Discovering Doha in Qatar
January 21, 2020
On A Delightful Whirlwind Tour of Doha
Salaam Aleikum from Qatar!
For the longest time I have wanted to visit Doha, the capital city of the state of Qatar in the Middle East. A lot of this desire had to do with the fact that my colleague at NYU had told me that it has what is probably the finest Islamic Arts Museum in the world. Indeed, in keeping with the current spirit of the emirs (rulers) of the oil-rich Arab nations, who wish to contribute to the global spirit of nurturing Fine and Performing Arts, the country set up a brilliant receptacle of art and artifacts to showcase the long history of Islamic creativity. Called the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) set in a well-landscaped park, it was designed by none other than the late Chinese-American architect, I.M. Pei, and it is indeed a stunning feat of engineering and aesthetics.
My opportunity to finally visit this museum came when I booked a flight on Qatar Airways to Bombay. It involved staying in transit at Doha, the airline's hub, for about 21 hours on my way back--a transit stop I rather welcomed as it would allow me to meet my desire of visiting the museum. Fortunately, the transit stop would occur on my way back from India to the US and I would be arriving in Doha just as dawn was breaking over the emirate. This meant that I would have the entire day at my disposal to see not just the museum, but, hopefully, a lot of the city as it is a very small and very compact urban settlement.
Arrival in Doha:
Hence, as soon as my flight left Bombay airport at the unearthly hour of 4.00 am (which meant that I was deprived of sleep the entire night), I popped a sleeping pill so as to sleep away the next four hours. And it worked like a dream. As soon as I sat down at my window seat, I made myself comfortable with a blanket and pillow and it was simply Lights Out for me. When I awoke, four hours later, after a deep and refreshing sleep, my flight was touching down in Doha, while the city was still in slumber. It was already 5. 30 am and I knew the drill. I had a plan of action and I lost no time surveying the airport (although its attractions were many) but went in search of the Qatar Airways Hospitality desk to make inquiries about the Discover Doha Three-Hour Tour for which I had signed online.
All About the Discover Doha City Tour:
I had divided my day in Doha into three parts. Part One involved taking the Discover Doha City Tour. This tour is worth considering if one has more than a six hour transit stop in Doha. It has been especially created by Qatar Airways to give its passengers something fruitful to do instead of simply whiling away time at the airport (enticing though the airport might be). I am not sure how I first found out about this tour. I think I had started to make inquiries online to find out how I could get to the Museum of Islamic Art from Doha Hammad Airport, when I chanced to come upon information pertaining to this tour. I jumped on the idea immediately as it seemed to be simply the best way to take in the salient sights of the city.
Booking online was easy using my credit card--the tour costs 75 Qatar rials which is approximately US $30. It has several advantages: it is conducted with an English-speaking tour escort who acts as a guide; it is three-hours long; it starts and ends at the airport; it includes the issue of a Qatari visa on landing; it offers the convenience of transport from one venue to the next; it includes a visit to the MIA Park. Since it ticked a lot of boxes, I looked forward to it.
When I arrived at the desk, it was about 7.00 am (my tour was to begin at 8.00 am and I was told to arrive there an hour earlier in order to validate my online booking). I had eaten breakfast on the flight about an hour and a half previously, but I was afraid I would be hungry. Hence, I was glad I had my granola bars with me to take care of hunger pangs. My ticket was duly validated and I was told to return to the desk at 7.50 am. This left me time to use the facilities and browse a little among the lovely duty free shops and restaurants. Everything is extremely expensive at the airport and I did not feel like splurging on anything anyway.
The Tour Begins:
The tour began on cue at 8.00 am. We were given tour vouchers and told to follow a hostess who led us out of the airport, past the Immigrations desks (where our passports were stamped) and out to a waiting coach. We were about 20 passengers from different parts of the world on the tour occupying a coach that could hold at least 40. Once we were seated in the coach, we were introduced to our tour guide Mary, who was very sweet and very personable but had a very strong accent that made it really difficult for me to understand a lot of her commentary (that she kept reading from her notes). She was a Filipino. Before we began, she served out chocolate cookies and informed us that the bottle of water at each of our seats was complimentary and that there was more water, should we need it.
The tour thus began a little after 8.0 am. The sun was already strong and the city had awoken as the day begins early in this part of the world. The temperature was perfect for outdoor exploration. It was very comfortable if one had on a light cardigan or a jacket.
As we left the precincts of the airport, Mary pointed our attention to the waterfront which runs parallel to the airport for miles and which is known as the Corniche (this name for the waterfront prevails all over the Middle East--there is a corniche in Abu Dhabi and in Cairo in Egypt). It is a beautifully laid out promenade that provides opportunities for walking, jogging, cycling, etc. Just past the Corniche, we made our way into the interior of the city where the stunning new buildings first came into view.
The Financial District:
The thing about a lot of newly-developing cities around the world is that they have grown a consciousness about constructing the most beautiful skyscrapers possible, if indeed they need to build upwards. I have seen the Pudong area of Shanghai in China, for instance, which is filled with gorgeous buildings, each of which is also gloriously illuminated at night. The same concept prevails in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai. These countries now have the money to hire the world's finest architects and they are doing such a splendid job in bringing us masterpieces of urban design. Qatar is no exception and a whole lot of petro-rials are being lavished on grand skyscrapers. It was towards these buildings that we were headed.
The National Museum of Qatar:
But before we even got to the grandeur of the financial district which is far from being simply a concrete jungle, we passed by a most curious creation--the newest temple to the arts that is known as the National Museum of Qatar. It is no more than six months old and it resembles a pack of cards that is just about to collapse upon itself. It is the handiwork of none other than the French avant-garde architect Jean Nouvel with whose work I am very familiar having seen his buildings in Paris (the Musee de Quai Branly) and Lyon in France (the Opera House, for instance), in Barcelona, Spain (Torre Agbar), etc. Each of his buildings is completely different from the other and Doha can boast two. In addition to the sand-colored National Museum, there is the high-rise Office Tower that resembles an iron-gray bullet. There are also buildings in the financial district by such architects as William Ferrara (resembling a cruise ship, etc) and the Doha Convention Center.
On the same driving segment, we passed by the Oryx Monument and the guide explained to us that this has become the symbol of the country. It is a double horned animal, found in the desert, which resembles a horse. It is also the symbolic logo of Qatar Airways.
What I continually noticed, as we drove around this city, is how spaciously it has been conceived. Roads and boulevards are wide and generous in usage of space. There are green plantings and lush gardens and flowers everywhere in bloom. There is clearly an enormous amount of money in this part of the world and it is utilized to the fullest to make public spaces impressive. The picture of the current emir is splashed everywhere on building facades and Mary, our guide, explained that he is the youngest of the world's emirs at 39 and that he came to power at the tender age of 33.
A Drive Around Doha Harbor:
Once we circled these beautiful buildings, we passed by Doha Harbor which was filled with the traditional sea craft known as Dhows that are found throughout the Middle East. The ones in Doha Harbor are large and made of wood. They have a sharply pointed prow which makes them quite distinctive. At sunset, they offer fancy cruises around the harbor but throughout the day, one can take a dhow ride. I had men come up and offer me a dhow ride for just one rial (which would have been a real steal, had I the time).
Across the Dhow Harbor, one can see the towering office buildings that comprise the Financial District. The harbor was our first 'photo' stop and as the sun was perfectly positioned in the morning sky, we managed to get some really good pictures of both the Financial District and of MIA Park in which the Museum of Islamic Art is set. We had a ten minute stop here after which we continued on our way.
Surveying the Pearl Monument:
Just a few minutes later, we passed by the Pearl Monument which has become the iconic landmark of the city and which derives its significance from the fact that pearl-fishing was once the mainstay of the economy of the country. With the development of cultured pearl farming, the traditional means of deep-sea diving for pearls has all but disappeared. However, the country retains its heritage in pearl-fishing through this huge replica of a pearl oyster with a perfect pearl in its center. This is located right on the Bay and is a popular stop for pictures, although we did not alight here.
The Pearl Center:
The Pearl Center is another popular stop in the city. It is a complex of luxury flats and shops and is popular among local Qataris and expats with the deepest pockets. We were given a few minutes to take pictures here but I made a beeline for Paul's, the Belgian patisserie which is my very favorite of coffee-shops and where I deeply covet the croissants. I asked for a hot chocolate (also my favorite) but was disappointed to discover that the electricity had temporarily failed and the coffee and chocolate machines were not functioning. Hence I ordered a chocolate and pistachio croissant which I have not seen anywhere else in the world. At 15 rials, believe me, it was a real joy to consume as I sat in the bus and savored its ultra-crispy crust and its flavorful interior filled with a marzipan-like paste while the outside was studded with toasted pistachios! Simply to-die-for and a most welcome breakfast at a time by which I had begun to feel distinctly peckish.
It was much too early in the morning and since most shops and showrooms only open after 11.00am, all we saw from the outside were the luxury showrooms of designers such as Hermes and Versace. I did venture into one of the buildings where I saw more deluxe boutiques offering one-of-a-kind designer merchandise at jaw-dropping price tags.
The Pearl Mosque and Pigeon Monument in the Katara Center:
The next item on our agenda was the Pearl Mosque and the Pigeon Monument, both of which have also become inextricably linked with the architecture of Qatar. The bus stopped here so that we could have a really close look at a splendid traditionally Islamic structure that reminded me very much of the brilliant architecture I had seen last year around this time in Uzbekistan.
I circled the mosque (into which we could not enter and which was completely closed at that hour) and took a lot of pictures of its superb ceramic tile work. The Islamic world is rife with ceramic artistry of various sorts and tiles are found on the exterior of most important buildings. These glinted dazzlingly with gold on the outside.
Just at the side of the mosque is a curious three pronged tower that is called the Pigeon Monument. I did not get what the guide said about this building as her accent was so heavy but from what I gathered, these are traditional dove cotes built in a beehive pattern. I really do wish I knew more but I had to be content with taking pictures of these interesting buildings.
The Katara Complex includes a warren of tall buildings, all sandy in tone, with auditoriums, art galleries, libraries, reading rooms and the like sprinkled through traditional architectural domes, arches and minarets. It is probably a lively center of education and learning but was rather deserted when we arrived there. Qatar (like Dubai) is clearly pouring money into the cultivation of knowledge production and dissemination and such projects offer clear evidence of this new focus.
Souq Waqif and Spiral Mosque:
Finally, we arrived, at 10.00 am at the last stop on our tour--Souq Waqif. As I had recently toured Morocco, I was well aware that a souq is a traditional Arab marketplace. This one, in the heart of Doha, has developed into a social center of sorts for it contains traditional shops selling such local merchandise as spices (whole and powered), sweets and chocolates of every kind, freshly pressed juices, souvenirs that include such inexpensive things as magnets and keychains but also more expensive ones such as carpets and ceramic items, beautifully painted and fired.
I used the opportunity to get my magnets of Doha and Qatar (at a fraction of the price of those found at the airport), and to explore some of the shops where local Arabs and Indians were involved in ardent daily trading. The buildings were all sand-colored and embellished by dark beams that jutted out of the sides. I was glad that I saw this part of the city in daylight because it presented itself as completely different after nightfall.
Right opposite the Souq is the famous Spiral Mosque which has also become part of the distinctive skyline of Doha because of its unusual design--it has a spiral tower or minaret which I have never seen in any other part of the world. It is a part of the Kaseem Darwish Fakhroo Islamic center and has a design inspired by a mosque in Iraq for it is a replica of the Al-Mutawwaki Mosque in Samara. At night, it is strikingly illuminated.
Part Two of my Travels--Exploring the Museum of Islamic Art:
We were told to return to the bus in a half hour which gave me the chance to thank Mary for her guidance and to pick up my pull-along bag and go my own way. The Museum of Islamic Art could be seen from where my bus was parked but it would take me a good twenty-minute walk along the Dhow Harbor to actually reach the entrance.
As this museum was the very reason for my layover in Doha, I really did intend to spend a lot of time here. By the time I reached the entrance, it was 11.15 am. The approach is gorgeous as it takes you past the fountains that lead to the top along a gentle climb. The grand design of I.M. Pei is certainly in evidence from this point on. Based on the Islamic concept of dominant geometrics, it is a five-storey building (three of which are devoted to museum space) and contains a library and learning center connected by a courtyard.
There is an entry fee of 50 rials to see the museum (my Metropolitan Museum ID card was not accepted for free or discounted entry). Once inside, I used the facilities and then began my self-guided tour using the brochures that were distributed at the main reception desk. I was grateful that I was able to stash my bag in the left luggage room for which I received a voucher for retrieval. Everything is beautifully organized and spanking clean.
The main floor is organized around dual staircases that take the visitor up to the top floors. Apart from the gift shops and a lovely cafe (designed by Phillip Starck and featuring a small menu by the French chef Alaine Ducasse) which overlooks the jade-green of the harbor and the show-stopping skyscrapers of the financial district, there was not much on the ground floor. I took the elevator up to the third floor and thought that I would make my way downwards by stairs. In-between viewing the objects on the two floors, I sat down and took a rest (as lack of sleep was making me very tired and my feet were deeply fatigued), and promptly fell asleep. The twenty minute power nap was exactly what I needed. It fortified and revived me and gave me my second wind!
So here is what I saw of the highlights of the museum:
1. A wall of superb star-shaped ceramic tiles
2. A whole collection of classically inspired architectural columns in sandstone
3. A tiny goblet (coffee-cup) studded with rubies and diamonds
4. An exquisitely carved ivory gunpowder holder
5. A ceramic bowl from Iraq dating from the 10th century
6. A tiled sarcophagus in varied shades of blue, covered with Koranic calligraphy
7. Several pages from the original manuscript of the Shah-nama (the history of Persian kings) by Firdausi.
8. A silk velvet panel from Iran embroidered with lovely ladies.
9. A carved and inlaid door panel from Cairo, Egypt, embellished with ivory inlay.
10. Large numbers of planispheric astrolabes--their importance derived from the fact that they helped point the direction of Mecca to facilitate prayer.
11. A carved emerald plaque.
The galleries were simply filled with metalwork, ceramic tiles as well as utility wear such as bowls, plates, ewers, basins, sprinklers, pitchers, and the like. There were whole galleries devoted to calligraphy featuring Koranic scripture on building monuments as well as in manuscripts that were lavishly illuminated. Items from the entire Muslim world from countries as far away as India (a lot of Moghul jade-carved items are seen here), Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq and Iran, not to mention many parts of Arabia can be found here. They are all extremely well curated and have curatorial notes in English and Arabic (which I found very helpful indeed).
Had I more time and oodles more energy, I would have felt motivated to visit the National Gallery of Qatar as taxis were just outside the MIA ready to take me there. It showcases the history and unique culture of Qatar and it does so with style and panache. But although it looked like a worthwhile place to go, it would be best saved for another visit. I have now reached a point in my life when I do not feel compelled to see everything on one visit--for one thing, I now lack the energy to gallop around from one attraction to another as I was quite capable of doing ten years ago and for another, I realize that fate and life often takes me back to the same place that I once thought I would never in my life visit again...so although I do not have any immediate plans of re-visiting Qatar, you never know...
By the time I was finished with both floors, I was hungry again and I looked for sustenance in the cafe. I chose to eat Arab food and settled on a Chicken Shwarma sandwich which was well heated for me and served by a liveried waiter. While I was eating, a couple (a father and daughter) seated next to me entered into conversation with me. They were Moroccan and while the father is still based in Marrakech, his daughter is based in London where she functions as an interpreter of Arabic and French. They were quite delighted to meet me and ended up really enjoying our conversation. The lunch was filling and very delicious and left me with enough energy (as I faced the sparkling waters of Doha Bay) to go on to the rest of my exploration.
Part Three of my Visit:
It was 3.00 pm when I arrived at Part Three of my Day: A Visit to the home of local Indians were friends of my relatives in Bombay. Based on the directions I had been given, I set out to find the home of Dr. Merlyn Pereira who is an opthalmologist at Hammad Hospital which was about a twenty minute ride away by cab. She had given me her address and directions to her house and I set about trying to find my way there after my visit to the Museum.
Merlyn is the daughter of Annie who is a close friend of my cousin Pessy and his wife, Irene, who spent about 48 years living and working in Doha. When they discovered that I would be spending such a long while in transit, they connected me to their friends who then invited me over to their place and told me that they would show me Doha by night. I jumped at the invitation and that is how I arrived at Part Three of my stay in Doha.
I entered the cab of a very nice taxi driver who could barely speak English and struggled to communicate with me. However, we discovered, about ten minutes into our ride, that he was from Nepal--at which point I asked him if he could speak Hindi. There was visible relief on his side when he discovered that I could speak Hindi as well and from then on we carried out a marvelous conversation in which he told me a lot about himself and a lot about the city. As it turned out, we were stuck in horrible traffic which turned our 15 minute journey into a 45 minute one and made me feel quite impatient at times. The driver asked me for Merlyn's number and with her on the phone, he was able to find her place really easily--although it turned out to be a rather expensive ride of 32 rials (a journey that would normally have cost no more than 15).
Once I reached Merlyn's place, I met her mother Annie and her father Matthias and her five-month old baby Shania. They insisted on feeding me chicken stew with panpalays (rice crepes) for lunch, but I declined firmly as I was too full from my chicken shwarma lunch. However, when they asked if I would like a nap, I did not decline that invitation and ended up having the most restful nap for the next hour.
When I awoke, they insisted on offering me tea or coffee but my caffein intolerance put paid to that! I did accept their offer of juice and with orange juice and Gujarati dhokla with chutney which made a lovely snack, I felt ready to take on the next part of our plans: a visit to the Doha Festival Mall.
Shopping at Doha Festival Mall:
A short (and traffic-ridden) ride by cab took us to the Doha Festival Mall which is one of the largest in the country. It is huge, superbly lit and very enticing. There is a large parking lot at the front but the cab dropped us to the very door. I was keen on visiting Marks and Spencer mainly to buy foods in their famous Food Hall as the M and S in Bombay does not carry food at all--much to my huge disappointment.
While Merlyn, Annie and Shania did their own shopping, I headed up to M and S and bought underwear for Llew, first of all--as I had instructions to do so. Next I went to the Food Hall and found the biscuits I was keen to stock on. I also found a whole variety of biscuits with which I was not familiar and I realized that M and S have introduced a new and very wide range of biscuits such as Chocolate and Salted Caramel, Belgian Triple Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Hazelnut Biscuits, etc. Sadly, they did not carry the Battenburg Cake and the Fruit and Nut Muesli that I was also hoping to buy. Still, armed with all the biscuits and the underwear, my shopping trip was a very successful one.
I have to say a word about malls in the Middle East--they are truly a shopper's paradise because they carry shops from all over the world: you find American chains such as Pandora and Victoria's Secret, for instance, together with British ones such as Debenhams and British Home Stores; there are also European chains such as France's Monoprix (where we did food shopping later in the evening) and chains from the Far East and the Middle East. So there are no dearth of shops to suit every taste and every pocket. I was thrilled to see Carluccio's, the Italian food chain that I adore and where I regularly eat when I am in London as well as chains such as Starbucks and Costas. I could easily have spent the entire day window-shopping in this space, but all good things must come to an end and we had dinner to eat before I returned to the airport.
Dinner at Souq Waqif:
Sadly, it was while we were in the mall that Merlyn got called out to work to operate urgently on an emergency case that had come in. This spoiled her mood, but she could not ignore the urgency of the case. She hopped into a cab and asked the driver to take her via Hammad Hospital so that she could admit the patient and join us for dinner before returning to the hospital to operate.
The stop at the hospital took longer than expected but she did what she needed to do before the taxi driver dropped us off again at Souq Waqif. The place looked completely different at night. For one thing, it was lit quite festively and for another, well, it was simply heaving. Crowds of families had gathered there to partake of the many eateries and other attractions including amusement rides for children.
Merlyn's other family members were to join us at dinner: these included her dad Matthias, her husband Saket and her sister Edlin. When they had asked for my preference in cuisine, I had said 'Arabic' (thinking they would choose a Middle Eastern place offering maybe Lebanese cuisine); but they had assembled in a Moroccan one! Having just had my fill of any number of tagines and couscous while I was recently in Morocco, it was strange to have to return to the same food! We started off with a variety of Moroccan salads and then went on to order a variety of tagines--chicken with olives, koftas or meatballs in tomato sauce, lamb with spring vegetables and lamb with apricots and prunes. They did not eat couscous--so we made do with bread. There was no time for dessert as Merlyn had to return to work at the hospital. I would dearly have loved to have taken some khanefa with me (as I saw some being sold by a street vendor), but we did not find him on our way back (sadly).
Off to the Airport:
It was time to finish off our meal, walk through the souq to the exit and towards a taxi stand. I said my goodbyes and thank-you to this wonderfully hospitable family whom I did not know at all but who welcomed me warmly like a close friend and then hopped into a cab for the return journey to the airport.
I was at the airport in about 15 minutes and well in time for my connecting flight to New York at 1.30 am. After I checked in, I found my way to my gate where I went in for early pre-boarding and took my seat as soon as possible. Needless to say, I spent most of the flight fast asleep (at least 8 hours out of a 13 hour flight). The service was wonderful and I managed to watch one full movie, Ode to Joy with Martin Freeman in the lead (he is an actor I rather like) and a bit of a TV show called Beecham House, set in India in the 19th century.
We followed a sliver of a moon (I did have a window seat) across the Middle East and all of Europe (I was awake when we were over Luxembourg) and then across the Atlantic. I awoke when we had just passed Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard and as dawn was breaking over Block Island and the extreme tip of Long Island at Montauk appeared just below me. Immigration took me less than five minutes but baggage retrieval took at least 45 minutes. You simply cannot win after a 17 hour flight across the world!
Soon, we were landing and Llew was ready to greet me as I resumed my regular life in the United States after three eventful weeks in Bombay (during which time I assisted my dad go through retinal surgery for a detachment). It was just past 7.00 am when we landed over a very cold North America. Llew and I chatted nineteen to the dozen as I had slept quite restfully on the flight.
Qatar was simply scintillating and I am ever so glad that I made the most of my wonderfully long layover in a part of the world that I found fascinating and about which I learned so much in such a short span of time.
Until next time, I say Salaam Aleikum!
