Arab Games 2011, Doha, Qatar

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Travis

Last long weekend, Sonya and I decided to head to the Arab Games that are currently held in Doha. While it was previously 15 QAR for full day tickets, it was announced half way through the tournament that all events would be free (to attract spectators we assumed). A little after midday on Saturday we arrived at the Aspire Zone, a sports city originally built for the 2006 Asian Games, it features well known Khalifa Stadium, and also Aspire Dome and Hamad Aquatic Centre.

On arrival we realised we were a little too early, there was nobody else in sight (well, except for the copious numbers of volunteers), and all stadiums and sports halls were empty. We walked around for a little before deciding to have a quick bite, bypassing time before the wrestling commenced.

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a hand-to-hand combat between two men with emphasis on throws. I had briefly seen this style of wrestling on tele back when the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games were on, but seeing it live was much more entertaining. There is an interesting phase of the match when one man will be on hands and knees and the other man tries to perform an Olympic Lift from behind.

The wrestling was also made somewhat more entertaining by a loud, elderly, Iraqi supporter wearing the full Iraqi green and white tracksuit, red and white Keffiyeh (traditional Arabic Turban) and playing a darbukah (traditional Arabic drum).

Chess

Not the first sport that comes to mind, but is a recognised sport of the International Olympic Committee, even more appropriately, chess has origins from Persia where it was known as Shatranj. I convinced Sonya to check out the chess games, and as imagined it wasn’t very exciting, we stayed for no more than five minutes.

Boxing

Back to real sports, the boxing started with the Light Fly Division, a weight class for men under 49kg, the rounds were fast paced and enjoyable. Again, the loud Iraqi supporter was there, and caused quite a commotion when Iraq was announced the winner during a very close match.

Athletics

After boxing we made the short walk from Aspire Dome to Khalifa Stadium. Having attended football games there previously, it was nice being able to simply walk into the entrance and sit at the closest seats as there weren’t many other people, on the field was discus, high-jump, long-jump, pole-vault and 200m running.

Barzan Towers (Umm Salal Muhammed Fort), Qatar

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Travis

Barzan Towers, also known as Umm Salal Muhammed Fort is a fortification built by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Jassim Al Thani in the late 19th to early 20th Century. The word Barzan in Arabic means ‘elevation’ or ‘high place’, this name given due to the sixteen metre height of the watchtowers. Not to be confused with the similar named modern skyscraper located on the Corniche at Doha city.

Barzan Towers is short thirty minutes drive twenty-five kilometres north-west from Doha city. An easy attraction to reach, it will most likely be the first found when exploring Qatar.

Umm Salal Muhammed Fort features traditional Gulf and Arabic style architecture with wooden elements, including doors and roof. A mosque is located in one of the adjacent buildings to the towers.

Traditional Dhow Exhibition, Katara, Doha, Qatar

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Sonya

This evening we ventured into Doha’s valley of culture, Katara to the First Traditional Dhow Exhibition in the Gulf region. The Dhow is the name for traditional Arab sailing vessels. For the last 13 centuries, dhows were used as the main trading vessels sailing to India and East Africa and were commonly used by fishermen and pearl divers.

Dhows are not an unfamiliar sight in Doha. They are seen docked along the Arabian Gulf on the harbours of the corniche, however the exhibition was a chance to see the Dhow up close. We arrived as the sun was setting providing a beautiful view of the bay. A lot of the dhows seemed to be Omani (probably from Sur), and were built over forty years ago.

Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2011, Qatar

Posted on October 29, 2011 by Sonya

This year’s DTFF featured the premiere of ‘Black Gold’ a film featuring Freida Pinto (Miral, Slumdog Millionnaire), Antonio Banderas and was partially filmed in the deserts of Mesaieed in Qatar. Unfortunately, tickets sold out as soon as they were on the market however we did manage to catch two films yesterday at Katara Cultural Village.

We purchased tickets online for Comic Con – A Fan’s Hope – not because either of us are particularly huge comic book fans, but it was directed by Morgan Spurlock (director of Super Size Me, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold) who would be present at the screening and post screening he would be on a panel talking about his documentary style films. We had seen a few of his films and was curious to what he had to say. Unlike the supposedly thousands of fans who had turned up a few days earlier to catch a glimpse of Freida and Antonio… Morgan’s red carpet entrance was modest with a couple of journalists from the media interviewing him. Whilst we waited in line for Comic Con – we could hear his responses “I went to the Islamic Museum yesterday, it was great…”.
The panel session afterwards was quite interesting too. Morgan, two of his producers and, Holly, one of the characters from the film were present and interviewed by one of the Tribeca directors.

After Comic Con we walked over to the main strip in Katara. It was setup similar to last year, with lots of kites and coloured lighting. Hungry, we picked up two falafels and waited in line for our next film – An Egyptian Citizen which was screening at the massive open air theatre. Prior to the commencement of the film, there was a circus show – pretty much exactly the same acts as last year! The film itself was entertaining – filmed in 1991, set in 1973 during the October War it featured adored Egyptian filmstar Omar Sharif.