The Pearl

Since my parents are in town, we took them to a place in Doha called 'The Pearl.' This is the description of the Pearl on their website: 'A Riviera-style man-made island developed in an exclusive environment in Doha, Qatar and the Middle East's most glamorous address, covering 400 hectares of reclaimed land, is Qatar's first international urban development venture.'
Needless to say, it is all about the bling! I, myself, was very curious to see this 'most glamorous address of the middle east.'

We went there last weekend in the evening, and there was also a car show going on the same evening, so it was quite packed.
My first reaction: it's nice, buy would I pay 450,000 American dollars for a one bedroom apartment just to live here?! Apparently, many people would, as the property is selling very well and they have only completed the first phase of the project.

As we walked on, I couldn't help but thinking why everyone was so dressed up? For a car show or for a walk on the Pearl? And why was there music coming from loud speakers in some areas?
I was so close to unplugging one of the speakers as I walked past it, but I don't think Daddy would be too impressed with me if I did-he would rather just walk out, which is what we ended up doing.

All in all, it was a disappointment to me and disturbing how we run after the dunya as if it will last and benefit us (myself included). I had wanted to go and see the hype, yet once I was there, it only made me sick. We cannot have jannah on earth, because that is reserved for the hereafter. And to work our way towards that is a never ending goal.