Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
sions, such as weddings. With its Bedouin inheritance, only a specialist is likely to pick up
the nuances that distinguish Qatar's music or dance from that of other Gulf States, but nu-
merous events throughout the country make Qatar one of the easier places to encounter
these art forms.
Contact Qatar Tourism Authority (
www.experienceqatar.com
) or check local 'What's
On' listings in the
Gulf Times,
the
Peninsula
or the
Qatar Tribune
to see what's happen-
ing where.
For contemporary arts and crafts, spare an hour to browse round the new galleries in
Souq Waqif. Interest in orchestral music is enjoying a revival with the
Qatar Philharmonic
Orchestra
(qatarphilharmonicorchestra.org)
, sponsored by the charitable Qatar Foundation and
playing at venues like Katara and Aspire around town.
Poetry & Dance
On National Day (3 September), you may be lucky to see a troupe of male dancers per-
forming Al-Ardha in a display of patriotic affection. It's hard to know whether to call the
performance a dance with words or a poem in motion, as during Al-Ardha
,
a poet chants
celebrations of horsemanship and valour while threading a path between two opposing
lines of dancers, each of whom echoes a verse of the poem while fluttering his sword in
the air.
Another fascinating spectacle sometimes seen on National Day is Al-Qulta. Witnessing
this kind of spontaneous poetry making is remarkable for those who understand Arabic, as
two facing poets improvise with great skill on a given topic. Even without knowing what
is being said, the occasion is exciting as the poets are accompanied not by instruments but
by syncopated
tasfiq
(the slapping of palm to palm), while the audience gets carried away
with the rhythm of the poetry.
There is a long association between the Gulf countries and those of the east coast of
Africa, and an interchange of culture is an inevitable bonus of trade. One dance that re-
flects East Africa's more relaxed integration of the sexes is Al-Lewa, performed by a mix-
ture of men and women for pleasure.
At weddings it is a traditional mark of respect for young women, who are often dar-
ingly dressed in the absence of men in low-fronted, backless ball gowns, to dance for the
bride. Today, the music is often imported from Egypt and is a sort of pan-Arabic pop, per-
formed by men hidden behind a screen. If lucky enough to be invited to a wedding, the
visitor (strictly women only) may be treated to Al-Khammary, performed by a group of
masked women, or to Al-Sameri, a thrilling spectacle in which the dancers gyrate their
loosened hair in time with the accelerating beat.
