For more than 6 months a year, Qatar is pretty much uninhabitable. The heat and humidity is so intense that Ali’s glasses fog up within 2 seconds of walking outdoors. And don’t get me started on the sweat stains. The city empties out of the species called human to escape the heat and those poor souls left to stay brave through the treachery until October comes rolling in. When the summer merges into winter (there is no autumn here - my favourite season!), the air cools down to a pleasant 24-28 degree celsius and humanity emerges from hibernation, wide awake and spinning with excitement.
All this to say, a few weeks ago, we drove out to explore the Sealine beach, an hour south of the big city, to enjoy a BBQ in the wild with new and old friends. Except the ‘wild’ was humankind. It was a carnival-like experience driving through the dunes to find a quiet spot along the beach. The desert was full of 4x4 Landcruisers trudging their way through while plenty of sedans, not suitable for the terrain, stood stuck in the sands preventing other larger and more aggressive cars from passing by. Bystanders were as plentiful as there were angry honking drivers. The scene echoed with children’s laughter as they flew bird-like kites in the midst of the chaos. Families ignored the ruckus and camped out near the shoreline, but not too far in as jellyfish were plentiful on this particular beach. It was a weird combination of harmless oddities, but we took it all in as a reminder of how contradictory life is living out here in Qatar.
I do warn you, Hayat's two bottom teeth make an appearance below and will likely make you go 'awwwww'. She's 10 months old here and loving life!
