What is Qatar National Day? Most of the expats here aren’t exactly sure. Part of the problem stems from the fact that Qatar’s actual independence day (from the Ottomans? from another tribe? from the st
rictures of polite driving?) is in April, and part stems from the fact that this is only the second year that QND has been celebrated on December 18. Back in 2007, lucky Qatar fanatics got to celebrate on the original day in April as well.
True Qatar fanatics aren’t going to let silly questions like this stop them from celebrating like it’s 1399, so they throw a big party. Have I mentioned that Qatar is the largest supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the world? Yeah, it’s a BIG party. The government installed monster light shows up and down the 5km of the Corniche, which is the boardwalk that runs along the water downtown. Big projection screens and water displays were set up every 500 meters or so and displayed plenty of Sheikh Emir Khomeini Yassin Rich Guy types praising the glory of Qatar (well, it was in Arabic, so they may have been saying “Death to the infidels” for all I know). Massive speakers played some kind of “Arabian Nights” theme, which actually made a pretty cool soundtrack to run to. It was honestly very impressive.
Several of us gathered later that night for a fireworks display that would supposedly rival the grandest spectacles ever heretofore seen. After sitting there for an hour after the start time without so much of a fizzle, the “Doha time” jokes started to roll. (“Mohammed, you were supposed to bring the matches!” “No, that was the other Mohammed’s job!”) Man, that sentence will probably get me thrown in jail. Anyway, just as we were starting to pack up, the fireworks finally went off.
And man, what a show it was. Four shut up into the air at the same time, and then they kept going steadily for about 40 minutes. There were four barges out in the bay, which I’m pretty sure is more than even DC uses for its celebrations. They did not skimp; it was pretty damn impressive. I’ve posted a couple of photos which frankly don’t do it any justice. But the fireworks definitely weren’t the most enduring images I’ll take away from QND.
As I’m sure you’re aware, the Wahabbi Muslims that run this place aren’t particularly fond of liquor. Well, officially at least. Single men and single women aren’t allowed to communicate with each other. There’s just not a whole lot of opportunity for wild partying, so the young ‘uns here have to look for alternative ways to spend their time. So they do the same things that we did back in the days before alcohol when we weren’t cool enough to score a date but we DID have a car...they cruise the strip. All of them. For hours upon endless hours. They honk. They burn the rubber of their tires. They force their $75,000 Land Cruisers to backfire unmercifully while waving plastic AK-47s from their sunroofs (which is better than the real AK-47s they waved five or so years ago…) Frankly, I’m glad this wasn’t the first thing I saw when I got here; it literally looked like an 80s terrorist movie. And they do stuff like this…
These guys were insane. Three Land Cruisers would drive side-by-side at 10kph blocking traffic while guys would hang out the doors, sprawl across the hoods, and even stand on the car roofs. Guys would jump out and wave a massive Qatar flag in the middle of traffic. It was the most incredible chaos I think I’ve ever seen – and it was pretty cool too. They love their country here, and on this day they loved everyone else too. Every single car would mug for anybody they saw with a camera. I actually stopped taking pictures because I was pretty sure I was going to be responsible for someone’s death; it was the Qatari equivalent of “Here, hold my beer and watch me do this!” People covered their cars with Qatar flag stickers, which I’m sure seemed like a good idea at the time. And while it certainly wasn’t the most intelligent way to celebrate (a Land Cruiser dealer need never worry about job security here…), it was definitely a friendly atmosphere and a lot of fun. Even if no one is sure exactly what they’re celebrating…
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