money can buy history

I spent my Friday morning this week at a private museum owned by some Sheik or other that is only open by appointment to groups of 15 or more. The amorphous mob of white-legged expats otherwise known as the Qatar Natural History Group descended on the museum around 11, and we took our time wandering through the ecclectic collections of weaponry and saddles from north africa, giant carved rosewood doors from Oman, pottery and metalwork from Morocco, mother-of-pearl inlaid wardrobes from Turkey, and intricately beaded textiles from India alongside 20s-era Ford cars (juxtaposed with moth-eaten camel carts), old and modern currency from almost every country in the world, and an impressive array of fossils. There was also an interesting smattering of rustic agricultural implements (how do you like that disk, Thor?) and old wooden carts.
After the museum we trooped en masse to the Sheik's "farm", which didn't seem to grow anything other than dates and alfalfa. (To be fair, there was a very sad irrigated wheat field that was mostly grass.) This may not be interesting to the average blog reader, but the alfalfa was growing in an almost horticultural fashion as if it was arugula or some other delicate green (which prompted insistance from one British woman that it was in fact corriander), lovingly sown in raised beds surrounded by irrigation ditches. I guess the fanciest Arabian horses have to eat the most lovingly tended fodder. (No pictures of the alfalfa--my camera batteries ran out in the fossil room...)

On Saturday Autumn and I went in search of the famed "Book Fair Ship". Apparently, this giant ship sails all around the world, docking in various cities and selling books like "Teach Youself German" and "Eat Your Way Thin!". They had quite a music section, with nary a single artist i had ever even heard of, but there were several album covers featuring balding men with grey ponytails and bolo ties, so I declined to partake (though the $1 cassette tapes were tempting me). All in all it was kind of a strange experience, but the hour-long wait in line and the ride from the parking lot to the boat in a crowded school bus that smelled like pee were worth it because, well, we just couldn't not go.

The other major excitement I have to report is that...IT RAINED. Very early Thursday morning while it was still dark, I awoke to an electrical storm that was so incongruous to life in the desert that i initially thought the flashes of lightening and rumbles of thunder were eminating from the construction site next door and that the half-built skyscraper was about to collapse. But then I heard the light roar of the downpour, and i crawled back into bed smiling with the coziness that only comes with such a wee-hour torrent. As I splashed my way to work the next day, i saw dozens of people crowded under the eaves of the building, gaping in silence as the rain continued to fall. You could almost watch the grass greening before your eyes. The tops of the palm trees were washed clean of dust and the skyline was scoured to reveal the first clear view of the far side of Doha Bay that I have seen since I arrived. The next day--the day of the museum/farm trip--was the most perfect weather we have had. The air was clean and crisp, the sun shone, and a light breeze kept the temperature at about 75F. Everyone says that it won't rain again while I am here. I feel lucky to have seen it at all.

That's all for now from the desert. Until the next adventure...
Love,
emelie