On December 18th, Qatar celebrates its biggest holiday, National Day! My school has been preparing for our big National Day celebration for quite a while and it was very exciting to see it all come together. All of the teachers wore thobes and abayas, which are the cultural dress for the men and women here in Qatar. National Day celebrates Qatar's unification and independence. I know it is not a long standing holiday, but the Qataris sure love it. Leading up to this week, I have seen more Qatar flags and cars decorated with the Emir's face than ever before.
The students came dressed up to school with the boys wearing mini thobes and the girls wearing dresses decorated with the Qatar flag. Each class performed a dance and then there was a carnival with camels, falcons, henna, and much more. Unfortunately, I was hanging out with my students so I did not take photos during the carnival. But, the next day there was a big parade, so we walked over bright and early. Read More...
I have yet to really walk anywhere in Doha because it is not very pedestrian friendly, but on National Day they block all of the roads off and everyone had to walk. We walked in huge crowds of people down the side of the road while anyone who dared to drive sat in standstill traffic.
As usual, there is a lovely crane in the way of any view that hopes to be pretty, although at least this wall is decorated with the Qatari flag.
We found fairly good spots to stand although it seemed like the rules changed by the minute. One minute you were allowed to walk across the road, the next you could not. Although we waited for over an hour for the parade to start, it wasn't until it started that we realized the parade did not even go by the section of road we were at. When everyone around us noticed, they all made a mad rush down a side road where everything was turning off the main road.
There were camels at the beginning that we missed but you could still see the air show.
Lots of various military groups passed by, including a very fancy band.
Obviously when the dogs came by, I screamed "DOGS" and went bananas.
The child groups were admittedly a bit unnerving.
We went back to the main road and watched some fancy cars drive by. Who was in them? I have no idea.
On the way back, we stopped on the lawn outside the Emir's palace. I am pretty sure that is normally not allowed, so we took full advantage.
On the walk back, there were camels going through a roundabout. Hope they used the correct lanes!
I do not walk around much, but if I did, this would be the view. Doha is really one large construction zone.
There is ALWAYS a crane in view, if not multiple. I have become desensitized to the view of construction since living here. Some days there is a road, the next there is none. Some days there is a roundabout, the next a ditch. Doha is always an adventure!
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