tour of Qatar

[Laguna]

I watched that race too. That looked to be the flattest, windiest, most boring, race course I have ever seen. I'm sure there must be some nice parts of the country but man...that looked brutal. Not sure the Qatar Chamber of Commerce hit a home run...at least from an aesthetic point of view.

[marni]

plus, most arab women aren't allowed out without a male escort, and the expats all require body guards, plus it is one of the more relatively unpopulated arab countries, and the majority of the population that there is would be found in the cities since that is the only place anything really exists other than heat, sand and wind.

been there, lived there, enjoyed it but it had nothing to do with life in the unfettered US.

[shootingstar]

How long did you live there, marni? I'm glad you spoke up..I did very much want to hint that there were various cultural preconditions that wouldn't be cultivating an intense cycling culture in certain countries like one would get in Europe or parts of North America (however paltry cyclists might be even in certain parts of North America.)

I have applied for jobs in the Middle East but did notice their rather stringent requirements..even for librarian / library manager roles, where there was a clear separation between men and women at the university and college level... by having men's universities and women's universities. For an ex-pat to work with the students, clearly they look for foreign candidates that fit within their restrained lifestyle.

To me, that says volumes about how the sexes should or should not interact even if only at the intellectual level.

I believe I read somewhere in an academic journal that in Kuwait there is actually a problem of rising obesity in certain local groups, particularily if people are affluent....the hot climate (which doesn't encourage intense exercise outdoors or in non-air conditioned buildings), the cultural restrictions particularily on Muslim women to exercise...if the sport requires more "revealing" of the body parts...

[Kiwi Stoker]

Quite interesting, in Singapore and Malaysia there are significant Muslim populations- of course not as strict as some of the Arab countries, but still women dress modestly.

Was really pleased to see a young Musilm lady here competeting at top level in Tae Kwan Do. She wore tight fitting leggings and top under her gi and a tightly fitted head wrap.

I have also seen Muslim girls cycling on road bikes. They wear long tights and long sleeved jerseys with a skort over the leggings and a tight fitting head scarf under their helmet.

Of course in Australia they had the Birkini for Musilm girls wanting to be surf lifesavers!

Most Muslim women can exercise, but only in women only gyms or swimming pools (that of course are totally private).

[shootingstar]

As for local males attracted to cycling vs. soccer....it's not surprising that soccer has a stronger worldwide attraction across all types of cultures and countries:

Anyone who can run /be mobile can play soccer. It doesn't require special equipment. And it's cheap. Easier to learn and to relate to..vs. cycling. No wonder IFA soccer matches might even have a larger audience/spectator base world-wide compared to competitive cycling, that would beat out even the Tour de France.

[marni]

qattar a year, oman 18 months, saudi 2 years, nigeria about 6 months untl the second body guard got injured in an attack on our car, followed by various numbers of years in belgium, france, england and 13 years in the netherlands which after all the other madness was bliss and I miss it. It seems to be an unfailing weakness in the American mentality, that they cannot really comprehend how differently different culters in different countries think. They tend to assume that all muslims are like the american muslims who live here. Until you live as a foreigner in a foreign country and learn to obey their laws and cultural mores, and learn a bit of their history and get to know the people you really have no understanding of why or how they are and how or why they think the way they do, nor can you criticize or question why or why not there are people at a bike race.

While progress is happening, they still have a long way to go. Personally while I am willing to dress as modestly as the more modern Arab countries require, I will never again willingly wear a burka or live in a compound with body guards required. In Saudi many years ago, I was not even allowed to drive or leave the house without my husband or a male family member accompanying me and then only fully covered and veiled from head to toe- Why, because hat was what was required and we were guests in their country and had to be on above reproach behaviour. A far cry from being able to run down to the local grocery store in a car wearing sandals, shorts and a t shirt.

[redrhodie]

Marni, do you know if you would have been allowed to attend the race if you were there?

[marni]

things have loosened up in Qattar- while most expats do live on guarded compounds, they are allowed to drive, and most women can go out in groups- they are even allowed ( the expats) to drive themselvs. They are still expected to dress modestly and most of them cover their hair because of the dust, so yes I probably might have been able to attend the race with a group of women, but would have felt extremely uncomfortable alone unless I had a male ( husband or guard) companion. we were in the arab type countries in the mid 70's and moved progressibely westward after that, ending up in the netherlands in 2004.