Sunday, February 21, 2010

falcon hunting in Qatar

this post it not necessarily related to pearl diving, but it is definitely related to Qatari history, and its AWESOME.
Here are a few photos and video clips of some Bedu that I visited with a couple of friends. We called it the 'camel club,' but there really wasn't a name for the place, or an address for that matter. It was just a random spot in the desert where a couple of Qataris would go on a regular basis to hang out with eachother, run around on camels, horses, and go falcon hunting.

Hamad


they also raise and breed Saluki dogs, the oldest breed of domesticated dog in history, and also the only type of dog accepted in Islam
Sherwa, a Saluki

saluki puppies

They also raise, train and sell camels...dozens and dozens of them

And they are renowned for their prized falcons which they catch (using little kangaroo rats as bait), train, sell and hunt with
Mohammad


Mohammad

This falcon was the smallest, and newly caught- this day was its one of its first days of training... and yes, they hunt with falcons in their SUV's


Hamad

Mohammad

click on this link! -its a video I took of the falcon hunting/training in action

This is Tornado, he ran the facility,- trained the falcons, rode the camels and horses, sang and played traditional Bedouin music...and was an absolute bad ass...In this photo he is riding an amazing Egyptian Arab which they finally agreed to let me ride, after excessive pleeding and convincing
Tornado (Mohammad)


me

By the end of the night, we all sat in the Majilis, made traditional Bedouin bread (which was cooked under the embers of a recent fire), drank camel's milk (fresh.....still warm, but very strange/wonderful), and listened while Tornado, Mohammad, Mohammad, Mohammad and Mohammad played and sang traditional Bedouin music.
 It was an amazing time.
crazy Bedouin bread

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

jewelry!!! yep, i made it.

Here is some jewelry that I have made so far with pearls,
some of the work is with akoya pearls (cultured) and some is with natural Gulf Pearls that I acquired during my interviews in Qatar.
I will label each image accordingly
enjoy!

These are all natural Persian Gulf Pearls, except for the pink one on the right, it is cultured

natural Persian Gulf Pearl
 

natural Persian Gulf Pearl
  

natural Persian Gulf Pearl
  

Cultured pink button pearl
  

Cultured AA grade pearl
  

Cultured AA grade pearl
  

Cultured AA grade pearl
  

Cultured AA grade pearls
  

Cultured AA grade pearls
  

The pearls on either side of this stone are natural Persian Gulf Pearls
  

this is the reverse side of the above necklace
   

  Natural Persian Gulf Pearl

Cultured button pearls