Doha gives Dubai a run for its money
Plenty to do in Qatar capital fast becoming a travel hub
When it comes to excess, the independent statelet of Qatar is no match for its neighbours on the Persian Gulf — or what’s known in Qatar as the Arabian Gulf.
The place is rich enough to be extravagant. It probably has enough natural gas to heat Antarctica. But it has nothing to match Dubai’s indoor ski hill or Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World theme park.
The emir — Sheik Hamid bin Khalifa Al Thani, to give him his full title — appears to be aiming for something more sedate, more cultured, more restrained. He’s also aiming to make his capital, Doha, into a regional travel hub with connections to cities all over Asia and Africa. So you could very well end up here for a day or two on your way somewhere else. If you do, here are a dozen things to do in (or near) Doha.
Get cultured: Don’t miss the Museum of Islamic Art. Even if you have no interest in the world’s finest collection of Persian rugs, Turkish mosaics and damascene wood carvings, the place is worth a visit just to stroll through the grand halls and courtyards of architect I.M. Pei’s cubist take on the Muslim minaret.
Listen to a symphony: The Qatari Philharmonic plays on the waterfront in a tiny, perfect concert hall with admirable acoustics, 500 comfy seats and great sight lines. It also has just enough gilt and crystal to give it a dash of 19thcentury decadence. It’s part of the Katara Cultural Village — a half-finished beachside complex that also includes restaurants, galleries, cinemas and a 1,000-seat amphitheatre.
Visit the unicorn reserve: OK, they’re really Arabian Oryx, Mahas in Arabic. They have two long, tapering horns — not one. But in profile, they might be mistaken for unicorns, and some think that’s how the whole myth started. They’re Qatar’s national symbol, and the country’s Al Maha Sanctuary, an hour’s drive out of Doha, helped to snatch them from the brink of extinction.
Sip a coffee in the souq: You can still buy sacks of rice and barrels of olives from tiny shops in the Souq Waqif. You can even buy a canary or a falcon. But it’s a bit of a sham. The original souq was demolished a decade ago and replaced with this Disney-like reconstruction. Still, it’s a major gathering place for everyone from Qatari nationals and western expats to Pakistani labourers and Filipina nannies. So grab an outside table at a cafe on the main drag, order a Turkish coffee medium sweet and a wad of apple-scented tobacco for your shisha and watch the passing parade.
Buy jewelry: The Gold Souq is housed in a collection of shabby 1960s-style buildings clustered around the noisy bus terminal, but what it lacks in charm it makes up in glitter and aggressive merchants. Just try to get out without buying a string of cheap freshwater pearls.
Eat brunch: Friday buffet brunch at a five-star hotel is the social event of the week here for Qatari nationals and western expats alike. In fact, it’s one of the rare occasions when the two mix, or at least share the same social space. Service starts at noon and ends about 4 p.m., and some families stay for the whole thing, eating their way through it all: roast meats, grilled fish, salads, pastas, cheeses, curries, ice cream and Arab sweets, all washed down with copious amounts of wine. Yes wine. This is a Muslim country and liquor is tightly controlled. But the rules appear to vanish for Friday brunch. Reservations are a must.
Get dressed: Their shops don’t look anything like the ones on London’s Savile Row, but the Indian tailors who toil away in the cramped shops of the Filipino Souq can whip you up a creditable made-tomeasure linen suit for $150 ($130 if you haggle) and an Egyptian cotton shirt for less than $30.
Get outta town: If you’re here for a week, you’ve got to get to the desert. The dunes along the coast are mountainous slabs of sand as much as 200 metres high. Roaring up them in an SUV or on an all-terrain vehicle is the local sport. The more sedately inclined can park by the sea, have a picnic and watch the lunatics in SUVS challenge the sands.