Dhow Ride!

Prior to the oil and gas boom, Qatar's economy was heavily reliant on pearls and fishing. For a great read on the industry and associated boats, please see Mr. Lockerbie's site by clicking here. He discusses boats as a form of architecture (and therefore, a reflection of culture). The traditional boats used for these and other purposes are called "dhow," at least by the expats and those catering to tourist activities in Doha. Lockerbie has a great story about how the name "dhow" may have come to be...

Anyway, let's get away from all that smart people kind of talk and get back to my normal voice...a couple here, John and Terry, rented a dhow for an hour-long ride last night. It started at 6 PM (still light) and ended at 7 PM (dark), so we got to watch the city light up at night. When the dhow was moving, we had a really nice breeze. According to our car's thermometer, the temperature was 97 degrees when we started on the trip.

The dhow had very comfy couches, covered in traditional Arab fabric. The boat captain also played very loud music, what John has identified as "Punjabi/Hindi hip hop." It was festive and inspired Hannah to dance...a lot...and at random times...and sometimes standing in the middle of the boat...and sometimes standing in front of men... And she had picked out her favorite party dress. If I didn't know her, I might have yelled "ALL YER MISSIN' IS A POLE!" But as her Mother, this is really way way way too much to ponder.

Overall, even with the heat and music and dancing and John's anxiety over Hannah falling overboard (really, that would have been Jack's job if he were still four years old), the evening was really a beautiful treat. We are already talking about when we might rent one this fall or winter and invite others to come along, too.

Here are some photos.

The dhow at the dock, before our ride began. It held about 25 guests.

The partial skyline of "New Doha." This is the modern downtown area--by comparison, we definitely live in the 'burbs. And because this urbanized area is so built up, there's much less sand blowing around everywhere. That makes where we live the Dusty 'Burbs. Six or seven years ago, none of these high rises were here.