Leaving on a jetplane… The coast of southern California.
Having conducted author presentations at international schools in Qatar, I was a little bit familiar with this Arab Emirate and excited about my grandsons and their mom seeing this dazzling, unique city.
Having a 10 hour layover in any city is no fun, even if the airport offers many amenities. I was happy to discover that Tourism Qatar offers a 3 hour tour of the city for those in transit. No visa required. The cost of the tour was just over 100.- US for the 4 of us.
It was easy to book online for the date and time we needed it. We received clear instructions about where to find the information desk. Once there, we were led to a large air conditioned tour bus that drove us from the airport into Doha.
Doha, the capital city of the Arab Emirate called Qatar, is one of several emirates - like Dubai. Part of the city is build on reclaimed land from the Persian Gulf. The first thing that hit us as we walked out of the airport, was a wall of moist heat. Not only was it 41º C that day, the humidity was around 75%. Summer is not the time to visit here.
But in the comfort of our bus, we drove down busy streets, it was rush hour. The skyline of downtown is impressive with its uniquely shaped skyscrapers - it looks like an architect’s playground. I was surprised to learn that all buildings in Qatar, according to our tour guide, are owned by the state. None are owned by the companies that occupy them so all businesses and hotels pay rent to the state.
Qatar is a financial hub, like Dubai, it resembles more a business than a country. Also according to our guide, it is not oil that made Qatar rich - like the other Arab Emirates. It’s gas. And the income from the natural resources goes to the state. Its original Qatari residents all receive part of this income and thus don’t have to work. Qatari residency is a rare thing to own and if one marries a foreigner, they forfeit their income and their nationality forever. I wonder how this will effect the population in the long run? On Easter Island we learned about the exact opposite: nationals there are encouraged to look for a partner elsewhere. Interesting…
Most of the actual work in the country is done by people flocking here from other countries: India, the Philippines, Bangladesh and more. They serve, sell and build. Without them the country would likely not operate.
Even though Qatar is very much a Muslim state, it is also quite liberal compared to other Muslim countries. Women can drive here and many hold powerful jobs. On the streets there is a mix of veiled women, head scarfs only or western clothing. By and large the city of Doha is a very safe place for women alone to wander around, even late at night.
Our tour included a stop at the iconic Museum of Islamic Art, the building resembles a traditional veiled woman and if you carefully look at the top you will see her eyes and pointed veil. This time we didn’t go inside but you can read my previous blog here about my visit to the museum. Link below.
Our next stop was Katara Plaza. This ultra modern, fancy shopping street boasts the world’s first outdoor air conditioned street. Slits along the sidewalks blew cold air. When it is around 47ºC every day in summer, this street is a cool oasis for shopping. I did feel we helped to cover the cost when we bought 4 icecream cones… I thought I calculated the exchange rate wrong and double checked. 4 cones cost us $50.-!
Souq Waqif, Doha.
The technology for outdoor air conditioning was developed for the World Cup Football coming to Qatar in 2022. Apparently most of the power for it is generated by solar panels. Not only were the stadiums air conditioned, there is also a running track and parks with playgrounds that offer a cool environment, much appreciated by locals.
Our next stop was our favourite. The night market at the Souq Waqif. This, finally, feels like we are in a traditional Arab place. Even though the market was rebuild recently, it is based on a century’s old traditional trading place for locals and traveling Bedouin. Here is a spice market, a gold market, a falcon market and everything else under the sun. We strolled the narrow alleys along shops offering waterpipes and pots for cooking goats, running shoes and candies. The colours, smells and sounds made us heady. Cages full of chirping birds, colour fish, leather belts… The vendors mostly wore spotless white robes and red and white checkered headscarves. This was the Middle East we had hoped to see! Nico tried hard to locate a geocache that was supposedly hidden at the fountain in the market square where a large bucket scooped water. We did see a camel offering rides but no geocache.
It is fantastic that Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism offer these tours of the city during long layovers. However, next time we would just take a taxi to the market and have much more time to explore and stroll here.
Back at the airport, we found food and lounge chairs to rest before boarding our final flight of this trip. And while the airport was spacious and clean we all felt that it was very generic and void of character or culture. Now it’s on to Zambia!
Please note: as with all of our stories, we don’t pretend to know a place after a visit. We merely want to share our experiences and encourage you to travel as well. All images are copyrighted.
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