People scramble up the giant ‘singing’ dune behind the unlit bonfire
By Fran Gillespie/Doha

The weather was perfect: mild and clear and with no wind, as hundreds of expatriate families gathered in the desert on Friday afternoon to celebrate Starry Night in the Dunes.  An annual event, Starry Night has been organised for more than three decades by the Qatar Natural History Group, combined in recent years with the Doha Players.
For a generation of youngsters, the annual visit of Santa Claus to Starry Night has helped to make ‘Christmas in Qatar’ especially memorable.  His reindeer safely parked out of sight behind a giant sand dune, Santa [Rob Ross] made a tour of the crowd, together with his green-clad assistant Elf [Catharine Rostron], to greet the scores of happy children before retiring to his ‘Grotto’, a traditional white canvas tent decorated for the occasion, where youngsters queued to shyly whisper to him their Christmas wishes and receive a gift.
Starry Night is a very special occasion, eagerly looked forward to at this time of year. Families from many nations gather to enjoy the desert scenery, light their BBQs and sing festive songs around a huge bonfire. The same great crescent dune west of Al Wukair, one of Qatar’s unique ‘singing dunes’, has always been used as the venue.
Before long the dune was covered with excited children, clambering to the top and racing down, fascinated by the strange booming reverberations made by the sand as it shifted under their feet. ‘Who made this big hill?’ demanded one three-year-old, gazing up in awe from the foot of the gigantic pile of sand.
Santa [Rob Ross] and Elf [Katharine Rostron]
After sunset hundreds of candles in sand-filled paper bags surrounded the bonfire area, the softly-glowing light lending a magical atmosphere. A small generator provided the power for strings of coloured lights festooning Santa’s Grotto, and loudspeakers broadcasting music ranging from popular favourites to Christmas songs.
After Santa had received all his young visitors the bonfire was lit, and once it was well ablaze the crowds gathered around it to sing the well-loved traditional Christmas carols and seasonal songs, led by a small choir of members of the Doha Singers.
Wood for the bonfire was provided, as it has been for some years, by Spacemaker, a division of Gulf Construction Company.
For children, the unfamiliar experience of being in the open desert at night is always thrilling. Friday’s event will be recalled with pleasure by many, but perhaps most of all by the children. The stars twinkling above, the glowing candles, the blazing bonfire and the traditional songs all combined to make Starry Night in the Dunes a night to remember.
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