In brief: Doha was perfect to finish our touring of the three Gulf States. Its many charms as well as its balance of new and old, consumption and culture, delighted us.
There was so much we enjoyed about our stay in Qatar. It helped that we visited during the moderate temperatures of the winter. But we would have savored the food, the cityscape, and the friendliness of the people at any time.
We found that our focus, Doha, sitting atop the desert of the long Qatar peninsula, shared many characteristics with the capitals of Kuwait and Bahrain, but seemed to occupy a middle ground in many ways. To us it seemed less rigid in its principles; invested more in parkland and public transit (keeping its many foreign employees on the move); equally committed to daring architecture and invented islands but perhaps more devoted to tradition and heritage; and somewhat more cosmopolitan as well as quite active in world affairs. We thought it best offered a balance to captivate a western visitor, while avoiding the hyper-glitz of Dubai.
Yet even the city’s extremes added to the pleasure: the sweep of the gulf against the stretch of desert; the densely packed skyscrapers offset by surprisingly broad, green parkland; the endless shopping centers juxtaposed with engaging art museums; and the great wealth of the Qataris served by its international cadre of workers. It was fascinating.
Sleek veteran boats and traditional broad-beamed dhows sit along the corniche of the central city near the large MIA parkland, a popular urban gathering place. In the backdrop, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) away is the Manhattan of Doha, the area called West Bay – a forest of skyscrapers competing for corporate attention.
Part of several linked passages with fixed umbrellas to shade walkers across the vast Al-Bidda park, a Central Park mix of open terrain and wild forested areas.
We walked through the wilder region of Al Bidda park, at the edge of the Doha bay between the central city and the skyscraper forest of West Bay. We had to remind ourselves that we were in a desert.
Two forms of inventiveness…First, in the background, the remarkable crescent building echoes the crossed scimitars on the Qatari flag. It’s a Fairmont Hotel in a large northern suburb of the city. Nearby are four aluminum-clad office buildings by Norman Foster that are swathed in colors at night. Second, in the foreground, a squeaky clean re-creation of Venice complete with canals and arching bridges.
This pseudo-Venice is called Qanat Qartier, the part of Doha – with a name mixing French and Arabic – in which foreigners can buy real estate. It’s located on Pearl Island, a completely man-made island curling out into the Gulf with a dragon shape, and otherwise stocked with high-rise apartment buildings. Plus, out on the end, superwealthy Qataris and royals inhabit an enclave inaccessible to others.
Doha’s al-Wahhab Grand Mosque sits up on a slight hill, but is difficult to view from the surrounding streets – let alone photo within the grounds. It’s named for the founder of the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam. It’s a big as it looks, with capacity for 11000 men at prayer, and 1200 women, plus room for about 20,000 more in its plazas.
One of the most charming parts of the Souq Waqif, the central marketplace in Doha, showing Persian influence in the woodwork and marked above by the benign presence of an heir to the throne. If you can’t find what you need here – including food, clothing, birds, and even souvenirs for tourists – you don’t need it. In a separate section of the market, you can browse for a camel or falcon. Most of the souq buildings are renovated, but retain the ancient clay facades that you can see on the upper left.
Brunch along the main pedestrian path at the central Souq. The food offerings here – pizza, Middle Eastern, Yemeni, sea food – attract the local population who come to shop at the busy old marketplace. We were intrigued by the varied choice of clothing styles represented in this tableau: the gathering of four men near the center, with three dressed in traditional robes and one looking like he was off to play golf; the two women in western dress and uncovered hair to their right; the women beyond them, with hair covered, wearing burqas; and the female crowd of traditional black burqas and niqabs (face veils) at the tables to the left, together with men in casual leisureware. All typical of Doha.
Across from the main Souq Waqif in the heart of the city rises the spire of the Islamic Cultural Center, a source of learning about Qatari culture, Islam, and the Arabic language.
The watchtowers at the mosques of Qatar generally have this tapered candle look with a domed top. The locals work hard at atmospheric lighting; this one was especially charming.
Katara Cultural Village. This mix of neo-classical imitations and fantasy elements (notice the tentacles emerging atop the left buildings) is part of a huge wonderland of shopping/dining/entertainment in Doha popular with locals near the man-made Pearl Island. We didn’t stay long or visit the imitation Roman Colosseum either. The village also features one of the nicest beaches on Doha’s bay.
These twin towers sit next to a colorfully tiled mosque within Katara. They recall a centuries-old tradition of building towers like this to attract and house pigeons, a practice supposedly introduced by Persian and Indian settlers. Their builders were not just pigeon fanciers, however. The clay towers served as bird farms, primarily for the collection of pigeon poop as fertilizer, but also feathers for pillows and the pigeons themselves for food. These towers are a popular photo op for Qataris and tourists, but they still collect that fertilizing outflow for neighboring farms.
The lit-up bay at Doha. That gleaming skyline of towers is West Bay. The farthest high-rise to the right is a bit fuzzy, but its red-topped dome makes it look like a lipstick applicator. In the foreground are the harmonious low rise structures of the old downtown in a re-fashioned pedestrian district.
Downtown Doha is very different from the same district of Manama, Bahrain, which retained its older buildings and often seedy feel, or Kuwait City, which replaced much of theirs with skyscrapers. This central district has mostly been re-made in a consistent architectural style like this. Largely a pedestrian district where the buildings reach just six stories high, it feels older and very people-friendly. In this small plaza, a children’s play area adds some spice.
A typical passageway within the Metro system of Doha. The quiet electric trains come every few minutes, connecting much of the central city at a cost of a half euro per ride, or 3 for a whole day. The platforms and trains are as sparkling clean as this hall, seemingly cleansed non-stop by unseen minions. Ubers, mostly of the luxury sort, were quite inexpensive also.
The food scene is amazingly diverse in Qatar, in part because wealth attracts top cooks for all sorts of cuisines. We had just come from Georgia, yet found very good Georgian food and wine in a restaurant near our hotel. The top restaurants are typically found in grand hotels where they are allowed to offer alcohol with meals. The other reason for the food diversity is the huge supply of workers from around the world, who seek out their home cooking. Near us, we could try a dozen different Indian restaurants primarily catering to Indian workers. This spot, at the edge of our hotel, was odder: a Polish restaurant with pierogi and sausages, staffed by this fellow recently arrived from Lebanon.
On New Year’s Eve, we decided to skip the crowded fireworks display at Lusail, a northern suburb at the far edge of the metro system. A good substitute was the Irish Pub tucked into one floor of the downtown Best Western. Alcohol cannot be purchased in Qatar, but the large hotels are allowed to serve drinks, with most offering extended happy hours in competition with each other. As a result, most of the best restaurants are located in hotels. There was one Irishman in the pub that evening, but the rest of the crowd contained a global mix of British, Americans from Mississippi, Tunisians, Algerians, Bangladeshis, Qataris, and others. A great pleasure we shared with so many of the international cadre of workers across the Gulf states was discussing their home countries based on our travels through them.
(To enlarge any picture above, click on it. Also, for more pictures from Qatar, CLICK HERE to view the slideshow at the end of the itinerary page.)
