In this article I am going to share with you something that has no relation to technology or design. This winter I had the opportunity to spend my holidays in the Middle east. I saw and felt traditions and culture much different from the ones we have in Europe.
I spent my holidays in one of the fastest developing countries in the world over the last few years- Qatar. The country is located in west Asia occupying the small Qatar Peninsula. The neighbor countries of Qatar are Bahrain, Iran, United Arab Emirates.
I spent 2 weeks there. 2 weeks for which I managed or at least I tried to taste as much as I could from the Arabic world and culture. To be honest I didn’t know a lot about that country before I went there. I knew it is something like Dubai but a lot smaller. Well I was almost right about that. The city centre was like Hollywood for me. The giant buildings in American style, with all those fancy and shiny lights, and animations all over them managed to amaze me from the first day.
Many parts of the capital (Doha) were in construction, they had a number of major projects like artificial mountains etc. I was fascinated by the investment that was being used in this country. I manage to watch Real Madrid playing a live football game there. Also at the same time in 5 kilometers distance from the football stadium athletes were playing tennis purely for the joy of the local people. And the players were not random but Nadal and Federer.
Events like these happen every month there, as the country really seems to invest for the future of the nation. Nevertheless I fell in love with their culture. From the Hollywood style buildings you have the chance to jump into all those small traditional Arabic areas where you can buy amazing goods from the small local stores. The stores were surrounded by small Arabic houses and and when you are in the middle of it, its like you are in a fairy tale.
I wish for everyone at least once in their life to have the chance to visit Qatar. I believe that with the tempo that this country is developing, in a few years it will be much more fascinating and then definitely worth visiting.
Ok – so I had to include some “technology or design aspects”. Photography! I have uploaded some photos that I took while there.
Enjoy!
Hristiyan Stratev – Mediazone Tv & Avid Lab – Senior Lab Assistant
