DOHA
From the UAE, we headed to Qatar. Doha was shocking! It is so incredibly modern, clean, and has an exciting skyline. We didn’t have nearly enough time to explore this amazing city. Our first stop was 974 FIFA Website info on 974 StadiumStadium in Doha, named after the country’s dialing code. It also features 974 used shipping containers and can be dismantled and moved! It is fully modular. It was built for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is the only stadium used in a World Cup that relies solely on natural ventilation, with no air conditioning, and is demountable.
Next stop, Flag Plaza. Flag Plaza features the 119 flags of countries with diplomatic missions in Qatar, including the European Union flag, the United Nations flag, and the Gulf Cooperation Council flag.
We wandered through the Souq Waqif. I worked to keep my photography focused on non-facial subjects, but it still gave a feel for the market and how people were dressed.
In the baskets are dried rose flowers, mint and thyme leaves, frankincense, peanuts, red peppers, and more. They sold chocolate-covered frankincense, which I thought I’d try, but I decided to give it to my guide, as he was so keen on it.
The statue of the thumb is Le Pouce (French for “The Thumb”) by the French artist César Baldaccini.
The photo on the left and the picture above are of Dama, a board game similar to checkers. The room is for gathering to play the game. What was interesting was that it reminded me of places in Japan located in markets, malls, where men, many of whom are retired, gather to play Shogi, like chess. Two very distinct cultures offer public places for the retired to gather and enjoy a game or two.
Why do Western cultures not offer this?
Our guide, Ebrahim, showed us that the Mina District Mina Districtis the Old Doha Port, a mix of contemporary design and cobblestone-style walkways. Julianna and I found a shop with unusual clothing, and we both purchased a couple of items.
Of course, we stopped at the Mina Fish Market, which had a fantastic stained glass ceiling. You felt like you were underwater, looking up to the light.
As the district sits along the waterfront, we saw the skyline from the
Dhow Harbour along the Doha Corniche.the walkway along the Doha Bay.
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We passed where the camels are kept for the twice-daily Royal Camel Parade, which takes place at 8 AM and 4 PM.
I especially like the camels with the Doha skyline in the background.
Right – I like the sign.
Above – as we drove through Doha, our guide kept pointing out license plates with low numbers, like two- and three-digit ones. I didn’t quite understand why he got too excited. But when pressed, he explained that to get low license plate numbers, you had to pay huge fees. Julianna added to the story that licenses are often more expensive than cars and can be sold separately. Now the cost isn’t like an American vanity plate; the plates sell at auction for millions of dollars. In researching this online, the top price on Google is $15 million (US dollars, not local currency), but that was in the UAE, not Qatar. Of course, by the time I understood, the low-digit car numbers were nowhere to be found.
TRAVEL AGENTS, SITES AND SERVICES
Anna at Bin Majid Tourism arranged our trips to Qatar and Oman. See link above for her contact information.