Word for the Travel Wise (11/06/06)

It is said that Doha, Qatar is one of the dullest places on the entire planet Earth. There is little to do, little to see, and did I mention little to do already? According to LP you’ll have a hard time finding anyone who thinks the place is an exciting desert oasis or diamond in the rough, but if you’re flying into the country you’ll learn it is also the only city with hotels and an airport. So dull or not you haven’t much choice in experiencing Doha. If you want more you’ll have to step out beyond the city.

Today’s word is an Arabic word used in Qatar:

aktar – more

My Language Exchange is an excellent site in making friends across the globe while zoning in on the areas that give you the most trouble in your language of choice. While most services are free, contacting other members does cost a very small fee. Other learning tools for free standard Arabic online include this Learn Arabic site which has some remarkable lessons. The audio sounds a bit off for me, but they’ve got both the Naskh script (easy to read when learning the alphabet) and the Latin spelling of the letter. Babel Arabic is another good source. Planet Edu has an online listing of Arabic schools all over the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Lastly, for purchase and a quick pocket guide there’s the Lonely Planet Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook, which should be the closest to that spoken in Qatar verses Moroccan Arabic.

Past Arabic words: wafin, akhdar, taeadol, shwiya, la bas, filoos, khwaga, hegab