Hospitality is an important feature of life in the Gulf, to be honest in Kuwait it is a dieing trend, however all houses are built with the Majlis, and it should be said that that visiting a Majlis is also a part of Qatari life. Most Qataris receive male guests at home in a majlis (reception area).
Traditionally, according to Bedouin custom, guests were seated on the floor on large cushions. Nowadays, however, the majlis usually has sofas and chairs, and designs are thought with care, creating beautifull architecture, design, colour and traditional materials, all balanced with modern facilities.
Ever since I arrived in qatar I have always been invited and enjoyed visiting or sitting in different Majlises around Qatar, all of them display different values and designs, from beutifull modern art, to the most tradital folk paintings and original persion carpets.
One Majlis is particuluar that stands out is that of the Al-Mana family. They used to occupy the old traditional Majlis opposite the HSBC bank, but hove now built an amazing new Majlis just on the Salwa Road. The new Majlis contains a new reception, with different function rooms, a beautifull atrium where pictures of all the family, past and present are displayed, and a small museum containg artifacts from their grandparents and ancestors, along with a larg dining room, for weddings and speacial functions. A mosq is also present in the Majlis ground.
Drive a long, take a look, it is always lit up at night by the two towers, built up like a forte.
