Before we start on Day 2 in Doha, a little introduction to the layout of the city (see map below). Most of the city is built around a semi-circular harbor. There is a road (Corniche) that runs along the harbor, and a park between the Corniche and the harbor. The older part of the city, including my hotel, is on the left (south), and the new commercial development is on the right. By "older", I mean the part built between 1970 and 2000, because before 1970, Doha wasn't much more than a small town.
We started our second (and last) day in Doha with a walk in the Corniche Park, near our hotel. From here, you can look across the harbor to the new developments.
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| Museum of Islamic Art--not nearly as big as it appears on the map. |
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| View of new development area |
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| Relaxing along the Corniche |
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| View across the harbor of the newer part of town |
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| Corniche Park with new development in the distance |
Eventually, we wound up at
Souq Waqif again, where we did coffee, shopping, and lunch. A popular activity in Qatar is smoking "sheesha", which is flavored tobacco inhaled through a water pipe. At almost every restaurant and coffee shop we went to, people were smoking. Fortunately, sheesha smoke is a lot less offensive than cigarette smoke.
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| At a cafe with some liberated sheesha smokers |
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| Next to the souq. This gives you an idea of the amount of construction in Doha. |
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| Back in the souq, with the Islamic Center in the distance |
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| Lunch in the souq, with another sheesha smoker |
After lunch, we were taken on a tour of Doha. Most of the stuff in the pictures that follow can be found on the map above. We started in the old part of town and drove along the Corniche to the new development area on the other side of the harbor.
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| Panoramic shot of the new development area |
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| Another view from the Corniche |
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| Entering the new development area |
The amount of new construction in the new development area is incredible. It's pretty much like building the entirety of downtown Chicago in 10 years. I have no idea where they find people and companies to occupy all of this, and neither could our guide. They better hope they don't run out of oil....
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| Lots of buildings, but not a whole lot of people. |
Next to the new developments was
Katara, which is a "cultural village" with a beach, restaurants and (because they have the money), a Roman amphitheater.
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| From the beach at Katara, looking at "The Pearl" (more on that shortly) |
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| The Roman amphitheater |
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| Katara Mosque |
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| A mall and office buildings near Katara. Do not adjust your set. |
After Katara, we went to "
The Pearl" which is a set of man-made islands with housing and activities for people who have a *lot* more money than you and me.
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| Map of The Pearl |
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| Entering The Pearl |
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| Some of the lower-rent housing at The Pearl, along with resident's transportation. |
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| A few more residents' toys at The Pearl |
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| Don't want the residents of The Pearl to drive across town to buy their Ferraris. |
Next stop was the
Doha Golf Club. Grass fairways and greens in the desert? No problem if you throw enough money at it....
It was starting to get dark--the sun set at about 4:45--and we headed for some sights on the outskirts of Doha.
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| Sidra Hospital |
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| Qatar National Convention Center |
Our last stop was
Doha Sports City, home to most of Doha's athletic facilities and the national sports training center. In the middle of it is the Aspire Tower, which is the tallest structure in Doha.
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| Aspire Tower, on the left |
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| Another structure in Doha Sports City |
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| A closer view of Aspire Tower |
On the way back to the hotel, I got a few shots of the new developments from across the harbor as well as a couple of other sights.
So ended our stay in Qatar. Our flight to Perth left at 1:25 AM, so we had ample time to explore the Doha Airport (which is being replaced with a new one in 2013). I'll need to go back and check it out.
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| Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been.... |
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| ....but only if I can read them. |
Next--
Perth and Wave Rock, and Perth Again
