If Qatar is a bubble, then ‘Pearl’ is inside Qatar.
Siobhan Tully, a British citizen living on a luxurious artificial island built for expatriates in Qatar, refers to this proverb.
If you look at these specially-made places, you will find this saying true. The streets here will make you feel like a European part of the Mediterranean rather than a Gulf country.
More foreigners will be found here than in the whole country. In the evenings, citizens of many nations, primarily dressed in Western style, can be found in street cafes and bistro-style restaurants.
Here you will see Spanish-style intersections, canals, and buildings made like Venice. Fountains surround the houses built in a circular circle. Less wide roads pass through them, and you will also see a caravan of multi-million dollar sports cars.
Here people live in luxury villas or apartment blocks. These apartments of 20-20 floors are equipped with a swimming pool, gym, and private beach. This is different from other neighboring areas of Doha.
For example, a group of Saudi girls removes their hijabs within minutes of entering a Lebanese restaurant. Women passing by the marina are seen wearing such clothes, whose necks are open. The arms of the women are available, and they are seen wearing short skirts.
There are plenty of hotels and restaurants where alcohol is served.
The beautiful world of la Perla
La Perla United Development is the flagship project of United Development Company. It is the leading construction company in Qatar. This is an artificial island, which people have made, and four million square meters of the sea have been used for this.
This is the first urban project in which people outside Qatar can also buy property. There are 25 thousand residential units here. Currently, 33 thousand of people live here.
The cost of a studio house here is $3 million. However, a five-bedroom ocean-facing villa is available for $12 million.
This area looks like a pearl when seen from the sky. This is because many restaurants, luxury hotels, shopping malls, bars, cinema houses, and luxurious places exist. The American team participating in the World Cup stays in one of these luxury hotels.
Diaspora’s Oasis
Siobhan and Ian Tully are a British couple living in Qatar for seven years. Of these, he has spent six and a half years in La Perla. The wife is British, and the husband is Scottish. Both work in the health sector.
He showed us his building in Viva Bahria. This is a group of 30 tall towers built on the beach, which are spread in a semi-circular shape on the beach.
Siobhan told the BBC, “When we first came, there was hardly any service available here. But restaurants, cafes, and businesses sprung up here quickly. It is a pleasant experience to walk here. It is a pleasure to drive less here.” Is.”
Doha is such a modern city, which is connected by many lanes of roads. However, leaving only a few streets, intersections, and shopping centers, the texture of these roads is different from the pedestrians. That’s why it is difficult to find shade and park here.
The high temperature for most of the year makes it difficult for you to walk. La Perla is inspired by Mediterranean cities and looks like an oasis.
Siobhan says, “At first, we thought we would be here for three years, but now we have been here for seven years. We are delighted here and feel very safe too.”
Qatar is generally relatively safe. But the citizens here say that some of the behavior of the people of western countries, such as the way they wear clothes, have some problems with the tradition-loving citizens of Qatar.
Although it does not appear here, in the beginning, only people from the expatriate community lived in Pearl. Many of these were from western countries who came because of the facilities available in Qatar.
But now more and more people from Qatar are coming here. This is because many properties here belong to the royal family.
Venice-like streets and tiny private islands
There is an area right here that looks like Venice. The name is Quenet Quartier. Gustavo Jaramillo, a Venezuelan who lives here, says, “It’s just like Venice. It’s not just the little boats that float there.”
Gustavo is an engineer and lives in La Perla. Gustavo and his partner, Sabrina Masiovicho, live in a tall tower with a pool and access to the beach.
Both of them made us sit in the car and showed us the whole Pearl, and told us about the joy of living here.
“Anywhere is better than the problems in Venezuela,” says Masiovicho. “But living in Doha and La Perla is on a whole different level.”
“Be careful making videos here. It’s forbidden here,” says Jaramillo while passing through Ayola Dana. This is one of the new projects here, where customers can buy small private islands. They can also build their mansions here. .”
Jaramillo works here in the energy sector. They pay for the facilities present in the apartment. They have to pay for transportation and telephone. Only 25 percent of his salary is spent. There is no tax on the remaining savings.
He enumerates the advantages of living here. During this, we see a big square building. It looks like Renaissance Place.
Jaramillo explains, “It is a kind of super-conditioning plant. The ice water is processed here and then sent through pipes to La Perla and each of its buildings.”
Bubble within bubble
Apart from Ayola Dana and the Venetian Quarter, the island also has high-rise office buildings, sports marinas, residential towers, and single-family villas.
Seeing these, Siobhan says, “If Qatar is a bubble, then Pearl is a bubble inside Qatar.”
Our conversation was about the problems faced by the world due to Kovid and the issues of the war in Ukraine. They say how different life is here.
For example, in the streets of Pearl, you will see women from western countries in fewer clothes. She will also be seen in a bikini on the beach, and no one pays attention to her here.
In the conversation between journalists and local people, there was repeated mention of pearl-like bubbles in Qatar.
Amidst the glitter of these areas, there is also talk of reception camps in La Perla and Labor City, where arrangements have been made for migrant workers from South East Asia, Africa, and East African countries. They live on the outskirts of Doha and are restricted from entering areas such as La Perla.
Many say they are kept separate so that the brightness of Qatar is not questioned. But Qatar denies this. They say that this is done for the safety of those people.
“Professionally speaking, the top priority is given to Qataris,” Jaramillo says.
He says, “Although we meet everyone. But the atmosphere here is Latino and Spanish. We don’t mix much with Qatari or local Arab citizens.”
All is not rosy in Perl.
Siobhan says, “The worst thing here is the continuous drilling. There is construction going on everywhere. You see that building in front is almost complete. It started to be built in September.”
Jaramillo and Masiovicio have complained about the lack of a hospital and school here. This is a complicated matter. Because there is only one way to the island, and it is often full of traffic.
But now a large hospital is being built here. I hope this helps a lot.
