Around the World With Uncle Moose: Qatar--Day 1

So where is Qatar? It's a small finger of land that sticks off the side of Saudi Arabia.

We left Washington at 9:45 on Sunday night and arrived in Doha, Qatar on Monday at about 6:30 PM. Qatar Airways service was as good as you can get in economy class, including seatback video with your choice of programs. To get an idea of the level of technology, if you were watching the Simpsons, it would tell you how long it would be until Homer said "Doh!" next and what the local time would be when he said it! I don't understand why American carriers can't adopt this level of technology.

Photo: Amazing technology on Qatar Airways--if you are watching The Simpsons on one of their flights, they can tell you how much time it will be before Homer says "DOH!" How do they know?

Doha (which is basically the only city of any size in Qatar) is growing so fast that the current airport doesn't have enough gates, so the planes all park on the tarmac and you have to take a 15 minute bus ride from the plane to the terminal. Once we got to the terminal it was a different story, as we went through immigration, baggage claim, and customs in about 15 minutes. Then it was a 10-minute ride to the the Gloria Hotel, then dinner and bed.

The Gloria Hotel (building with horizontal stripes)

Check-in at the hotel

At this point, I should address what is undoubtedly the most common question about Qatar--how do you pronounce it? Originally most people pronounced it as "ka-TAR", but a few years ago a lot of newscasters started pronouncing it "KOT-er". After spending three days listening to locals pronounce it, I still don't know. Most people seemed to go with "kot-tar" with equal emphasis on each syllable.

The next day we had a "Desert Safari" scheduled for the afternoon and evening, so we had the morning to wander. We walked down to the Souq Waqif, which is the main market (not to be confused with a mall).

Entrance to the Souq Wakif (and pigeon collection center)

Inside the Souk Waqif

For some reason, pastel colored chicks are very popular in Qatar, and there were plenty of them at the souk. I don't know what people do with them after they buy them, nor do I particularly want to.

Shopping street in the souq.

Foreign tourist in the souq.

18th century meets the 21st century

Bargain hunters in the souq

Resting at a coffee shop

Resting at a coffee shop (local style)

There are about 1.7 million people in Qatar but only about 300,000 are natives. The rest are foreign workers, mostly from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Most Qatari natives were in native dress. For men this was white robes and headdress, and for women it was black outfits with at least a head scarf. About 20 percent of the women in native dress were completely veiled. Foreigners, as you might guess, dressed in western clothing.

These guys are headed to the falcon market (really!)

A newer part of the souq, lined with restaurants

From the souk, we walked back to our hotel. It was about 11:00 and getting a little steamy.

Islamic Cultural Center (the tall building in the background)

On the Corniche, the boulevard that goes along the shoreline of Doha

Typical commercial street in the older part of Doha.

We ate lunch in the hotel--in fact, we ate almost all of our meals in the hotel. There weren't any restaurants near the hotel, and they had a relatively inexpensive buffet that was very good (as buffets go). So, I apologize in advance for the lack of Doha restaurant reviews, but I can recommend the restaurant at the Gloria Hotel.

At 2:00, our driver picked us up for our Desert Safari. The safari involved the driver taking us about 30 miles out of Doha to the "Inland Sea", on the border of Qatar and Saudi Arabia. There we partook in "desert activities" such as riding a camel, and hanging on for dear life while the driver tried to destroy our vehicle on the dunes. After that, we went to a desert camp on the shores of the Arabian Sea for dinner.

The expressway leading out of Doha

A view of Doha from the desert

On our way out to the Inland Sea, our driver gave us a commentary on life in Qatar. As you probably know, Qatar is sitting on a lot of oil and natural gas, so they have more money than they know what to do with. According to the driver, the lowest ranking soldiers in the Qatar army make about $12,000 a month, and officers make about $25,000 a month (US dollars). Every 10 years, the government gives married couples $400,000 to spend on housing. As you will see in my posting about tomorrow's tours, the government spends more than a little on infrastructure. So, life is pretty good if you area a native of Qatar, but not so great if you're a foreigner.

A middle-class housing development near Doha

Eventually we reached the camel ride location, which was basically two guys with a bunch of camels and a water truck. I suppose that if I had to go 100 miles across the desert and had no other alternative, a camel would be my vehicle of choice, but based on a 5 minute ride hanging on for dear life, I'd just as soon walk.

The guy on the left is our driver/guide.

After the camel rides, we headed to the Inland Sea. There are no roads to the sea, so you have to drive on the sand This is serious desert, with spots where you can see nothing but sand.

Sand....and more sand

The Inland Sea, with a desert camp

Across the sea is Saudi Arabia. This is likely as close as I will ever get to it

Yes, it's Photoshopped a bit, but I think it's cool.

After our visit to the Inland Sea, we headed about 10 miles back towards town to another desert camp for dinner. This camp was on the shore of the Arabian Sea. For some reason, we had the entire camp to ourselves--strange but interesting. After dinner, they turned out all the lights of the camp (and I do mean *all*), and Brenda had an excellent stargazing experience.