Even though Qatar is a Muslim country and alcohol is therefore frowned upon, Doha is not completely "dry." Many hotels serve alcohol at bars and brunches, and alcohol is available for purchase at one place in the city, the Qatar Distribution Center or QDC. You must have a permit to buy alcohol there and getting one is a bit of a production: you need to bring a signed letter from your employer on letterhead stating your name, ID number, monthly income, and accommodation arrangements, and your marital status. (So first you have to go into HR and tell your employer you really, really want to buy tequila and/or ribs.) Then you have to take your letter and 1000QR (in cash, of course) to the QDC itself, a gated, nondescript little building in an out-of-the-way location far outside city center. Next you have to fill out an application, which asks for, among other things, your religion. (So, yes, you have to tell them I am a Christian and I really, really want to buy wine and/or ham.) If your application is approved, you pay your 1000QR fee (which, surprisingly, is refundable) and your are given an amount you can spend per month, usually something like 10% of your monthly income or thereabouts.
So we haven't gotten one of these licenses until recently, and then only to help out the husband's new boss who wasn't in country yet, but a few weekends ago we went and did the whole process. Want to feel totally bizarre, a little furtive, and quite guilty by association? Go to the QDC on a Saturday morning in Doha and watch the (mostly Western) expats go in and out with cases and cases of booze. It all feels a little seamy, really.
BUT you can also walk in and leave with cases (if you want) of pork products, so since we were already there anyway, I went into the freezer room to check out what they had. After practically fainting at some of the prices, we left with two pounds of smoked, thick cut bacon (for only $7.50 per pound, a veritable steal!) and a small salami (a bit more expensive than the bacon but not much). Now, I am as big a fan of ham as the next (non-Jewish or Muslim) person, but I have my limits, for crying out loud and buying a 3-4 pound ham for 275QR (that's $75, by the way) is apparently beyond my limits. Can you imagine??!! I still can't believe how much that is! So we are officially saving our ham eating for the States. Salty pork goodness for less than the cost of a microwave, here we come!
But we did have bacon. And as soon as we got in the car, J started asking when we were going to eat it. Can we eat it now? No, it's frozen and raw besides. Can we have it for dinner? Well, it's frozen solid and a brick so it may take a while to thaw. Can you thaw it in water when we get home? Can you thaw it in the microwave? Can we have it with eggs? How many pieces can I have? I want to eat it now nownownownownownowNOW!
Did I mention bacon is J's favorite food? Turns out, he hadn't forgotten and the poor, deprived boy was just biding his time until we gave him some, but being that close to it and not being able to eat bacon was almost more than J could bear! So we had bacon and eggs for dinner. And it was DELICIOUS! We haven't eaten the salami yet, but the boys demonstrated a heretofore unknown love for salami while we were in Germany, so I know they will be happy to eat it right up. I'm thinking I may slice it up for school lunches before we go and then bring the rest to eat on the plane since salami keeps so well. Let the pork appreciation parade of summer begin!
So we haven't gotten one of these licenses until recently, and then only to help out the husband's new boss who wasn't in country yet, but a few weekends ago we went and did the whole process. Want to feel totally bizarre, a little furtive, and quite guilty by association? Go to the QDC on a Saturday morning in Doha and watch the (mostly Western) expats go in and out with cases and cases of booze. It all feels a little seamy, really.
BUT you can also walk in and leave with cases (if you want) of pork products, so since we were already there anyway, I went into the freezer room to check out what they had. After practically fainting at some of the prices, we left with two pounds of smoked, thick cut bacon (for only $7.50 per pound, a veritable steal!) and a small salami (a bit more expensive than the bacon but not much). Now, I am as big a fan of ham as the next (non-Jewish or Muslim) person, but I have my limits, for crying out loud and buying a 3-4 pound ham for 275QR (that's $75, by the way) is apparently beyond my limits. Can you imagine??!! I still can't believe how much that is! So we are officially saving our ham eating for the States. Salty pork goodness for less than the cost of a microwave, here we come!
But we did have bacon. And as soon as we got in the car, J started asking when we were going to eat it. Can we eat it now? No, it's frozen and raw besides. Can we have it for dinner? Well, it's frozen solid and a brick so it may take a while to thaw. Can you thaw it in water when we get home? Can you thaw it in the microwave? Can we have it with eggs? How many pieces can I have? I want to eat it now nownownownownownowNOW!
Did I mention bacon is J's favorite food? Turns out, he hadn't forgotten and the poor, deprived boy was just biding his time until we gave him some, but being that close to it and not being able to eat bacon was almost more than J could bear! So we had bacon and eggs for dinner. And it was DELICIOUS! We haven't eaten the salami yet, but the boys demonstrated a heretofore unknown love for salami while we were in Germany, so I know they will be happy to eat it right up. I'm thinking I may slice it up for school lunches before we go and then bring the rest to eat on the plane since salami keeps so well. Let the pork appreciation parade of summer begin!
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