Christmas 2009 -2

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Christmas 2009

Dear

Family

and

Friends,

It’s

time

again

to

send

you

season’s

greetings

from

Qatar.

Doha

is

looking

particularly

sparkly

this

year

with

lights

and

flags

up

all

over

town.

They’re

in

honour

of

the

National

Day

on

18

th

December,

but

it

all

adds

to

a

festive

atmosphere.

Actually,

friends

tell

us

that

there

are

far

more

Christmas

decorations

in

shops

than

there

were

a

few

years

ago

which

has

made

at

least

one

imam

unhappy.

Maybe

commerce

is

the

new

religion?

We

look

back

on

another

enjoyable

year,

spent

mostly

out

here.

The

weather

recently

has

been

cool,

even

rainy,

which

makes

it

easy

to

forget

the

hot,

dusty

days

of

summer

and

September.

While

Simon

had

to

be

here

more

than

he

would

have

liked

in

the

summer,

Candy

was

able

to

get

away

to

Florida

and

London

for

June

and

July.

In

May,

our

family

gathered

in

Panama

City

Beach,

Florida,

for

niece

Samantha’s

wedding

to

Jarret.

The

cousins

and

their

elders

all

had

a

great

time.

One

of

the

pre

‐

wedding

social

events

was

a

tropical

themed

party

and,

as

you

can

see,

the

Waldrams

love

a

dressing

up

challenge.

The

opportunity

to

travel

remains

one

of

the

best

aspects

of

living

in

a

new

part

of

the

world.

We

found

Egypt,

in

March,

a

fascinating

blend

of

stunning

sites

‐

a

good

local

guide

helped

to

bring

to

life

the

stories

typical

of

the

temples

and

tombs

‐

and

a

glimpse

into

the

unchanging

patterns

of

rural

life.

We

cruised

up

the

Nile

in

the

traditional

Dahabbiya

boat

seen

here

and

tied

up

for

the

evenings

where

local

people

come

to

relax

and

water

their

animals.

The

Eid

holiday

in

October

took

us

to

Istanbul

and

the

Cappadocia

region

of

Turkey.

The

city

with

its

layers

of

history,

Byzantine

and

Ottoman,

was

fun

to

explore.

It

was

gratifying

to

see

the

mosaics

from

the

earlier

era

surviving

in

the

Hagia

Sophia.

They

were

covered

over

when

it

became

a

mosque,

rather

than

being

destroyed.

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