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WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2012 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Buzz building COMMUNITY • Qatar Development for debut of Wii U Bank to launch ‘Qatar in video game console our hearts’ competition P | 4 P | 12 CAMPUS • Award-winning illustrator visits Qatar Academy P | 5 HEALTH • Pedometers play up every step you take P | 7 MOVIE • Skyfall takes over box office • Son Of Sardaar: Comical saga of vendetta A sip of P | 8-9 BOOKS tradition • Interior design books: The It’s part of everyday life in the best of 2012 region. Every majlis serves it. Most hotels in Qatar and the Gulf P | 11 welcome their guests with a cup of PLUS... it. Qahwa has a special and unique • Comics, Word Puzzles, place in Arab life. Crosswords, Hyper Sudoku, Kakuro, TV P | 2-3 listings and more P |13-15 PIC:ABDUL BASIT 2 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2012 COVER STORY byb FazeenaF SaleemS l of honour or the person high- est in rank and age among A symbol of ahwa, Arabic the guests. coffee, is a sym- When serving, you should bol of hospitality pour enough coffee to fill the Qthroughout the cup - slightly more than one Arab world. Arab hospital- third, but definitely less than ity is incomplete without half as over filling indicates Hospitality sharing a cup of Qahwa. It is that the server is not hos- served everyday; at all gath- pitable and would like the ering - marriage or funeral. guest to leave as quickly as Qahwa is traditionally possible. It’s considered good served by the youngest per- manners to accept one, two son at the gathering, or by or even three cups. the host, depending on the “When you’ve had enough occasion and the social rank you signal by lightly shak- of the host. However, nowa- ing the coffee cup,” explained days a ‘Qahwaji’ or coffee man Yousef, who has over hun- serves at most gatherings. dred coffee men working “This is not only a tradi- with him. tion in Qatar but in all Arab Interestingly everyone countries, but coffee men are working in his team as coffee more a Gulf tradition,” says man is Balochi, a tribal soci- Yousuf Balochi, supervisor ety and an ethnic group who at Prestige for Hospitality, are native to the Balochistan a company which provides region in the southeast coffee men for hotels and corner of Iran. There are private gatherings. a few coffee women from “Here everything happens Philippines. over coffee. Whether it’s a “Majority of coffee men funeral or wedding, coffee are Balochi. Coffee men are men are important,” he said. respected by everyone and The server should always we enjoy doing this work,” hold the dullah, the tradi- Yousef said. tional coffee pot, with his He proudly recalls an left hand and the coffee cup occasion when he served the in his right. Serving should Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin always start with the guest Khalifa Al Thani. PICS: ABDUL BASIT PLUS | WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2012 3 Quick facts about Coffee Qahwa is traditionally served by the youngest person at and Qahwa the gathering, or by the host, offee. It all started depending on the occasion with dancing goats. and the social rank of the Ethiopian shepherds host. However, nowadays a Cfirst noticed the effects of caffeine, when their ‘Qahwaji’ or coffee man serves goats appeared to become ‘frisky’ and ‘dance’ after at most gatherings. eating coffee berries. Coffee drinking spread throughout the Islamic world sometime between the 13th and 15th centuries and the beverage became known as qahwa and plays an important role in Middle Eastern culture. Wild coffee’s energizing effect was likely first discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia. Coffee cultivation first took place in southern Arabia the earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century in the Sufi shrines of Yemen. Qahwa, is made from coffee beans roasted very lightly or heavily from 165°C to 210°C and cardamom. It’s a traditional “I have served the Emir at some events, once he said beverage in Arabian culture. ‘Mashalla Hallotham, which meant ‘it’s nice’,” says a Traditionally, it is roasted at happy Yousef. home or for special occasions Some of them were born in Qatar and others migrated ground, brewed and served in here when they were young. All that is required from front of guests. them besides the art of making and serving qahwa is to It is often served with dates speak good Arabic, wear the traditional thobe and turban or candied fruit. This brewing similar to Qataris. method is common in Najd and They are in high demand around-the-year and are paid Hijaz, and sometimes other according to the days of work. A funeral house would spices like saffron cloves, and require three days work, and each coffee man will be paid cinnamon. around QR1000. In case of a wedding, depending on the Some people add little milk or number of guests, nearly 30 coffee men will be hired and mate creamer to slightly change paid QR200 to QR300 per day. its colour; however, this is rare. “Some people give us only very short notice; some oth- It is served from a special ers request us to come immediately. We try to make it coffee pot called dalla and the as soon as possible,” said Yousef. coffee cups are small with no Some of these coffee men are in the trade for more handle called fenjan. than 20 years and even their children are in the same The portions are small, covering type of work. just the bottom of the cup. It is Mohamed Zamadan, who is working as a coffee man always served with dates. for over 20 years has chosen the work as it is a respect- It is always offered with the able job. His children too are working as coffee men in compliments of the house. It different Gulf countries. is also offered at most social “I have worked at many prestigious places like Majlises events of many senior officials. It’s a pleasure and honour to work at such places,” said Zamdan. Steps to make Qahwa “We work at places like hotels too, that gives us an 1. One liter water opportunity to meet different people representing dif- 2. 4 heaping teaspoons ground coffee ferent cultures,” he added. 3. 3 teaspoons cardamom and Zamdan is an expert in making Qahwa. Making it isn’t Saffron difficult, but just requires time - which is an important Directions part of the ritual, he concludes. The Peninsula 1. Add coffee and water in a pot and boil well for 20 minutes. Bring to a full boil until top is frothy. 2. Add cardamom and saffron in the dhalla, pour coffee into ir. Stir and then serve in Arabic coffee cups. 4 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2012 COMMUNITY Qatar Development Bank to launch ‘Qatar in our hearts’ competition atar Development Bank that showcase the uniqueness of the is set to celebrate Qatar country. Submissions will be subject National Day with a compe- to the voting online through facebook Qtition which will be launched by the public and the winners will be through a Facebook application created announced on the December 24. especially for the occasion and which Interested participants are encour- will go live on November 28. aged to visit QDB’s Facebook page to The competition, titled “Qatar in our get a better understanding of the terms Hearts”, will stretch till the December and conditions of the competition and 22 and will see three winners awarded submit their entries based on the pre- with a cash prize of QR5,000, a trophy determined qualifications criteria. and an iPad 3 for the first place, a cash Each participant can upload as many true Arabian treasure trove of cul- We want to showcase our appreciation prize of QR3,000 and a trophy for the pictures as they want and that embody ture. From the authentic architecture of all these wonderful attractions and second place and a trophy for the third the essence of Qatar. Participants can of our world-famous Souq Waqif to unlock the creative flair of everybody place. also follow the Hashtag #QDBDEC18 the bustling waterfront walkway, the in Qatar. This competition reaches “Qatar in our hearts” will run through on Twitter or use the same should they Corniche, to internationally-acclaimed out to our growing online community QDB’s Facebook page (www.facebook. like to tweet about the competition. Islamic arts collection at the Museum and helps to engage the people to por- com/QatarDevelopmentBank) and Maha Al Essa Senior online of Islamic Arts and others or to the tray what each one us loves about this will ask participants around Qatar to and social media officer of Qatar magical sand dunes our country has country.” capture beautiful images or drawings Development Bank said: “Qatar is a a lot to offer to tourists and residents. The Peninsula Ex-police officer recounts horrors of India riots n India, Sufi shrines are symbols that he and his government should be in the care of a militant Hindu outfit, of Hindu-Muslim unity, so rarely faulted for the violence that eventually Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP or World are they targeted during a com- claimed 2,000 lives, a majority of them Hindu Council) and its chief Jaideep Imunal carnage. But such was the Muslims. Patel, said Sreekumar. “Modi decided mob frenzy during the 2002 Gujarat Internal inquiries were set up to har- to get the bodies to Ahmedabad despite riots—described the most horrendous ass him, said Sreekumar, who retired in being told by some top state police offi- in post-independence India—that most 2007 but claimed he got his first pen- cials that it was illegal and would lead of the religious structures destroyed sion only two years later.