… But not for Marc Beaugé. At the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup, Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani welcomes at the longtime knowledge stadium: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman.
by Marc Beaugé (Magazine)
In Qatar, the most beautiful meetings do not necessarily take place on the field. Judge rather. On November 20, a few minutes from the start of the opening ceremony of the World Cup, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Ben Salman and the Emir of Qatar Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani are found in presidential lodge, exchanging smiles, hugs and photos, before chatting for a few moments. Football or human rights? We do not know it.
false modest
We know, on the other hand, that the Emir of Qatar wore the traditional Thobe (“clothing”, in Arabic), a long white shirt down to the knees and covering his arms that day. Historically put on a large white pants called Izar, the Thobe is extremely widespread in the country, and among its neighbors, because it honors the call for “modesty” formulated in the Koran. In fact, the Thobe offers a room for maneuver quite narrow to enhance itself. In this case, the most elegant carriers of Thobe are distinguished only by their ability not to get dirty and not to offend their tunic.
headgear
On the head, the emir also sported the traditional headgear. Made in a light white fabric, in cotton or linen, the GHUTRA has indeed protected men from the Gulf of the Sun for centuries, and even before the advent of Islam. The British soldiers, positioned in a southern Arabia under protectorate, between 1963 and 1967, also adopted it at the expense of military caps. It should be noted here that the emir carries his Ghutra in a very simple way, thus taking off with the fashion consisting in folding it in such a way that it looks like a cobra head. In the context, this would undoubtedly have been a little aggressive, indeed.
AGAL to itself
For his part, Mohammed Ben Salman carries a red and white shemagh. Appeared in the 1950s, it was first prized by the Bedouins to preserve itself from the sun, before becoming the object of a real fashion. Here, it is kept in place by AGAL. Originally intended to attach the feet of the camels to prevent them from escaping, this thick black rope is over time become an accessory essential to men of the Gulf countries, who sometimes like to flavor it. To hide the smell of sulfur surrounding him permanently, does the prince do the same? We do not know either.
Turc and tips
Finally, how can we not mention the third thief of this joyful band, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who came to attend the opening ceremony of the World Cup, but also, especially in zealous partner? Failing to have been able to send his national team to Qatar, eliminated in play -offs against Portugal, the Turkish president has indeed delegated 3,000 men responsible for supporting the local police. To make sure that the big round ball festival is going on at best, without beer or homosexuals, but in air -conditioned stadiums built by over -exploited foreign workers, they will obviously not be too much.