It has been a fairly eventful couple of weeks since I last put up a blog. The above pictures is of a martial arts group who put on a demonstration in the local mall. They were amazing, particularly the young boy in front, who was able to do the most amazing contortion feats. They got a good crowd out to see them as the new Harry Potter movie had opened the same week. Four of the movie theatres in the mall carried the movie, so there were lots of young people about.

This Friday, Derek and I joined a mosque tour, put on by the Islamic cultural centre. They provided a bus to a mosque which is in a nearby town. We were encouraged to bring our cameras and questions, and they lent the women in the group abayas (not sure of the spelling) to wear to the mosque. They gave us a demonstration of the call to prayer and the prayers in the service. A friend of mine from the stitch group had told me she was going to be there, but Derek also found a couple of fellows he works were there also with their families. It seemed a fairly modern mosque, but the details of the design were beautifully done.

The bottom of the mirhab (? I think that is the name which is the direction of Mecca) was an intricate tile mosaic

Here is a closeup of the tile. We went back to the centre at the end and they provided a traditional meal - men in one area and the women in the other, divided by a partition. The food was very good, but I had difficulty managing sitting on the seat so low to the ground and managing my flying black robes, so in the end didn't eat a whole lot. It gave me a new appreciation of how the local women seem to manage their dress with elegance. However, I met a women who was part of a group of Islamic ladies visiting from Germany, studying arabic and being toured around Qatar. I was amazed to be invited to join the group the next day on their tour. I accepted their invitation of course, but while I was on my way to meet them the next day, I stepped off the curb awkwardly and ended up in a heap on the sidewalk. The next moments are a blur, but I was helped to my feet and found myself shortly in a taxi being taken back to the apartment. So I have spent the last few days with my feet up, icing my sore ankle. Again, the groups of ladies, both the visiting germans, plus the local ladies who invited them here, paid me a visit in our apartment, bearing gifts of beautiful roses in the colours of qatar, and a huge, and I mean huge and beautifully wrapped display of chocolates - just like the ones I had seen in the stores and been amazed at how beautifully they were arranged. I was quite overcome by both their generosity and their concern for my well being. I am hoping my ankle will have healed sufficiently to attend their going away party next Friday.

This isn't the greatest picture, but I hope it gives a bit of the sense of chaos that we found in this area. We are setting ourselves the task of finding new areas of town to explore on Fridays and I particularly wanted to find this area as the Bombay Silk shop is here, which I am delighted to say we found and it has become my new favourite place. Downstairs is full of beautiful silks and upstairs is full of cottons and linens and saris with beautiful wedding saris. I could spend hours there poking around. Opposite, to the left of the picture is a little side street and it is full of tailor supply shops mixed in with bicycle shops. Quite a mixture. One shop we went in had cotton threads from my mother's era or even my grandmother's! with enough dust that you could hardly tell the colour. However, the prices were really cheap and I got a new pair of knitting needles for 8QAR, quite a bargain. Although they look like they may have been previously owned! The other interesting thing about this area on a Friday, it was absolutely packed with mostly Indian men, you could barely drive down the street for the people wandering about. I found out later that this is the area of town they congregate in and find their friends on Fridays. Most of the men work on the construction sites and this is their one day off. Pretty chaotic, but certainly interesting. I asked my Indian taxi driver yesterday for what he thought would be a really authentic indian restaurant and he suggested the restaurant next to the Silk shop, so I can see we will be visiting the area again soon.

It is way too hot to be out much during the day but we went for a walk down to the Corniche the other night and it was a beautiful night, less hot, but still warm enough that walking the block there and back and a bit of a walk on the Corniche itself was enough. It was way more humid down by the water, but then there is usually a bit of a breeze as well. Local people were greeting people they knew as they walked along and it was a generally fun atmosphere. A number of the new buildings now have their lights on and this particular building changes colours all the time, from blue, to red to green. Very colourful! There are lots of others nearby that are lit up as well and I will have to spend one evening taking pictures of them all. Here is just a teaser to start with!

Yesterday I went to Villagio Mall, which is way the other end of town. We had gone here on a Friday once before, but hadn't been back since. I found out that there is a taxi stand here, so knew that I would be able to get back. A problem here as it is really easy to get places, but not so easy to find a taxi to take you back. Anyway, I thought I would try it out and had no problem. This is one of the newer malls and is built on an Italian theme as you can see. They have gondolas you can ride in and the whole place looks like Venice. I had a great time wandering around the shops - the usual mixture of mostly British and North American shops. There was one whole wing with very high end shops including all the Designer shops as well as Tiffanys etc. Oh to be 20 again and to be able to wear the beautiful gowns in the window of Ralph Lauren, they were stunningly simple and elegant.

Everywhere you went in the mall were these beautiful mosaics in the floor. I had nice time shopping there and stocked up on some workout wear from Marks and Spencers for the Pilates class which starts tomorrow and a few other things that were on sale. With so many people away for the summer it is was quite quiet and pleasant. I will have to be more adventurous and try some of the other malls I haven't been to yet.