Cultural Differences

Qatar is an Islamic state-you cannot separate the culture, government or people from the religion. By maintaining respect of the Islamic beliefs of the local population you may have an enjoyable stay in Qatar.

Here are a few helpful starters:

- In Qatar the weekend is Friday and Saturday, with the work week commencing on Sunday morning. As you can imagine this sometimes causes a false start for travelers;

- Should you find yourself in Qatar durning the month of Ramadan you will notice that business hours are changed and many stores and restaurants are not open during daylight hours;

- Visiting women are not required to wear a head scarf (hijab) or black cloak (abaya) however it would be best to leave the hot pants and tube top at home;

- Likewise gentleman, it is not appropriate exercise in public with your shirt off;

- With all that said, there is an exception-at international hotels' beaches or pools bikinis and speedos are the norm.