CAMPING AT ZIKREET

Sunset over the Persian Gulf


Ostriches roam free

Rocky Beach at Zikreet




Scouts flying kites




Beach at Zikreet








Spent Easter Weekend camping with the Boy Scouts at Zikreet, Qatar. This is a very desolate area - was nice to get away from the lights and noise of Doha. Zikreet is a nature preserve, and very close to the movie set fort we visited in November (see a previous post for pictures). Ostriches roam free here - you have to be careful of them - they have been known to attack people. We saw this one from the car, and he wasn't afraid of us! There used to be a breed of smaller ostrich that was native to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, but it is extinct. A few years ago, for reasons I cannot fathom, the Qataris introduced these ostriches.

The entire family had a great time wading in the gulf, flying kites, looking for shells and watching the Boy Scouts work on the wilderness survival merit badge. The beach here is rocky, but there is some sand. (Qatar does not have nice sandy beaches.) At night we could see the lights and natural gas flare of the oil refinery across the bay in Dukhan. There are also several military outposts near here, and some permanent Qatari tent camps. We were undisturbed, except for a Land Rover that come through our camp at 3:30 am - probably a government type patrol. Andy, Grant, and I slept out under the stars. Moon was very full, was like sleeping with a light on. Erin opted for the tent. Weather was very nice - 80's during the day and 60's at night. This is the last Qatar Boy Scout campout until fall - it is going to start getting VERY hot and humid in the next month.

Got back to Doha early on Easter Sunday. Some of the hotels here had special brunches, Easter Egg displays, etc; to celebrate. And, the new Catholic Church held services. We missed all that, but did go out to our military base for dinner. Had ham, mashed potatoes and sour cherry pie - very nice! And, great news, the PX has pork again! Picked up pork chops and pork tenderloin. I got the limit (remember, pork is rationed) of 5 packages. Plan on pork chops tonight!