Pork is now available in Qatar!

While I was gone the Qatar Distribution Company (QDC), the only liquor store in Qatar, started selling pork!

When someone told me I didn't believe it. Rumours about pork being sold in Qatar have swirled ever since I arrived over five years ago so I ignored the rumours a month or so ago about the QDC getting it but it's true. Here's a link with a picture:

http://dohanews.co/post/13146717097


Wow, I never expected that to happen. Qatar has always been a bit more restrictive than its neighbors (except Saudi Arabia of course) and while completely banning alcohol would've made it problematic to attract a lot of Western ex-pats I would not consider pork to be a “deal-breaker” for an ex-pat to not go to Qatar. I assumed that’s why Qatar allowed alcohol but not pork. A quick Internet search did not find an official Government statement on why pork is now allowed.

Not that a traveler to Qatar will be able to buy it -- you need a license to enter the QDC. Maybe in the future it will be available in some hotels or restaurants but for now only an ex-pat with a liquor license can buy it.

Not that I'm going to be buying any -- pork isn't that big of a deal to me, I'm more of a beef person.