On Sunday morning, I woke up just before 7:00 a.m. meaning I had slept for almost nine hours (clearly was tired) and after breakfast, generally hung out until my 2:00 p.m. tour of Doha.
Yam picked me up exactly at 2:00 and we set off for Doha’s waterfront a few blocks from my hotel. Our first stop took us to the 2022 FIFA World Cup monument across from the King’s offices and fronting the magnificent Doha skyline’s commercial district.
We then drove around the Corniche (waterfront area) to the opposite side of the bay in front of the commercial district where we picked up our traditional Qatari Dhow boat for a trip around the bay. Now the weather, while warm, had been overcast and a bit windy so the bay was a tad rough. Nevertheless, we set out for the 30 minute trip around the bay where we were able to take in the Doha skyline up close and personal as well as numerous art displays around the Corniche.
Now the amazing thing is that there are only a handful of buildings on the waterfront that existed 20 years ago. So all of new and uniquely shaped buildings are less than 20 years old and in many cases only 7 to 10 years old having been constructed in the run up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Once we returned to port, we jumped back in the car and headed to Katara Cultural Village passing by a large hand statute, which Yam said (with a straight face) was an award sponsored by Qatar’s King honoring anti-corruption. Uh… I guess that whole buying of the World Cup thing doesn’t count …..
Anyway, on to the cultural village. Now, I fully expected an area where I would be able to learn a bit about the history of Qatar, but no. There was no real history here. Instead, we visited the Blue Mosque (a takeoff on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul) where I was required to put on the full attire (black abaya and full head covering) to visit inside and then as I was leaving two women, thrust multiple pamphlets in my hand on the preachings of Islam. First time EVER that Islam was pushed on me when visiting a mosque. Yikes! And they had pamphlets in every language.
Anyway from the mosque, we stopped by a 5,000 seat amphitheater which was a takeoff on a Roman amphitheater, passed by yet another mosque (the Gold Mosque) before hitting 21 High Street, an upscale shopping mall complete with knockoff Roman style buildings, lots of art installations and artwork and a ultra chic department store called Galeries Lafayette, which had the most amazing escalator and roof I have ever seen.
There were also dozens of restaurants, but all were shuttered until 6:00 p.m. when fast would be broken.
We walked past beautiful art installations that were in the design of the desert hyacinth, which Yam said had been used by the Bedouins (who were the original settlers of Qatar) for food so the installation was a way of honoring the past.
The area also had an “exclusive” vibe to it with VIP parking areas and concierge services in the stores. Gesh. Talk about over the top.
And if this wasn’t enough, the entire area had outdoor air conditioning. Small slats in the concrete concealed air conditioning units that blasted cold air onto passersby. Yam said that in the summertime when it is 50C outside, it is around 28C at 21 High Street.
At just after 4:00 we moved on to the man made area known as “The Pearl” which contains 31 high rise condominiums, an ultra exclusive yacht club, high end hotels and restaurants and knockoff Venice style townhomes complete with a faux canal, gondolas and the Rialto Bridge. Seriously!
Some of the buildings gave me a Miami Beach vibe, but the entire area was so over the top excessive it was clear that there is so much money in this country they have run out of things to spend the money on.
Anyway, after the visit to The Pearl, we went back to visit the 100 plus year old Souq Waqif (where I am staying) and on the way, we passed by the Qatari Parliament and King’s offices.
Now given that this is not a democratically run country, I was not sure what “parliament” did and quite frankly, neither was Yam.
Anyway, after passing by parliament, Yam drove around the corner and parked near the souk for my tour of the area. First up was the Falcon Souk, where falcons are sold to local Qataris who hire trainers to train the falcons to hunt. It is apparently big business with one falcon recently being sold for $2 million USD.
I was able to see the a number of falcons and even got nipped by one that I was holding (little butthead). We then crossed the alley and visited the Falcon Hospital (seriously). There was a little dispensing machine in the hospital where Qataris can fill prescriptions for their birds and not have to pay a thing. This falcon thing is taken very seriously here.
We then moved on to the horse stables and the camel stables where both animals are used in parades when the King hosts local dignitaries.
At the horse stables, we stood and watched the horses gallop around for a bit before walking down an alley to the camel stables.
Fortunately, we did not stay long at the camel stables. (Camels and I have a long history of hate hate relationship and the likelihood of one of those animals nipping at me was pretty high and with one nip at me already from the falcon, I didn’t need another.)
From there we wandered down yet another narrow alley passing by a wind tower, which is the same type of tower I saw in Iran. The tower is designed to cool air that flows into the building and is very, very effective.
After passing by the wind tower, we took in the bird market and all the squawking, before moving on to the quieter perfume souk, gold souk, handicraft souk, and the area of the souk where nuts and candies are sold.
By now it was closing in on 6:00 p.m. and fast was coming to an end so the souk was filling p with people. Yam and I walked back to my hotel and said our goodbyes.
I now planned to wander around the souk on my own tonight and then tomorrow I have a trip out of Doha through the Qatari countryside.