Happy Birthday Grandmother Rosenberg!

One of the reasons we decided to make our summer vacation trip a little earlier was to be able to celebrate Grandmother Rosenberg’s 80th birthday with her. Happy Birthday also to Aunt Jan. It was great that Aunt Jan was able to come up from Houston, Texas to celebrate. These pictures are from a party at Grandmother's house. (In the pictures: Gmother, Hampton kids, mom, Jeremy and Leslie.)

Denver, Colorado--Home Away from Home

On our way home for summer vacation, we were able to connect through Denver, Colorado. Our flight plan was Doha—Frankfurt—Denver—Salt Lake City. We connected through Denver so that we could stop and visit Great Aunt Jan and Barbara for a couple of days. It was really nice to see them and to be able to get off the plane coming from Frankfurt (instead of having to make another connection.)

I love Denver, it is one of my favorite places on earth—but this probably has something to do with the fact that some of my favorite people have lived there. Jon and I were excited to spend some more time with Aunt Jan and Barbara. Because Jon and I have missed the mountains so much, we took a long drive up the canyon. It was really great. We saw a lot of wildlife and a few houses we dreamed about buying.

Call to Prayer

This video is part of the call to prayer that is broadcast in every neighborhood five times a day. It reminds Muslims when to pray. Each mosque broadcasts its own call to prayer from a speaker in a tower, so you can sometimes hear more than one call to prayer playing at the same time. I like hearing it and will actually miss it when we move. The text of the prayer varies slightly from Shia to Sunni sects and from region to region, but this is the basic translation of the prayer:

God is Greater
God is Greater
God is Greater
God is Greater
I bear witness that there is no god except God
I bear witness that there is no god except God
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
Make haste towards prayer
Make haste towards prayer
Make haste towards welfare
Make haste towards welfare
Prayer is better than sleep (said for the morning prayer only)
Prayer is better than sleep (said for the morning prayer only)
God is greater
God is greater
There is no god except God

Shopping at the Souqs

Souqs are traditional marketplaces in Arab cities. Before malls and shopping centers, it was where all textiles, jewelry, spices, woodwork, furniture and other goods were sold. Doha has preserved the original architecture and traditional feel of their old souqs. In a souq, you should never pay the sticker price—many things are not even labeled with a price. It is expected that you bargain and (if you are good) you end up paying 30 to 50% less than the original price. Prices in the souqs are generally cheaper than in a mall or other modern store. Many of the shopkeepers do not speak English very well, but they know enough to convert to U.S. dollars and their favorite phrase is, “For you—Best Price!” We took a trip before we came home to buy some candy, nuts and a few gifts to bring home to Utah and California.

Young Women Last Friday

During the summer, half of our young women go home with their families to the United States and Canada. This is a picture we took the last Friday we were all together.

The Singing Sand Dunes

There is a rare natural phenomenon at some sand dunes about 40 KM from Doha. When the desert is quiet, you can hear a low pitched hum. Most people refer to this area as the “Singing Sand Dunes.” The sound is a result of friction from a thin layer of sand flowing down the leeward side of a sand dune, blown from the top by the wind. The crescent shape of the dunes amplifies the sound, and can be heard up to 10 km away. Climbing up the side of the dunes or running across the top edge triggers the humming. We went out one night with Marya and David. I was surprised that it actually worked! The pitch is so low you can feel the vibration as well. Here are some pictures from our drive out there and us climbing the dunes.