Amid modernization push, souq shop owner a link to Qatar’s pearling past

Surrounded by strings of pearls and precious stones, one of Qatar’s last living connections to the country’s oldest industry shows up each day to work behind a cluttered red-topped counter in the heart of Souq Waqif.

Saad Ismail Al Jassim, a 75-year-old Qatari, is regarded by some as the country’s oldest surviving pearl diver – a profession that provided a significant source of the peninsula’s wealth up until the mid-20th century.

“Times are different (now),” Al Jassim told Doha News during a recent interview. “No one dives anymore. Why would we do it? We have oil and gas now.”

But as the pace of modernization in Qatar quickens, some people are trying to revive the country’s ancient traditions in the form of educational tours, competitions and efforts to cultivate new pearl farms in the Gulf.

While many are quick to celebrate the country’s history, Al Jassim cautions that there was historically little glamour in pearl diving.

“We did it because we had to make money,” he said, adding:

“There was nothing else here. No oil, no cars, no roads or AC, not even water. Nothing. So we had to make our money somehow. It didn’t matter if it was hot or cold, we had to dive and sell our pearls. We had to hold our breath because there was no other (sources of) income.”

Original article by Chantelle D’mello

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Amid modernization push, souq shop owner a link to Qatar’s pearling past