Living in Doha

It seems that my quick post with a few pictures has generated some interest in the depth and breadth of this new place we now call home. In response to these inquiries, I will attempt to paint a more detailed picture.

It appears that the majority of the houses here have an enclosed courtyard – similar to what we saw in Ecuador. There is a locked, gated entrance along with a “garage door” that opens, electronically, onto the “courtyard” area in front of the house. There you primarily find concrete tiles but, just to keep my hand in the habit of mowing, there’s a tiny patch of grass with a plant or two. Some of the homes in this "strip" have planted areas but, unfortunately, ours is quite stark. The covering on the right is our "garage" where the car sits.

To give you a better, more exacting idea, of the size of our house, the dimensions are 30.8 feet by 21.2 feet. (9.4 m x 21.7 m). This works out to roughly 2200 square feet (203 square meters). The first ½ of the house is the front room/kitchen area and the back half includes the 3 bedrooms. The color schemes are interesting – The dining area is a beautiful maroon color, shifting into a pale mossy green color in the connected living area - note the large number of boxes in the corner - more things to sort through and find homes for. Why did we ever send so much??!! 

The kitchen is completely done in tile – a maroonish pink color. The strangest thing is the location of the refrigerator…it’s in a separate room behind the kitchen. Have to wonder why it has a lock on it…diet…maids…kids? In fact, every door in the house has a lock and key to go with it!