DOHA: The Road To Jahannam

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
In DOHA
22 November 2009

Jahannam is the Islamic word for Hell, and judging by my first few days in Doha I could be speeding my way there pretty soon.

Spent the first full night in Qatar in the Doha Sheraton Hotel "Irish Bar", which is licensed to sell alcohol - a proscribed substance nearly everywhere in the Arabian penninsula except in specially licensed clubs or bars.

Women are also forbidden from displaying their shoulders or knees (as well as the other obvious taboo body parts) outside these licensed areas, so they make the most of it in the hotel bars by wearing as little as possible.

There is, however, a high cost for breaking these prohibitions, even in licensed premises. Apart from the risk of losing your soul to Shaitan (that's Satan to you and me), it costs 38 Qatari Riyals (over six quid) for a pint of Guiness. The penalty for non-maritial relations is a year in prison.

Friday night also introduced me to a taxi ride on Doha roads. The driving is wild and I'm reliably informed that by the time my visit is over I will see, or be involved in a (hopefully non-fatal) road accident. Crossing points are also very rare on the main roads, meaning you may have to walk half a mile to find a place to cross or risk you life during a break in three lanes of constantly weaving traffic.

In contrast to Britain's sparing use of the horn (which is normally used to indicate imminent danger and occassionally to express frustration at the kind of driving that is customary in Doha), the horn in Doha appears to be a form of driver communication, like the twittering of birds. During particularly frustating episodes of gridlock, where any movement is impossible and frustrated horns therefore futile, they nevertheless become a cacophony akin to a herd of trumpeting elephants.

Hopefully I'll make it home alive.