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My Final Week in Doha My last week in Qatar, in early March, was especially hectic. I had told my jovial Irish roommate, Gerry, that I was leaving so he had found another place to stay at Beverly Hills Tower in late February. It was a larger apartment, he said, but he had to share it with three roommates. He much preferred living at my place, he told me, but it was tolerable. I sold Gerry some things I didn't want to ship back to America, especially electronics that wouldn't work in the U.S., and he dropped by one afternoon during my last week to pick them up. He gave me one of his Corona beers and, in return, I gave him a prized bottle of K.C. Masterpiece barbeque sauce that I had found on the Carrefour grocery shelves a few months earlier. Gerry had fallen in love with K.C. Masterpiece a few months earlier and said that it was far better than any barbeque sauce sold in Ireland.
A few nights later I had dinner at Souq Waqif, the historic marketplace of Doha, with Shashi, my bright, young IT friend from India. Shashi was sad to be leaving Doha the next day and returning to India, but on the other hand, he was looking forward to getting married once he returned home.
While eating dinner at a rooftop restaurant, as I enjoyed my braised camel (hopefully not the same one I'd ridden a few days earlier), Shashi explained to me how his parents were looking for a suitable bride for him to marry. I was fascinated with this idea of arranged marriages, which is common in India. I was going to miss my cheerful and inquisitive friend, and as we parted, I wished him well in his future endeavors. I hope to see him again someday.
The day before my flight back to America, I got together one last time with Nafez and Mubeen. We had become good friends these last three years at CPO and I always enjoyed spending time with them. The three of us met at Souq Waqif around noon and ate lunch at a Yemeni restaurant.
I’d never eaten Yemeni food but one of the signature dishes, as I learned, is a very large flatbread, like a Mexican tortilla but three times larger. It was sort of like eating a newspaper but much tastier (though less informative). The lunch was wonderful but bittersweet because we knew this would be the last time we’d see each other for quite a while, if ever again. They were both flying back to America the following week with their families: Nafez to Sacramento and Mubeen to Chicago.
They dropped me off at Beverly Hills Tower that afternoon and we said goodbye. That evening I walked over to City Center Mall, which had become like my second home these past three years, to reminisce and have a final dinner of grilled kebabs at Shater Abbas, then I walked back to my apartment. It was hot and humid, typical weather for mid-March and very much like the evening I had first arrived in Qatar almost three years earlier. Back at my quiet apartment, I did some last-minute packing as I, sadly, prepared to leave Doha.
Above left: And the pond at Sheraton Park. The water level rises and falls every hour, so you can get stranded out there if you're not careful! Above right: Pearling was the mainstay of Qatar's economy before oil was discovered in the 1950s. Pearls are still very much associated with Qatar.
Above left: Here's Souq Waqif, the historic and traditional marketplace in Doha. It's the most popular tourist destination in Qatar. Above central: Construction cranes are everywhere in Doha, though with the economic slump, they're not as ubiquitous as they were in 2013 when oil was $120 a barrel. Above right: Inside the Souq (pronounced "sewk" – rhymes with "soup") Waqif. It's an interesting mix of shops with clothes, handicrafts and souvenirs – though not a very practical place to shop if you're an expat.
Above left: Firing up the grill at Souq Waqif. Above right: Shashi and I met up that evening, then we had dinner at this Moroccon rooftop restaurant. I ordered the braised camel. Gosh, I hope it wasn't the same one I'd ridden a month earlier!
Above left: Saying goodbye to my good friend, Shashi. He was flying back home to India the next day to get married and find a new job – though probably not in that order. Above right: Winding our way through the busy Souq. The Souq is a meeting place for local Qataris and gets very busy in the early evenings.
Above left: My last week in Doha was frantic. The movers came and packed up all my furniture. It was being shipped back to America through the Suez and Panama Canals. Above center: My former roommate Gerry stopped by and gave me one of his Corona beers. Alcohol is legal but heavily restricted in Qatar, so this was only the third beer I'd had since arriving here in 2013. Above right: Gerry carting off the goodies that I'd sold him.
Above left: The day before I left Qatar, I visited Souq Waqif one last time to meet up with Nafez and Mubeen. For some reason, I keep running into camels. Above right: Feeding the pigeons at the Souq.
Above left: Enjoying a farewell lunch with Nafez and Mubeen. Above right: I hope to see them again back in the U.S.
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