Some excerpts...
"Some cities in the world are well known for being unloved. People like to say that the best place to be in Brussels is on the train to Paris. But such is the oppressive heat, not to mention the oppressive political culture of Doha, that foreign residents cannot even find a witticism to disparage the Qatari capital.
As one expatriate put it: “It’s ugly and boring. My God, is it boring.” Despite all the money and free time enjoyed by locals, Doha is a destination that businessmen dread."
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"The Qataris are so wealthy that many families never have to work, while others benefit from restrictive laws that require most businesses to be majority-owned by a citizen of the country. This has created an elite group of silent shareholders who cream profits from the toil of foreign workers."
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"...Doha is such an unappealing place to live that most foreign firms have had to offer staff big perks to go there. As a result, the Doha offices of most large banks, insurance companies and law firms are little more than fronts for operations in Dubai, London and New York."
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"The Government is attempting to change Doha’s image by investing heavily in the city through both the Olympic Games and a building programme that could soon rival that of Dubai. It certainly has the potential to be one of the great cities of the world.
Unfortunately, the restrictions of dictatorship and religion are tighter in Qatar than in Dubai – local newspapers do not refer to a coup 12 years ago that saw the current emir remove his father, and Qatari men will not mention the names of unmarried female family members to other men."
1 comment:
i was preparing an application to one of the Schengen embassies. I asked the applicant "what is your mother's name?" My boss, who was standing beside me, told me: if you had been asking me this question several years ago, you would be "dead".
Lesson: it is rude to ask a Qatari his mother's name.
then i don't get to complete the application form!@
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