubes Maggi chicken stock

Preparations: 
Omani mixed spices:

I bet you don`t have an Omani spice mixture hidden in your kitchen cabinets, but rest assured, neither do I. :-) You can easily make it yourself as you do probably have most, if not all, of these spices at home. I used this recipe to make my Omani mixed spices and it turned out really nice in this dish. 

*****

Lamb pieces: 

• Put the lamb pieces and 4 1/2 cups of water in a large pot. 
• Bring to a boil, then add the cinnamon stick and the whole spices. (Cloves, cardamom pods and black pepper.) 
• Cover, reduce to low heat and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat becomes tender. 
• When the meat is ready: remove the pieces from the pot, put them on a plate and set aside. 
• Drain the stock and set aside. 

*****

Onion mixture:

• Cook half of the extra water (1/4 cup) and the onion in a large sauce pan. 
• Turn to medium heat and stir occasionally until most of the water has evaporated and the onions become tender. (About 5 minutes.)
• Add 1 tbs of olive oil and stir until the onions turned golden in color. 
• Add garlic, raisins, chickpeas, 1/2 tbs of Omani mixed spices, 1/4 tsp of saffron and the remaining of the water. 

*****

Final stage:

• Add the drained stock to a large pot with an additional 2 cups of water.
• Add 1 tbs of olive oil, 1 1/2 tbs of Omani mixed spices, Maggi Chicken stock cubes and rice. 
• Bring to a boil, stir occasionally, cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the rice is semi cooked. 
• Add the lamb pieces, mix, cover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. 

*****

Serve on a big platter and top with the mixture of onions, garlic and chickpeas.

Tastes great with a fresh salad on the side. 

Oh Ramadan...

Oh Ramadan, your days went by so fast,  

And most of them have already passed. 

Your time has almost come to an end,  

I can only hope my days fasting were well spent.  

Oh Ramadan, I am not ready to say goodbye,  

I want to cling to your presence as these last hours are passing me by,  

Because there is definitely a fear,  

That this time around next year, maybe... I won`t be here? 

Oh Ramadan, I don`t want you to leave.  

There are still so many good deeds left for me to achieve,  

And after your blessed presence has gone,  

There is still so much work left to be done.  

Oh Ramadan, promise next year we will meet? 

I will do my best! Will do more good deeds! 

Maybe next time I will take head,  

And stop my wrongdoings that I seem bound to repeat. 

Oh Ramadan, you will be missed, again and again,  

As it feels like I am seeing off a dear friend... 

But before you step out of the door,  

I`ld like to ask you for something, just one thing more... 

Oh Ramadan, intercede for me on that Final Day.  

With the days I fasted and the nights I prayed.  

So out of His Mercy I can be forgiven,  

So out of His Mercy I can be saved...