June 20, 2014
I am in Doha for my fourth visit. This is the first time I have been here in
the summer, and it is impressively hot! I have now experienced the scirocco, the hot desert wind, which feels like a hot blow dryer pointed at my face. Given the fact that I have made three
transatlantic trips in the past three weeks, I gave myself a day off today. It
was quite pleasant. After working out in the gym I took a swim in the Arabian
Sea (aka the Persian Gulf). It is hard to believe that at the other end of the
Arabian Sea very bad things are happening.
I am in Doha for my fourth visit. This is the first time I have been here in
the summer, and it is impressively hot! I have now experienced the scirocco, the hot desert wind, which feels like a hot blow dryer pointed at my face. Given the fact that I have made three
transatlantic trips in the past three weeks, I gave myself a day off today. It
was quite pleasant. After working out in the gym I took a swim in the Arabian
Sea (aka the Persian Gulf). It is hard to believe that at the other end of the
Arabian Sea very bad things are happening.
After my swim I returned to the
Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). I had been there last year, but the visit was rushed and
I wanted to see more of the exhibits. Among other things, there were beautiful views of Doha from the museum. The spiral building in the center is a mosque.
Today’s highlight was an exhibit on board games. Chess was
invented in India sometime before the 7th century. It was played
widely in the Arab world long before it came to Europe. Backgammon was first
played in Persia. The exhibit showed different game pieces and lovely,
elaborate game boards dating back to the 12th century.
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