This is a picture of the new Convention centre being built in Education city. It takes the Sidra tree for its inspiration which is the symbol of the Qatar Foundation and is designed by Arata Isozaki. The Sidra tree is also known at the lote tree (ziziphus spina-christi) and is mentioned in the Quran. It is a symbol of knowlege of the divine and also a symbol of life in the desert. Aparently there are stories of scholars and poets who used to sit under the shade of these trees to talk and write poetry. It was also a source of traditional medicines. It is actually an amazing sight to see as it is so huge and quite innovative construction. Yet another example of the different styles of building going on in Doha.

This weekend we didn't do much, and although the temperature didn't seem too bad we had been to a party the night before, held as a joint celebration for St. Jean Baptiste day and Canada day. It was really nice, held outside at the Intercontinental hotel. Lots of people from the company go there for the fitness facilities and they hold fitness classes, step aerobics etc. This time of year it is nice to take a class and then go and sit on a deckchair on their beach. This was the first time I had been there and may look into taking a class. It was a beautiful night and they had tons of little tasty things to nibble, all bought around by their attentive staff. However, the music was loud and it was the end of a work day for Derek, so we decided to walk around a bit to look at the pool area and the deckchairs looked so inviting under the palm trees, we just thought we would sit down for a bit. Well, I had been chatting away for a while, before I realized that there were no comments being returned and so he snoozed while I enjoyed the breezes looking up through the palm trees at the stars. You know you have turned into old fogies when you prefer sitting and looking at the stars instead of being at a party! Which brings me to Dates. Summer is the season for dates and these are the dates on the palm tree where I stand in the shade waiting for my bus. I noticed at the hotel, they have put netting around each individual clump of dates as I guess they can make a big mess.

We decided to check out the Wholesale markets on Friday. We went to the fruit and vegetable one and bought a few things and then drove around the animal one - lots of sheep, goats and camels for sale. At the back of the wholesale markets is the Omani market where we found the dates for sale. It is a small market and more authentic and old fashioned. You can buy plants for your garden here and big pots to put in your garden. There had been an article in the newpaper talking about the different varieties of dates and the prices you can expect to pay for them. Mupsri, Kanagi, Nagal, Sagai and Tamai are some of the types of dates they sell. All have to be tasted before purchase and not much bargaining goes on as most sell at the same prices.

Here are some of our purchases. They will keep for a while as they are only partially ready. They are ready when they are all brown and fairly soft. They are very sweet and fleshy, not at all like the dried up ones we get a home. They are utterly addictive so we will have to put them out of sight. The prices apparently get higher the closer to Ramadan you get. Dates are one of the traditional foods eaten first when the fast is broken each evening. There are quite a few palm trees with dates near the building, so think I will go on a photography trip during the week to get some shots as they are starting to ripen.

A few more photos from our desert rose expedition. Here is the way you have to get them out of the ground. There were a whole lot of holes dug previously. You need a pick axe to actually get them out. It was way too hot a day to be doing this. We will go again when it cools off.

We saw lots of camels in the desert. They didn't seem to be wild, but rather that they were put out to pasture like cattle. This was a camel ranch. They had camels in these pens, over and above the ones out in the desert.

I just had to take a picture of this. The only green patch for miles around, seems to be a tennis court in the middle of nowhere.

This was just a small sample, but it is really a nice one and shows why they are called desert roses. The aim is to go back and find a big one of these!

Yesterday we went for another adventure, this time we went with some other people to go to a place on the way to Um Bab, close to the village of Al Kharsaa where we were looking for desert roses. Once we had turned off the highway, we pretty quickly were into the normal desert around here, not like the dunes from the other trip. The desert you find mostly is pretty flat with scrubby shrubs and quite rocky. We saw several of these lizzards during the trip. They were yellowish skinned and this one was about 1 1/2 feet long. Pretty ugly looking. There are supposed to be snakes and scorpions in the desert, but we haven't seen any. We usually wear sneakers or in this case hiking boots just in case!

On the highway you often see camel signs and this is what you see. It is amazing they find enough to survive on in the desert, but you see them eating the little shrubby plants. I dont think they are really wild, but rather like the cattle you see on the prairies. Some of them have brands on them and some of them are hobbled so they cant wander too far. We went past a camel farmer which I will put on the next blog tomorow.

We drove by lots of camels and they just kept on chewing and paid little or no attention to us. When we had just turned off the highway, near the village, I saw a camel scratching himself on a guide wire from a telephone pole. He was having such a great scratch! I was amazed he didn't pull the whole things down he was being so energetic!

This is what we were looking for. Most of them you had to dig for with a shovel and pick axe. The fellow who had promised some tools to us on the jobsite unfortunately didn't come through, so this time we were mostly observers, and borrowed some tools from our companions. Anyway, we were there by about 8 am and it was still so hot we had to sit in the car after a bit. So, I think we will be doing this again in the fall when the temperatures get nice again. There were some amazingly good samples just lying beside the holes that they had been dug out of. Surprising to me that these were rejects, so I am interested to see what the good ones look like. It was a fun trip though and one I look forward to doing again in cooler weather. The other ladies on the trip were telling me that when we get to the nice weather in the fall, we wont want to leave as it is so pleasant here, sunny with ideal temperatures. One told me it is like spring again in the fall as the plants along the corniche are all replanted when the weather cools and things come to life again. I look forward to that!

Some more photos from our trip to the desert. The sand was carved into really interesting shapes

We stopped at an inland lake and there were tons of hermit crabs. The children weren't interested in holding one, just looking from a safe distance!

The camp we went to had many varieties of tents to sleep in. This one right on the ocean and up from any creepy crawly things looked the best to me.

This was where we had our swim, it was a protected area. The sandbar was covered when the sea came in a bit further. But it made a giant swimming pool, quite shallow, but deep enough to swim without touching bottom in some places. Very warm and salty as I said before. All in all it was a really fun trip.

This Friday we went on a trip to the desert to see the inland sea, with a group from the office. We thought we were going to camp overnight, but due to a misunderstanding we came back around 9 p.m. which was just fine. It gave me enough of a taste to know that I want to do more! It was so much fun. Above is our driver letting the air out of his tires - the first step on a trip to the desert, I gather you get better traction that way. He was a great driver and showed us some amazing moves. Not only did we hug the contour of some of the sand dunes, rather like a bike in a velodrome, but at one point we went downhill backwards on one of the steeper parts! It was really exciting. Definitely something you want to do with someone who has experience of the area. I gather there are regularly accidents with expats thinking they can just take a 4 X 4 and go for a drive in the desert. Experience counts.

This is what it is all about. The scenery was truly stunning and so vast that photographs don't really do it justice. Some parts were really carved by the wind and breathtakingly beautiful. We stopped several times to take photographs, but it just left me wanting more.

Here is a view from the car, we would go up this seemingly innocuous hill, only to find we were on the edge of a precipice on the other side! we would go swooping up and down, just like a roller coaster.

When we got to the camp, we had time for a leisurely swim before being served a delicious traditional meal. I have never been so hot - the humidity by the water was astounding and I couldn't believe I was instantly soaking wet. My glasses fogged up instantly on getting out of the car - rather like Canadian winters in reverse. The camp was equipped with change rooms, showers and portapotties - albeit somewhat primitive, it did the job. The sea was just like a warm bath and very very salty, but when the sun went down it was refreshing and we sat out having our meal with a nice breeze off the water. This is a picture of where we could have sat to eat and probably sleep, but it was much cooler eating at the tables by the sea where it was open to the breeze. We headed back home again, fairly sedately compared to the drive out and after filling up the tires again, we were driven back to our cars for the trip back to town. It was all really so much fun. I will put more pictures on the blog tomorrow.

I am back from my trip to Kansas City. I don't know what I was expecting, but just loved Kansas City. It is full of art and the Surface Design Conference was held at the Art Centre. Really close by was the Kemper Museum which was a small museum but full of modern art and a great restaurant. Also close by was the Nelson Atkins which was a quite large museum which covered art both old and new. They had just completed a new wing where the fashion show was held during the conference which was every bit as wild as the one at ACAD. We got to Kansas City during Memorial Day Weekend and on the Saturday night we went down to the old Station which is now a museum and the building in this picture. They held an outdoor concert with a mixture of the Philharmonic with jazz and blue grass bands amongst other things. Mostly patriotic music and the colours projected on the building were stunning, but this was the one I liked best. The public sat on the hill opposite which formed a natural amphitheatre and behind us at the end of the performance was a huge firework display. It was a gorgeous warm evening and the crowd was friendly and warm to complement the evening.

This was one of the many sculptural pieces outside the Nelson Atkins. They also had a sculpture garden at the back of the museum open to the public even when the museum is closed. It was full of Henry Moore's amongst other things. I just couldn't get over the amount of sculptures around the city, no matter what part of town you were in. We went to the older part of town which has been turned into lots of different galleries. It was obviously the seedier part of town, although it is obviously in transition. Even there, we found sculptures both formal and informal. A bike shop had stacked a whole pile of bikes and parts on a pole, which looked quite neat.

This was the dining area at the Nelson Atkins, it was a serve yourself kind of buffet but very upmarket. The town is twinned with Seville in Spain and for good reason. There were almost as many fountains as there were sculptures and obvious touches of spanish architecture and tilework all over the place. The Plaza which is a shopping area has a lot of elements where you would think you were back in Spain with lots of Moorish influences, so could have been back in Doha!

I dont know the name of the flower on this tree but was very orchid like. I have never seen so many types of trees in my life. The city is really green and lush. The conference itself was fantastic. I was surrounded by very well know people in the surface design field and in the lectures and events you could be equally likely to be sitting next to Alice Kettle and Jane Dunnewold as someone completely new to the field. It was a fabulously well run event and hardly a minute to myself with all the events. The class with Jane Dunnewold was really interesting and learned all kinds of new things. The evening lectures with other teachers were really interesting and the lecures and demonstrations were just teasers leaving you with wanting to know much more. Many of the teachers had concurrent shows in the galleries so the gallery tour was even more pertinent after meeting the teachers. The members show was really inspirational. The last day was an informal invitation to Jason Pollen's house which was full of his artwork. By the end of it all my brain was numb but I picked up all kinds of dvds and books to entertain me during the hot summer months in Doha. If you ever have an occasion to visit Kansas City do so and I am sure you will find it as enjoyable as I did and I really didn't have time to see very much. It is the home of Hallmark Cards, barbecues and Jazz. Apparently during the days of prohibition it was know as the Paris of the Plains with jazz and beer parlours. It was the home of Charlie Parker and is on the banks of the Missouri river. My flight home was long but uneventful. I think I am up to date with my movies now, you can fit a lot in on a 13 hour flight! On the flight from Washington to Doha I had all three seats to myself, which was wonderful.