Qatar

When it comes to the richest countries in the world, size does not always mean wealth. The rise of the Middle East in terms of GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita in the face of Qatar began its staggering growth in 1963, when Qatar topped the world rankings. In 1966 the country was far ahead of the others, and in 1970 it was twice as high as the second country in the ranking. In 1975, the UAE overtook Qatar, and in 1994 Kuwait overtook it to third place. 🙂 But from 1998 until now, and as expected until 2040, the Qataris are the richest citizens in the world.

From birth, a person is already rich in Qatar. The government is redistributing money from the country’s resources to citizens, but they say they have been overlooked by employers in favor of better-trained foreigners, and government money checks are seen as a way to keep people happy. Apparently, no matter what a country does, ordinary people are dissatisfied…I thought that only in Bulgaria we are like that.😀 Only 15% of the 1.5 million people living in Qatar are citizens of the country; the rest are foreign employees – Western financiers and energy managers, temporary workers from India, Pakistan and other Asian countries. For Qataris, electricity, water and health care are free, the government issues pension checks, and those who want a loan can get it at low interest rates. The population of Qatar is young, only 1.5% of all are over 65 years old and for each woman has two men. This is because of the many foreign workers who are more than local and are mostly men. Women are more equal to men than, say, Saudi Arabia, but many of them walk around veiled and can’t train with men, for example, but they can vote.

Alcohol is illegal in Qatar, where 74% are Muslims, but one can buy in certain hotels if licensed. It is illegal to import pork, drugs and pornography into Qatar. Under the country’s laws, foreign workers whose visas and travel expenses are paid by their employer are not allowed to terminate their work and leave the country before their contract expires. 😮 And there are camel riders in the army. Something like the horse police in our country. 😀 Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Commenting on the issue following Qatar’s choice to host the 2022 World Cup, FIFA President Sepp Blatter saying that gays should “abstain from sexual activity” during the tournament. People reacted violently on this. Older people weigh too much to ride camels, so children competed until 2004, when the practice was declared illegal. Older people weigh too much to ride camels, do children compete until 2004, when the practice was declared illegal. Small robotic jockeys have been used ever since. Qatar has the highest levels of carbon dioxide per capita in the world at 35.73 tonnes per second. It seems that it is not ecological to support a futuristic and rich metropolis in the desert. And if you expect to climb a hill and contemplate, you will not be so lucky. In Qatar, the average altitude is only 28 meters. And one more thing that saddens me – there are only 4 countries in the world where there are no forests, according to the definition of the World Bank. And these are Qatar, San Marino, Greenland and Oman. I can’t imagine a world without trees, mountains and hills. And on top of that, permission to drink a glass of wine… This country is not for me. 😀

Traditional Qatari cuisine is virtually unknown to foreign tourists. Over the centuries, locals living in conditions of acute food shortages have developed many ascetic recipes for cooking. Almost all dishes are created on the basis of only three components – dates in all forms, camel’s milk and butter from it. Meat has always been in short supply. Nowadays, these dishes can only be tasted in Bedouin tents in the desert. All restaurants and cafes offer “more European” dishes and recipes brought from the “richer” in the culinary traditions of Arab countries – traditional “hummus”, “shish-kebab”, “tika”, “mutabal”, meat baked on skewer or fish (despite the “sea” location of the country, fish is quite poorly represented in the diet of Qataris). Indian and Pakistani restaurants and cafes with are ubiquitous. The main tradition of Qatar in cooking is the observance of the laws of halal. This is the name of the permitted actions from the point of view of Sharia. Halal meat is a product whose consumption does not violate the prohibitions on Muslim food. The traditional drinks for Qatar are fruit juices and coffee. Coffee is most often made “Bedouin-style” – very weak and with a lot of sugar, but more and more widespread is the traditional Arabic coffee – strongly prepared, without sugar, but with the addition of cardamom, ground date seeds and others.

Desserts are the same as in all Arab countries – lots of syrups and sweets, more baklava and fewer cakes. 🙂 I chose something like this for you – Basbooseh. Here are the necessary products:

200 grams of wheat semolina

200 grams of sugar

200 grams of yogurt

1 tablespoon tahini

1 teaspoon baking powder

almonds

for syrup:

200 grams of sugar

200 ml of water

lemon juice (optional to lighten the syrup)

Steps of preparation:

I don’t remember making an easier cake / pastry than the one in my life. 😀 Mix the wheat semolina, sugar, baking powder and finally add the yoghurt. Spread the tahini on the bottom of a rectangular pan.

Pour the mixture and align.

Bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and sprinkle with almonds as you like. Now I realize that I could put more to have evenly everywhere of their crunchiness. And for a more exotic and balanced taste you can add sliced roasted and salted almonds. 😉

Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the edges of the cake turn red. Remove the pan from the rack and allow to cool well. Meanwhile, boil a thick syrup of sugar and water. I also add a little lemon juice to make the sweetness more balanced. When both the cake and the syrup have cooled just syrup and let stand for a while to absorb.

It takes no more than 10-15 minutes and you can try. 🙂

I covered my desk with a scarf I bought years ago from another Arab country, Jordan, to have the inspiration and atmosphere I needed. 🙂 I have passed through Qatar several times, but the only place I set foot was Doha Airport. 🙂 I can say very good words about their airline – so far it is the best I have flown. I don’t know if I will ever go for a walk around this country. I’m not planning at the moment. Maybe you will find something to see, although I prefer ruins, history, culture for more than a few decades, and Qatar does not meet these requirements. As for the “cake”, it is insanely sweet. I love these Arabic delicacies, but the dose should be very small. If you like sugar-rich oriental desserts, try this one. For splendor, I sprinkled saffron very sparingly and decorated it with star anise. 😉

Next destination – Kenya.