This is a question for the long time residents of Qatar. How was life like before the malls? Where did people spend their time, especially in the summer? Where did they do shopping? When was the first mall built?
of the ring roads, anyone who lived outside the "C" ring was considered to live "out in the sticks".
The "D" ring was often used by wedding parties en-route to the airport to see off the bride and groom. Rifles were pointed aloft and fired when accompanying the wedding party and you got out of their way!
Cars with a number plate with no number (just crossed swords) were ruling family.
I often wonder what happened to all the families that lived in the shanty town that was replaced by "The Mall"
hehe as far as I can remember .. The corniche wasn't as long as it is now ..
I used to enjoy swimming in the place where Q-Tel and the Four Seasons stand tall now. Also used to swim where the Inter Con is erected now.
Used to swim and play on the beach that was later taken over by Sealine Beach resort :( ..
There was no Al Bida park :). It is relatively new.
The rush in Munthaza Co-Operative Stores(now renamed to Al Meera) used to be like what it is now in LULU .. These co-ops got owned once stores like lulu, family food center, carrefour sprung up.
The Mall on the D ring road was the first structure that fitted the description of a Mall and hence the name "The Mall" coz at that time it was literally "The" Mall ... hehe not any more ..
I remember it used to take only about 10 minutes to reach any part of Doha .. unlike now ..
The police used to patrol almost each and every street. I used to see a police patrol almost twice daily infront of my house.
If anyone was entering or exiting Doha after 11pm their license plate numbers were logged by the police. Used to happen everytime we went to Umm Said (now Mesaid) for parties.
The clubs in Umm Said used to draw a lot of crowd during the weekend Lotto/Bingo. Al Banush & Al Maha ..
Umm .. Thats about all that comes to my mind rite now..
I suspect it was some time in the early 80's. The magical hour was midnight. I remember HMS Brazen coming out and some sailors missing the boat when it left as they were arrested for being on the "C" ring after midnight.
We had an Irish chef at the Falcon Club who was relaxing and having a smoke on the corniche at 4am having worked 24 hours solid to provide food for 2,000 on Commonwealth night. The police stopped and asked him for his passport (which he didn't have with him), asked him where he was from and when he said Ireland they said "IRA" and locked him in the fort for the night. There were some strange happenings. Ahmed Hassan Bilal (our DEM) got him out later in the morning.
I wonder when they stopped it. I don't have any recollection of that from my childhood but I spent many years abroad with my family when I was little for my mother and father's study and a brother's illness. We used to try to come back for Ramadan/Eids if we could.
Incidentally, mentioning the corniche. All the grass was planted root by root along the entire length of the Corniche just before they opened the Sheraton.
I remember them announcing Aladdin's Kingdom. The first year's maintenance was undertaken by an outfit from Blackpool.
Diamond Girl.
I seem to recollect that the curfew was still in effect in the early 80's.
As has been pointed out when we first arrived about 11 years ago there was the Center, Gulf Cinema and Salam at Al Sadd. They had a supermarket there too.
We also had Aladdin's kingdom for entertainment. Great entertainment.
We'd just come from London and my wife was absolutely shocked.
Going into one of the restaurants at the hotels that serve alcohol required presentation of ID to a Qatari security guy.
do i remember the centre. it was the place we all used to hang out. get all out music on tapes. we did all out food shopping there. when i said i was coming back to doha and i could go to the centre one of my friends was like they have bigger and better now. has i was still at school then my time in qatar was like one big holiday the only downside was having to go to school. there was no bars then but all used to nick the booze of of the bottles from all out parents houses to have a party. we was talking the other day about how most english people all had bars in the house. telly was rubbish. nothing on. the english tv only came on in the evening and it was something like sons and daughters. driving was bad then so it must be really crazy now. people used to take up 2 lanes having chats has they was driving down the rd. the only thing i didnt like is certain people thought they could just touch you up in the souqs or do things to them selves. YUK. didnt even matter if you was with your parents. weekends meant going to the inland sea or to the island. everyone seemed to get on or maybe i was looking though tinted glasses.
Porcupine you are right about the driving...much more civilised back then. Maybe it's the influx of expat drivers over the years that has contributed to the driving etiquette - or lack of - now. Ha ha ha only joking fellow users, I know how awful some of you think the driving is here, and rightly so!!!
I came to Qatar in November 1979 and have seen how this country has grown and changed over the years.
Way back then life was simple and quiet. There were no shopping centres, supermarkets/hypermarkets. As rightly stated by Dweller, the only department store in town was The Centre, frequented mostly by Europeans as merchandise there was very expensive, even foodstuffs were more expensive than they were in smaller shops or the souqs. Salam Studio was the next closest store. It actually started off as a studio and later expanded into a department store.
There were only private taxis operated mostly by Pathans and Iranians. On the roads plied large american cars owned by Qataris and smaller Japanese cars like Datsun, Toyota Cressida, Corolla, etc. driven by expatriates. No Landcruisers speeding and overtaking while you drove or making rude gestures. I don't remember anybody driving the way some people do now. After 8:00 p.m., the roads were nearly bare and there were no street lights after the airport roundabout.
During weekends we would take the children either to the Muntaza Park which was invariably crowded and it was ever so difficult for our children to get a chance to play on the swing or seasaw, etc. The beaches were the next best places we loved going to, either Umm Said, which was the best or Dukhan, sometimes Wakrah. The Al-Khor garden was the next best garden, a bit farfetched then, to take one's family to spend Friday. Apart from these people had their own private entertainment at home where friends would gather together for a birthday party or whatever the occasion was and have a good time.
As for television, there was only one Arabic channel on QTV, so we would turn to Dubai or Bahrain TV to watch programmes in English. Once a week (Thursday night) QTV would show a Hindi film which was eagerly awaited by not only Indians but also Pakistani, Iranians and also some Qatari failies I know, as they too liked watching Hindi films. Good old QBS was always there for music in English.
The Corniche was still under reclamation and the Sheraton Hotel was nearing completion.
Shopping was done in the souqs.
As one can see life was really simple but we were content with the little we had and we made do with whatever was available then. And last but not least the rents were affordable and the landlords didn't think of raising them. In fact in 1984 we moved to a two-bedroom partment in the old airport area and we had to pay
QR 2,000/- as monthly rent which was way too high and believe me, over the years our landlord brought down the rent bit by bit until it came to to QR 1,100/- and it stayed that way until 2003 when he raised it to QR1,300/- and then it went up, up and up.......
I may have missed out on some things. As far as my memory served me, these are the things that come to mind now.
The Mall was like the highlight of tht time, it really changed the scene for youngsters around town !!!! Things used to b very quiet n calm in the 90's
growing up I don't remember any traffic jams!!! Life was calm and peaceful...I do remember going with my Mum to the souq for shopping (spices, perfumes, material for clothing, nuts, etc) Now they deliver to us! But we still go once in a while. I remember going to Europe a few times a year (staying in our houses in London and Paris and travelling around) and we would always have a long list of things to buy and take back. Clothes, shoes, medicines, foodstuffs...endless list. Now the list is shorter as there is so much more available to buy in Doha and online buying with shipping is easier. Some of my older relatives remember Doha as a walled city with a curfew at night. Someone came along to light the gaslamps (?) at sunset and during Ramadan someone came through the streets at Suhoor time to wake everyone up to eat before the fasting began for the day.
Dweller, you've got a good memory...I had forgotten about Salam Studios on Al Sadd St. My Dad used to shop there a lot.
I remember when The Mall opened on D ring Road. It was so exciting!!!
Up from the Sofitel towards Rayyan Road somewhere down a little narrow street on the left. Cannot remember which street but it was past the one that had an Olympic Sports branch near the corner.
There was no life without the Malls earlier, but i should say people used to spend more time at home getting together with friends or family... Like every said it was only center and then the mall in the late nineties ... But things have changed a lot since city center and the other malls have opened up ....
You must also remember what was originally on the site of the Mall in the old arport area.
That massive and squalid shanty town.
The Center was the only decent large shop and it had BHS as one of its franchises although many of the items for sale were not BHS products, just BHS labels sewn on in the wrong place.
There was a Shwarma stall in the car park and a cafe inside that served many dishes. Both were operated by "The Caravan".
The only other shop of any size was Salam Studios, on Al-Saad Street. Now the site of the QP offices and HSBC. Salam Plaza didn't open until the early/mid 80's I seem to recollect.
If there was something that you wanted and couldn't find, Globe China was the place to go.
as i was born in qatar....but i m orginaly from qatar...
i remember that there was no big shopping mall here b4...people use to go to cornish and pass there time...or they go to souqe to buy some stuffs...but as i think life was easy in qatar b4 as it is not like that now...
it was the Mall in Old Airport area build first. ppl used to go to THE CENTER near Ramada for shopping mostly the westerners.Than Landmark came up and City center and so on.
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of the ring roads, anyone who lived outside the "C" ring was considered to live "out in the sticks".
The "D" ring was often used by wedding parties en-route to the airport to see off the bride and groom. Rifles were pointed aloft and fired when accompanying the wedding party and you got out of their way!
Cars with a number plate with no number (just crossed swords) were ruling family.
I often wonder what happened to all the families that lived in the shanty town that was replaced by "The Mall"
hehe as far as I can remember .. The corniche wasn't as long as it is now ..
I used to enjoy swimming in the place where Q-Tel and the Four Seasons stand tall now. Also used to swim where the Inter Con is erected now.
Used to swim and play on the beach that was later taken over by Sealine Beach resort :( ..
There was no Al Bida park :). It is relatively new.
The rush in Munthaza Co-Operative Stores(now renamed to Al Meera) used to be like what it is now in LULU .. These co-ops got owned once stores like lulu, family food center, carrefour sprung up.
The Mall on the D ring road was the first structure that fitted the description of a Mall and hence the name "The Mall" coz at that time it was literally "The" Mall ... hehe not any more ..
I remember it used to take only about 10 minutes to reach any part of Doha .. unlike now ..
The police used to patrol almost each and every street. I used to see a police patrol almost twice daily infront of my house.
If anyone was entering or exiting Doha after 11pm their license plate numbers were logged by the police. Used to happen everytime we went to Umm Said (now Mesaid) for parties.
The clubs in Umm Said used to draw a lot of crowd during the weekend Lotto/Bingo. Al Banush & Al Maha ..
Umm .. Thats about all that comes to my mind rite now..
I honestly don't know why they had them. I suppose it could have been after the coupe when Sh Khalifa assumed power.
Can someone explain to me why they had curfews in Doha?
I suspect it was some time in the early 80's. The magical hour was midnight. I remember HMS Brazen coming out and some sailors missing the boat when it left as they were arrested for being on the "C" ring after midnight.
We had an Irish chef at the Falcon Club who was relaxing and having a smoke on the corniche at 4am having worked 24 hours solid to provide food for 2,000 on Commonwealth night. The police stopped and asked him for his passport (which he didn't have with him), asked him where he was from and when he said Ireland they said "IRA" and locked him in the fort for the night. There were some strange happenings. Ahmed Hassan Bilal (our DEM) got him out later in the morning.
I wonder when they stopped it. I don't have any recollection of that from my childhood but I spent many years abroad with my family when I was little for my mother and father's study and a brother's illness. We used to try to come back for Ramadan/Eids if we could.
There are some pictures already in the gallery.
Incidentally, mentioning the corniche. All the grass was planted root by root along the entire length of the Corniche just before they opened the Sheraton.
I remember them announcing Aladdin's Kingdom. The first year's maintenance was undertaken by an outfit from Blackpool.
Diamond Girl.
I seem to recollect that the curfew was still in effect in the early 80's.
http://www.qatarliving.com/discussion/white-house-doha-19jul2006
As has been pointed out when we first arrived about 11 years ago there was the Center, Gulf Cinema and Salam at Al Sadd. They had a supermarket there too.
We also had Aladdin's kingdom for entertainment. Great entertainment.
We'd just come from London and my wife was absolutely shocked.
Going into one of the restaurants at the hotels that serve alcohol required presentation of ID to a Qatari security guy.
wow porcupine...
i love your post
Computers have lots of memory but no imagination.
There was a souq called Shabarbosh. It catched fire & stopped business in the 80's.
...that would be a great idea. This town has changes since I got here in November. I'd like to see what it was like in yesteryear...
thanks
do i remember the centre. it was the place we all used to hang out. get all out music on tapes. we did all out food shopping there. when i said i was coming back to doha and i could go to the centre one of my friends was like they have bigger and better now. has i was still at school then my time in qatar was like one big holiday the only downside was having to go to school. there was no bars then but all used to nick the booze of of the bottles from all out parents houses to have a party. we was talking the other day about how most english people all had bars in the house. telly was rubbish. nothing on. the english tv only came on in the evening and it was something like sons and daughters. driving was bad then so it must be really crazy now. people used to take up 2 lanes having chats has they was driving down the rd. the only thing i didnt like is certain people thought they could just touch you up in the souqs or do things to them selves. YUK. didnt even matter if you was with your parents. weekends meant going to the inland sea or to the island. everyone seemed to get on or maybe i was looking though tinted glasses.
The drivers from asian sub-contitent and egypt are greatly contributing to present day driving crisis. seen and experienced by my own. sad situation.
Porcupine you are right about the driving...much more civilised back then. Maybe it's the influx of expat drivers over the years that has contributed to the driving etiquette - or lack of - now. Ha ha ha only joking fellow users, I know how awful some of you think the driving is here, and rightly so!!!
I came to Qatar in November 1979 and have seen how this country has grown and changed over the years.
Way back then life was simple and quiet. There were no shopping centres, supermarkets/hypermarkets. As rightly stated by Dweller, the only department store in town was The Centre, frequented mostly by Europeans as merchandise there was very expensive, even foodstuffs were more expensive than they were in smaller shops or the souqs. Salam Studio was the next closest store. It actually started off as a studio and later expanded into a department store.
There were only private taxis operated mostly by Pathans and Iranians. On the roads plied large american cars owned by Qataris and smaller Japanese cars like Datsun, Toyota Cressida, Corolla, etc. driven by expatriates. No Landcruisers speeding and overtaking while you drove or making rude gestures. I don't remember anybody driving the way some people do now. After 8:00 p.m., the roads were nearly bare and there were no street lights after the airport roundabout.
During weekends we would take the children either to the Muntaza Park which was invariably crowded and it was ever so difficult for our children to get a chance to play on the swing or seasaw, etc. The beaches were the next best places we loved going to, either Umm Said, which was the best or Dukhan, sometimes Wakrah. The Al-Khor garden was the next best garden, a bit farfetched then, to take one's family to spend Friday. Apart from these people had their own private entertainment at home where friends would gather together for a birthday party or whatever the occasion was and have a good time.
As for television, there was only one Arabic channel on QTV, so we would turn to Dubai or Bahrain TV to watch programmes in English. Once a week (Thursday night) QTV would show a Hindi film which was eagerly awaited by not only Indians but also Pakistani, Iranians and also some Qatari failies I know, as they too liked watching Hindi films. Good old QBS was always there for music in English.
The Corniche was still under reclamation and the Sheraton Hotel was nearing completion.
Shopping was done in the souqs.
As one can see life was really simple but we were content with the little we had and we made do with whatever was available then. And last but not least the rents were affordable and the landlords didn't think of raising them. In fact in 1984 we moved to a two-bedroom partment in the old airport area and we had to pay
QR 2,000/- as monthly rent which was way too high and believe me, over the years our landlord brought down the rent bit by bit until it came to to QR 1,100/- and it stayed that way until 2003 when he raised it to QR1,300/- and then it went up, up and up.......
I may have missed out on some things. As far as my memory served me, these are the things that come to mind now.
Salam Studio used to a shopping center like the one opposite city center now !!
The Mall was like the highlight of tht time, it really changed the scene for youngsters around town !!!! Things used to b very quiet n calm in the 90's
and what are salam studios exactly?
growing up I don't remember any traffic jams!!! Life was calm and peaceful...I do remember going with my Mum to the souq for shopping (spices, perfumes, material for clothing, nuts, etc) Now they deliver to us! But we still go once in a while. I remember going to Europe a few times a year (staying in our houses in London and Paris and travelling around) and we would always have a long list of things to buy and take back. Clothes, shoes, medicines, foodstuffs...endless list. Now the list is shorter as there is so much more available to buy in Doha and online buying with shipping is easier. Some of my older relatives remember Doha as a walled city with a curfew at night. Someone came along to light the gaslamps (?) at sunset and during Ramadan someone came through the streets at Suhoor time to wake everyone up to eat before the fasting began for the day.
Dweller, you've got a good memory...I had forgotten about Salam Studios on Al Sadd St. My Dad used to shop there a lot.
I remember when The Mall opened on D ring Road. It was so exciting!!!
fridays were mostly like grave yard with in the city empty roads quite and calm city and damn hot.ppl used to go to AL bida park and corniche.
few of them would go to sealine in umsaeed for weekends.Souq or Irani Market was famous fully packed on fridays shoppers roaming around.
[img_assist|nid=13339|title=.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=180|height=180]
...that is a really good question. I've often wondered exactly the same thing but I've never gotten around to asking it.
I would love to know more about what life was like before the malls but also before Doha was the chaotic city it is now.
Globe China
I don't know if it still exists.
Location wise:
Up from the Sofitel towards Rayyan Road somewhere down a little narrow street on the left. Cannot remember which street but it was past the one that had an Olympic Sports branch near the corner.
There was no life without the Malls earlier, but i should say people used to spend more time at home getting together with friends or family... Like every said it was only center and then the mall in the late nineties ... But things have changed a lot since city center and the other malls have opened up ....
what is this globe china? i never heard of it before? is it a store? where is it located?
You must also remember what was originally on the site of the Mall in the old arport area.
That massive and squalid shanty town.
The Center was the only decent large shop and it had BHS as one of its franchises although many of the items for sale were not BHS products, just BHS labels sewn on in the wrong place.
There was a Shwarma stall in the car park and a cafe inside that served many dishes. Both were operated by "The Caravan".
The only other shop of any size was Salam Studios, on Al-Saad Street. Now the site of the QP offices and HSBC. Salam Plaza didn't open until the early/mid 80's I seem to recollect.
If there was something that you wanted and couldn't find, Globe China was the place to go.
[img_assist|nid=13716|title=|desc=|link=node|align=center|width=180|height=180]
as i was born in qatar....but i m orginaly from qatar...
i remember that there was no big shopping mall here b4...people use to go to cornish and pass there time...or they go to souqe to buy some stuffs...but as i think life was easy in qatar b4 as it is not like that now...
[---"Death ends a life, not a relationship"---]
it was the Mall in Old Airport area build first. ppl used to go to THE CENTER near Ramada for shopping mostly the westerners.Than Landmark came up and City center and so on.
[img_assist|nid=13339|title=.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=180|height=180]