First Edition Doha FLEA MARKET

Now in Doha you can find a monthly Second Hand Flea Market!!! What a great idea!!

This first edition is debuting today at Doha Swiss Belhotel between 4Pm and 11PM and its a great opportunity to find good shopping deals.

Doha Flea Market offers a great variety of low-prieced items in good condition with a cost from QR5 and QR200 from books, Cd's, Toys, vintage items, hand crafted items, jewelry, fashion and food.

The entry is free and will have a different location every month!!!

You still have time to go...it will only end at 11PM!!! Hurry up!..

Stay tuned on their Facebook page here.

Photos: Thank you Maria for sending me some pictures of the market.

Jazz in the Park @ MIA Park

Now that the weather is getting better, some cool events are finally returning to Doha!!!...

Last Wednesday (25th) the new series of free Jazz Concerts presented by Jazz Lincoln Center (JALC) Doha and St Regis, in partnership with the Museum of Islamic Art just returned to the park.

How awesome, it was a great night, with nice weather with a beautiful scenario as location and best of all, some of the most fine Jazz International Musicians in a 1h concert.

This new series of concerts will go on for the next three months with one concert per month and it's a great opportunity to enjoy the end of the day at a place I love - The MIA Park, that I already talked about here and enjoy great quality music in a great light environment and at least different from St Regis Jazz Club - The Jazz Lincoln Center.

This concert in particular was featuring the very acclaimed New York-based Dominick Farinacci Quartet. Dominic is a jazz trumpeter and composer and will be in Qatar at St Regis Jazz Club until end of September.

There will be three more concerts at MIA Park:

Etienne Charles

Wednesday, 16 October, 7pm - 8pm

Warren Wolf 
Wednesday, 13 November, 7pm - 8pm

Jonathan Batiste
Wednesday, 11 December, 7pm - 8pm

But don't forget also that the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is returning to the Museum  atrium to host free concerts on the following dates: 

Chamber Music

October 3, 2013

November 7, 2013

December 5, 2013

January 9, 2014

February 6, 2014

March 6, 214

April 3, 2014

May 8, 2014

June5, 2014

Starts at 6:30PM

More info here.

Photos: the blue chic

"Stillness" by Al-Hallaj - Islamic Mystical Poetry

In my journey to discover more about arabic poetry and poet's I came across poems from Al-Husayn Mansur Al-Hallaj one of the most controversial figures of Sufism and considered by many a poet-saint that was executed by blasphemy for his unorthodox religious beliefs.

Al-Hallaj, the 'wool-carder' was born in the province of Fars, Persia (Iran) and moved to Iraq where he took religious studies, specially the Sufi way devoting is life to the contemplation of the divine, he lived between 858 - 922 A.D.

Though he was Persian he wrote in Arabic and became known for his zuhdiyyat, 'mystical or ascetic poems'. More fundamentalist Muslism authorities would often persecute Sufis and Al-Hallaj was publicly tortured crucified and beheaded by heresy by the Abbasid for one line of one of his great poem where he proclaim  "An'l Haqq"  ("I am the real"or "I am the Truth"or "I am God"), people could not understand is perspective of this mystic.

Many say that even being under torture Al Hallaj was extremely calm and willing to forgive those who were torture him and before he was put to death the said:

Now stands no more between Truth and me
Or reasoned demonstration,
Or proof of revelation;
Now, brightly blazing full, Truth’s lumination
Each flickering, lesser light.

Today he is revered as a martyr for truth by many Sufis and mystics and his tomb at Baghdad became a pilgrimage destination...

Stillness, then silence, then random speech,

Then knowledge, intoxication, annihilation;

Earth, then fire, then light.

Coldness, then shade, then sunlight.

Thorny road, then a path, then the wilderness.

River, then ocean, then the shore;

Contentment, desire, then Love.

Closeness, union, intimacy;

Closing, then opening, then obliteration,

Separation, togetherness, then longing;

Signs for those of real understanding

Who find this world of little value.

By Al-Hallaj - Islamic Mystical Poetry - Sufi verses

Concerts for Babies by "Musicalmente" awarded by the YEAH! Young EARopean Award

When you grow up surrounded by musicians in the family, projects like the one I will talk about definitely makes me smile... 

When I was a baby my mother used to calm me down by playing classical music, and peace would return to the house... I still remember being seated on my uncle's lap while he was playing the piano "for me", those moments were truly magical and magnetic and definitely with an important impact in my life.

Music can have a real and great impact on the children's development, music facilitates learning other subjects enhancing skills that they can use in other areas.

The "Concerts for Babies" by Musicalmente from Portugal, have fantastic concept to approach the little ones by music that even allow them to take part and interact in the concerts.

Concerts for Babies
Musicalmente (Paulo Lameiro)
Fotographer: Marta Vidanes

This project among 140 candidates and 15 nominees just won in Osnabrück, Germany the 1st Prize at YEAH! Young EARopean Award in the Innovation Category.

"The competition is looking for imaginative and innovative programmes that really engage children and young people creatively in music whether within the western classical music tradition and/or other music traditions with different cultural roots." YEAH!

"YEAH! is addressed to orchestras and ensembles, theaters and concert halls, composers, musicians, librettists, authors, pedagogues, and artists throughout Europe who tickle the ears with new stage formats and offer forward-looking impulses to international music life. Because music involves the shaping of time – our time. It provides food for thought and brings about encounters over and above any borders." YEAH!

 Gil de Lemos / Musicalmente)

More projects like this one should arise and be more easily available to everyone don't you think?

YEAH! on Facebook here.

Concerts for Babies by "Musicalmente" video

Milka "Dare To Be Tender" the sweetest chocolate campaign

For chocolate lovers like me....a very sweet marketing campaign is invading the French and German markets right now...

The swiss Chocolate brand Milka is communicating it's brand message: "Dare To Be Tender" in a very clever and surprising way by removing one square of the chocolate bar. 

Milka, changed the entire manufacturing process to produce 13 million chocolate bars without one little square.

Confused? I explain, Milka together wit the French -based agency Buzzman created a very ambitious marketing campaign where they challenge their consumers to choose what to do with the missing piece. 

The idea is to encourage the consumers to be tender and send the piece to their loved ones or if they don't feel to be nice and sweet they can also choose to claim it back.

How to do it? Each bar's packaging contains a special code printed that can be entered online in Milka's website where consumers can claim back the little piece or choose to donate it to someone with a special message. Isn't it a sweet lovely campaign??

Well if you don't know to whom you want to send it....don't worry I can give you my address...:)

This Doha of Mine # 6