This is the 'Al Jazeera Arabic' studio. Al Jazeera (Arabic: الجزيرة‎) literally means 'the island' (but refers to the Arabian Peninsula).
With high fences around it, it's like a media island in the middle of Doha; over 4000 people work there day and night.

'Al Jazeera Satellite Channel' is not that old; it was launched in 1996 following the closure of the BBC's Arabic language
television station. It gained popularity in the region, since it was the only satellite broadcasting in the Middle-East.

Al Jazeera introduced a level of freedom of speech on TV that was previously unheard of in many of these countries.
Ironically Qatar, like many other Arab countries, barred individuals from having satellite dishes until 2001.

Al Jazeera was the only international news network to have correspondents in Iraq during the Operation Desert Fox
bombing campaign in 1998. Its exclusive video clips were highly prized by Western media. Bush and Blair apparently
did not like the free coverage that much, according to this article on CNN from 2005: link.

Al Jazeera launched an English language channel in 2006. This is a rare look into the studio of Al Jazeera English during
a live broadcast (which looks so much flashier than the AJ Arabic studio).

The most popular news channel in the region has been perceived as playing a pivotal part in the Arab Spring (the revolutions
in Tunisian and Egyptian). Its current coverage of the Syrian war has been criticized also; read an insiders opinion by an
ex-Al Jazeera journalist here.

It is remarkable to see many satellite trucks parked in between the buildings. I'm told that Al Jazeera faces often satellite
disruptions, of which they accuse the Iranian government. To avoid blocking of the signal, they're changing the angle towards
the satellite in space constantly with these mobile dishes. Also the online platforms have been hacked recently, probably by
pro-Assad Syrians (link).

Much more to say about Al Jazeera, but enough for this blog now. Just watch it :-)

The Met - an apartment building in Sathorn Bangkok with a really cool design from the outside, but a bleak interiour (link).

According to an Indonesian friend: 'I don't know what it is, but something in between fish and snake'; very crispy.

Actors behind the scenes in 'Teater Jakarta' - a beautiful new building in the TIM park (link).

The Twin Towers (452m) in Kuala Lumpur - the world's tallest buildings between 1998-2004, now it's the Burj Khalifa (link).

Bright sidewalk tidbits in Bangkok.

Public transport is ... popular ;-)

Visiting friends Guy, Sarah & KK in Bangkok, just before they return to France. So let's have fresh red meat on the sidewalk.

Extraordinary plants in Sidi Bou Said (travel link).

Ruins in Carthage, a city of the Pheonician and Punic periods from the 6th century BC, most famous because of general
Hannibal who crossed the Alps to battle with the Romans and now a UNESCO World Heritage.

This is Dougga, a huge archaeological site which lies in the middle of the countryside and thus has been protected
from modern urbanisation. The city appears to have been founded in the 6th century BCE (UNESCO info).

A classic concert in Tunis by a famous oud artist - the most popular instrument in the Middle East (link).

The light house of Sidi Bou Said - the oldest of Tunisia - is located on a hill that probably has been a beacon for over 3000
years (Phoenician times). The hill is called Jebel el-Manar, which means 'Fire Mountain', guiding sailors into the bay.

Thank you Tunisia for a great & relaxing holiday!

Meeting at UNESCO - if you wanna read more about it, click here.

La Cité, the first metro station in Paris.

Olaf in front of the Notre Dame.

Louvre. Merci Olaf & Emma, merci Paris!

Dubai nationalities: 42% Indian, 17% Emirati, 13% Pakistani, 8% Bangladeshi, 3% Filipino, 2% Sri Lankan, 1% European,
14% other countries (source).

In the middle of the gigantic 'Dubai Mall' is an incredible aquarium with huge sharks (2 years ago it started cracking
- according to the NYT's blog) and the 'Underwater Zoo' where we went to enjoy all kind of water life, like this jellyfish.

Dubai is no. 4 of cities with at least 100 completed skyscrapers (150 meter / 40 floors and up), after Hong Kong, Tokyo and
NCY (source). Watch this time-lapse video with the rate of Dubai's growth at 1 frame per year from 2000 through 2011: link.

Personal peak of Dubai was meeting Victor: an old friend from the school days, who works in Shanghai now, but just
happened to be in Dubai too. It is a small small world.

Quicksand?

In the middle of the desert, suddenly a Qatari man stops his car to proudly show his falcon. It just ate a small bird, he says.
It is the national hobby, also of the royal family (link).

A traditional tower in Al Kohr in the January sun. It is around 30C now.

The Persian Gulf, although on this side of it, people prefer to call it Arabian Gulf.

The desert can be more colorful than one might expect.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the audience: 2500 participants from all over the world to discuss
intercultural cooperation for the next 3 days.

The Doha Centre for Media Freedom launches its new Media Literacy program here, with the Junior Reporters, a team of
9 Qatari youth, asking the forum delegates what this alliance of civilizations is really about. Check out their daily reports.

There are not only several heads of nations present, also lots of fun people.

This is were the event is taking place: the Qatar National Convention Centre. The construction was only finished two weeks ago
- just like the plastic grass in front of it ;-)

Tip: watch the Junior Reports (I edited) under the video tab on this site.

Suddenly we see an airshow in front of the Sheraton hotel (the pyramid). Who said Doha is boring?

Lightscraper.

Abaya sunset.

Doha skyline with tradtional fisherboats in the front and the Islamic Historical museum on the right.

The Serdal Tower; we are about to take an option for a 2 bedroom appartment here, in the heart of 'Dohattan'.

Tomorrow I'll fly back to Holland, to pack stuff for two weeks - after that we'll come here with the whole family :-)

View at 'Dohattan' from the Corniche - the promonade along the bay.

Flooding in the desert: apparently a water pipe just broke.

Hello, anybody here to shop?

Earlier Doha Centre for Media Freedom colleague Astrid had a farewell lunch - got this picture as a present and found two
police men on horses to pose with. Bye Astrid, thank you so much for the perfect preparations!

The soukh is the market area with lots of carpets, cafes and souvenirs.

We go 'house hunting': looking for a place to stay when we'll all move here next month. This is the zigzag building.
Funky, but in the elevator I saw a note that warned inhabitants for windows that had fallen out with a bit of wind...

This view is from the Pearl, a brand new island with beautiful, but pretty tacky apartments - and too expensive for our budget.

This beach is also artificial - but pretty busy, while it is at least 40C in the sun. The skyline is the business district of Doha,
where I'll start part II of the house hunt soon.

A door from 1270, made for the rulers of Anatolia. The detail is incredible. This style of geometrical woodwork dates
back to pre-Islamic times (630 CE).

The architect M.I. Pei also designed the Louvre pyramid in Paris.

A molar flask from Egypt, from the 9th or 10th century. It is named like this because it reminds of the root of a molar tooth.
The purpose was probably to contain perfume or essence.