Two cruise ships dock at Doha port, welcome FIFA World Cup fans on board

·         MSC World Europa cruise ship naming held in Qatar

·         Ready to host World Cup fans, second ship of the MSC group MSC Poesia arrives, third one MSC Opera likely to check into Doha in the coming days

·         Floating hotels are one of several facilities provided by the State of Qatar for fans of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, offering multiple booking and accommodation options throughout the tournament, including apartments, villas, fan villages and usual hotels.

·         A stunning live entertainment performances and a spectacular fireworks display against the stunning Doha skyline marked cruise ship MSC World Europa naming ceremony at the revamped Doha Port on Sunday

·         22-deck Europa has 2,626 cabins, designed with the highest standards of security and safety, is a modern floating hotel and can accommodate 6,700 guests

·         MSC Poesia houses 1,265 cabins, three swimming pools, a spa and wellness center, cinema, poolside, tennis and basketball courts, in addition to four dining options, 15 coffee shops and event venues.

 

Armstrong Vaz

Doha, Qatar: Two cruise ships belonging to MSC Cruises, the world’s third largest cruise brand, which will host the World Cup fans in Qatar have arrived in Qatar.

The second floating hotel, MSC Poesia, docked in Doha Port on Monday morning to join MSC World Europa, which arrived in Doha Thursday, to offer a luxurious hospitality experience to fans of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 during the 29-day period from November 20 to December 18.

The cruise ship MSC Poesia is a modern 4-star floating hotel offers luxurious services to World Cup fans with a variety of room options ranging from traditional cabins overlooking the sea to rooms with balconies and luxury suites, in addition to multiple dining possibilities and programs and entertainment for all ages.

MSC Poesia houses 1,265 cabins, three swimming pools, a spa and wellness center, cinema, poolside, tennis and basketball courts, in addition to four dining options, 15 coffee shops and event venues.

Floating hotels are one of several facilities provided by the State of Qatar for fans of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, offering multiple booking and accommodation options throughout the tournament, including apartments, villas, fan villages and usual hotels.

All together three cruise ships will host fans during the football showpiece event with MSC Opera likely to check into Doha in the coming days.

On Sunday an outstanding array of stunning live entertainment performances and a spectacular fireworks display against the stunning Doha skyline marked cruise ship MSC World Europa naming ceremony at the revamped Doha Port.

The event featured a traditional maritime ceremony at Doha Port with Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, sister of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani  The Emir of Qatar, cutting the ribbon and officially announcing the name of the cruise ship at a glittering ceremony which was attended by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Qatar Tourism Chairman Akbar Al Baker, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy Secretary-General HE Hassan Al Thawadi, MSC Cruises executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago, Master of the Vessel Captain Marco Massa, and several guests.

The ship’s naming ceremony turned out to be a glamorous and star-studded event took place at Doha’s brand new Grand Cruise Terminal, a state-of-the-art 24,000 square metres facility that will handle up to 28,000 passengers a day and has the capacity to host two mega-cruise ships a day.

The cruise ships will offer a unique hospitality experience to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 fans.

The 22-deck ship with 2,626 cabins, designed with the highest standards of security and safety, is a modern floating hotel and can accommodate 6,700 guests and the FIFA World Cup fans will be the ship’s first paying customers and will benefit from one of the most technologically advanced cruise liners in its class.

MSC World Europa is the most innovative and environmentally advanced cruise ship in the MSC Cruises fleet. On top of ground-breaking advances in reduction of emissions and energy efficiency, the LNG-powered ship paves the way toward the uptake of carbon-neutral synthetic and other alternative fuels as soon as they are available at scale.

MSC World Europa is an ultramodern urban metropolis at sea offering a veritable world of experiences while setting a new standard for the cruise industry.

Hosted by comedian, producer and entrepreneur Hamad Al Amari, event guests were treated to performances by local artists, a cutting-edge video-mapping projection onto the ship's hull, and a huge drone show. International singer-songwriter Matteo Bocelli, presented his solo work for the first time ever in Doha, provided the grand finale performance. His new album is due in early 2023 via Capitol Records.

Goans fans experience Arabic culture during World Cup

 

Goans fans experience Arabic culture during World Cup

World Cup fans immerse in Qatari dress with Thobe, Ghutra, and Igal

BY ARMSTRONG VAZ

Doha, Qatar:  Vasco-based Vishal Agapurkar always wanted to slip into the traditional Arabic dress as and when the opportunity came his way. After waiting for a few years, the World Cup in Qatar presented him with the perfect platform to try out a few things from cuisine to the local dresses.

Taking the adage, a step further, Vishal and his friends all Portugal supporters bought a Ghutra and Igal at Souq Waqif with traditional colours of green and red, a popular traditional market and after some expert help from the shop assistants managed to wear the Ghutra and Igal, the headgear which along with Thobe, the long full garment is one of the traditional dress of men in the Arabic world especially in the Middle East countries.

The Ghutra worn on the head is tied around the head, the cap is known as the Kahfiyah, and the Ighal is draped over the Ghutra. Igal is to prevent the Ghutra from blowing away in the wind. Igal is a thick ring of cotton. A thread or string is tied around it. Igal, meaning rope, is part of the traditional Arab headdress. Igal is used above the head-dress called Ghutra and above the cap called Kafiyah.

“All Igals are almost identical. The main difference will be in the yarn used. Nylon, cotton or goat and camel hair. The best Igal is made of sheep hair. Most of them are imported from Turkey, Brazil and other countries. But the finest sheep's hair comes from England,” said one Bangladeshi shop assistant working at a shop selling traditional dress.

Shops in and around Qatar are not selling Kahfiyah and a Qatari shop owner explains why they are not selling it.

“The Kahfiyah is a cap which is worn by people who wear the headgear for a long period time as it helps in absorbing the sweat,” explains, Khalifa Abdul Hakim Al Naimi, owner of an Ghutra Mundo enterprise which sells the traditional headgear at five different locations during the world Cup.

 Naimi and his shop support staff have been helping thousands of fans to have the uniqueness of the Arabic world and helping them to move into the traditional gear.

Traditional belief is that the headscarf helps to ward off the heat from the desert sun and also protects from the dust.

“The head gear was used by our ancestors to protect us Arabs from the heat of the sun and from the wind, and also from the dust. I'm trying to mix the Arabic culture and customs and teach the World Cup fans something about Qatar,” said Al Naimi.

“It's (the head gear) part of our culture, but we are blending it with the countries that are competing in the World Cup. So for Brazil the Ghutra, Igal and Thob match the colors, so yellow, blue and green represent Brazil. and also we have the Brazilian flag, but it's usually plain without any names or without any letters. We have Portugal, Morocco, Mexico.”

“We have different colors for all different flags. South Korea, Brazil, Senegal, Ghana, Uruguay, Portugal, Denmark, Serbia, all teams which are competing in the FIFA 22 Qatar World Cup.”

Explaining further he says: “We have plain clothes just like what I am wearing which is white, so we don't want to put any names on the Thobe.”

 Al Nuami says the original Arabic culture and dress is kept intact by generations.

“Besides the white Thobe we have different coloured Thobe. We wear colorful tubes in winter as well. In the winter, you can also see the black Thobe, the brown Thope and the gray top stripes. But it's usually plain without any names or without any letters. So that's what we try to do. So yellow and blue and yellow and green represent Brazil. We have. Even heard him represent Portugal, representing Morocco, Mexico united with the corresponding battle.”

The Qatari through his enterprise is helping many people to have a firsthand experience of Qatar culture and traditions and the head gear and one of them. 

Just like Vishal, many Indians and other nationalities are making a mad rush to Souq Wafiq metro station shop trying to buy World Cup memorabilia.