Doha Diaries

31/07/2026

15/07/2026

Things are a little pear-shaped in Doha, Qatar right now, but more so on Sunday, 12 July.

What a surreal day!

12 July was an odd-ball day. It’s one that will go down in the annals of Qatar’s history. And ours too, simply because it was just such a strange day. Or, to quote a friend who texted me that evening, “Today is pretty eventful, huh”. “An understatement,” I’d replied because…

21/06/2026

This is how South Africans enjoy rugby in Doha, Qatar, watching the Boks beat the Babarians 80 - 31 outside at the Doha Golf Club.

19/06/2026

Great to see South African sprinter Sinesipho Dambile win in Doha!

Wanda Diamond League

06/06/2026

When the door closes in Qatar, it well and truly closes, but it is the revolving one - with the constant coming and going of people here - that troubles me most.

Here’s an insight into doors - literally and metaphorically in Qatar.

Ornate, Arabic, automatic, closed, revolving, wooden or whatever … As an expatriate living in Qatar in the Middle East, doors here can be very different. It’s both the visual contrast between doors here and those of our home countries, and the symbolic significance. Shutter doors are common in t...

17/05/2026

Katara Hills offers you an ideal space for recreation and relaxation with its rolling lawns and great views.

Katara Hills is our antidote to Qatar’s flat, desert environment. It’s green, hilly, loaded with trees, has a freshwater stream and fabulous views over the ocean and other Doha landmarks.  It’s all man-made and perfectly manicured, of course. But this matters not a jot when you’re seeking r...

21/04/2026

Ever thought of learning Arabic? It should come with a warning!

If you are seeking guidance on learning Arabic, you have come to the wrong place. But if you’d like Lessons in Arabic, as in the wonderful novel Lessons in Chemistry, then perhaps I can be of assistance. You see, I failed my beginner’s Arabic test. Yes, failed. Plugged. Three weeks…

29/03/2026

It was not an Eid break any of us anticipated in the Middle East ...

“Leave your luggage and follow me. Now.” The authoritative instruction should have been warning enough. This was not going to be an Eid break like any other. I mean, we’d already had almost three weeks of emergency alarms, missiles and ongoing uncertainty in Qatar. What was I thinking? (And yo...

13/03/2026

Life goes on ...

On the surface, it's business as usual, but underneath we're living with uncertainty, caught in the crossfire of a war that is not ours.

Life goes on. Life goes on regardless of incoming missiles and ongoing uncertainty in Qatar, one of the six Gulf countries caught in the crossfire of the US-Israel-Iran war. In my previous post, just four days into a growing conflict that is not ours, I related how scary and surreal…