Although the seasonal changes are not nearly as pronounced here as in the northeast U.S., the more subtle changes are still worth remarking on. I now wear the usual array of trouser suits (as the Brits call them) but with long sleeved shirts underneath (hot weather calls for short or sleeveless, although the jacket remains on in public all the time). Sometimes it is cool enough in the morning (6:30 am) to throw a pashima silk/wool scarf around my neck. Usually when I leave work ca 4:00 pm, it is not needed. Last week we had extremely violent winds which tossed my balcony furniture around, thoroughly loosening one bolt and completely removing the tied down chair cushion. This cushion sailed into freedom somewhere and I will need to sit on the chair without it. During the next few days following the winds, the air was filled with sand – my eyes stung for days and the light was dimmed. The top photo is from my balcony after the air has cleared up - a welcome sight. Local news reports, however, that “Oman has come under a freak spell of cold weather and snow fall in mountain areas of Al Hamra and Jabal Al Akhdar provinces. Oman Arabic daily said the cold weather spell and snowfall caused farmers to halt irrigation and prompted workers to stay indoors and keep away from work."
For some time we have seen the return of greener palm trees and the many colored flowers now lining the median strip on the highways , of which I attach one from the Corniche.
From the local news this week we read of the blooming of the desert:
Qatar deserts have bloomed! A month after winter arrived, the parched landscape of the country's interiors is sprinkled with indigenous flowers in various hue and colours. The natural flowers can be spotted aplenty in places like Umm Salal Muhammed, Umm Salal Ali and Shahaniya. A mosaic of violet, yellow and white flowers can be spotted in these areas. Winter has brought its magic all around these villages. (Photo from the newspaper).
The environment which was marked by dust storms and high temperature till a few weeks ago has been transformed into greenery with soothing salubrious winds.
The visuals here are a proof that the deserts aren't really barren and it again challenges the misconception that there is little or no flora in Qatar. In fact, it was Friends of the Environment Centre (FEC) who took up this challenge when they launched the ‘A Flower Each Spring’ project under the leadership of H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned almost a decade ago. Sheikha Mozah is expected to announce the name of the ‘Flower of the Year’ in the coming days.
In the same Penisula paper we also read that
Acacia tortilis popularly known as Al Samr, has also sprouted largely in the area. It produces fragrant clusters of white or pale-yellow flowers typically one centimetre in diametre, and there are often as many as 400 flowers on a single branch. The flowers eventually develop into a yellowy brown fruit. (The following image is from Banana-tree.com who report that the tree has very fragrant white flowers, spiny branches, and seed pods that are tightly spiraled; the mature height is 35'.)
One of the interesting features of the acacia tortilis is its ability to grow in areas with an annual rainfall as low as 40mm, and it can withstand temperatures ranging from 45 degrees Celsius at midday to below 10 degrees Celsius at night. The acacia tortilis has a wide variety of uses, not least as forage or shade for farm animals. Its flower pods are often fed to lactating animals to increase milk production; the flowers are an important source of honey, and the leaves, bark and seeds can be used to make medicine. The plant is threatened by its popularity and cutting down acacia vegetation poses an increased risk of desertification.
Other good news is the opening of the Museum of Islamic Art on February 22. This museum, on the Corniche and overlooking the West Bay, was designed by IM Pei and is said to be a perfect blend of traditional and modern architecture and a fusion of the West and the East. The collection itself is drawn from the middle east as well as from countries ranging from Spain to India and includes ancient robes from Iran, diamonds and rubies from India, an incense burner from Syria, a 14th century Holy Quran from North Africa, bowls from Iraq, a fountain head from Spain and ancient candle sticks. Exhibitions for the next five years have been planned and will include material from museums such as the Louvre Museum, France; British Museum, London; Museum of Islamic Arts, Egypt; Metropolitan Museum, New York; Royal Collection of Morocco and Cartier Collection, France. Acting President of Qatar Musuems' Authority(QMA), Abdullah Al Najjar, said the museum would be a world-class place of learning and would serve as a platform for international dialogue. “The museum will play host to a number of exhibitions, where visitors will journey through time and across cultures and regions, based on the themes of historical periods and dynasty groups selected by the designer of the galleries, Jean-Michel Willmotte.”
Buried among all the good news, we read also of problems in neighboring Kuwait where the drive for co-education has serious opposition.
A Kuwaiti liberal MP said yesterday that his life was threatened after he proposed amendments to two laws that enforce the segregation of the sexes at universities. Kuwait's parliament, controlled by Islamists and conservatives, passed a law in 1996 and then exended the ban in 2000 in to co-education to private universities. Rashed and two other liberal MPs on Tuesday filed a bill calling for the two laws to be amended in order to allow co-education, saying that the segregation laws had a strong negative impact on students. The three lawmakers also argued that Shariah law does not ban the mixing of the sexes because men and women can mix freely in markets, shopping malls and in workplaces. Parliament speaker Jassem Al Khorafi condemned the threat against Rashed and urged the interior ministry to try to apprehend the culprit.
