Me in front of a City Center Christmas treeWe were shocked to see the amount of Christmas decorations Qatar is offering this year. You really feel it is Christmas time on the peninsula. City Center, the country’s main shopping center and almost the only hang-out, is all decked out and very glittery! Really, a very refreshing scene.

Things were so different last year. They were very few decorations, nothing like this time. City Center’s ornamentation consisted primarily of a couple of reindeer and a couple of mammoth presents dangling from the fourth floor ceiling.

A 2nd story view to the entranceLast year it was a bit depressing being in Doha during the holidays, as we were still new to the country and still living at the Movenpick hotel. To keep ourselves sane back then, we found a smattering of things to decorate our hotel room just to get some glimpse of the festive season.

This year, not only did they decorated the place, but they are also playing Christmas carols. Click the pictures for enlargements.