Our autumn travels this year took us to the Indian Ocean and back on the award winning Qatar Airways, which gave us a perfect opportunity to put in a nice little stopover to Qatar’s capital, Doha. Qatar Airways can do all the heavy lifting to propose transit and hotels for a short stay as part of your ticket booking, so all is easy! Landing in Doha airport will already give you a taste for the city with its jungle atrium, and first class duty free shopping…be prepared to be astounded and surprised.
With an ”if you build it then they will come” attitude to urban planning, Doha is probably one of our most favourite Middle Eastern capitals; with plenty to do and see, not too big and sprawling, but just right for a couple of days and with a shiny, brand new metro system that takes all of the hassle out of getting around…at just 2.5 eur for a day pass you will find you’ll have the metro almost all to yourself for most trips and where in-carriage USB ports are available if you have used all your battery on taking so many pictures!
Where to stay
We opted to stay at the heart of Souq Wakif at the Al Bidda Boutique hotel, one of several in a chain of boutique hotels in this area that cater for all tastes and budgets. Al Bidda is right in the action of the Souq and a little upgrade gave us our own rooftop terrace to see the surrounds and get the tantilising smells of all the spices from the souq below. With it’s own metro station just by the Souq, it makes for an easy location from which to explore the rest of the city.
There was plenty to keep us occupied in the short space of time we had and a nice mix of culture – with the museums that were works of architectural art in themselves), colour – supplied by the bright sights, smells and sounds of the souqs, iconic buildings – the incredible skyscrapers downtown, and a healthy dose of consumerism with the ever impressive Malls that this region is so famous for.
The Colour
Souq Wakif – despite its relative modernity, this souq manages to capture all the romance and colour of what a souq should be – narrow alleyways, packed with stall upon stall of bright, sparkly products; sections for textiles, crafts, birds, tortoises, spices; but without the crowds and pressure of many similar souqs in other parts of the world.
Opening times for the souq are in the morning (until 12pm) and from afternoon to evening…evening was always the most magical time for us.
The souq also houses a bit more tradition with the Camel pen, the Falcon hospital and the Old Well.
The Gold Souq – just across the road from souq Wakif you’ll find the pristine, mall-like corridors of the gold souq…where all that glisters is indeed gold!
Moving out to the Mina district, past the old port you’ll come to a Fish market that really has the feel of being under the sea, so pristine that the smell of fish is replaced by a light perfume! Well worth a visit, but probably the most tricky to get to by metro and where the temperatures are 40 degrees plus outside! Keep an eye out for the golf carts that can give you a lift around this district.
The Culture
More than most other cities in this region Doha really brings its history and culture to life with its great museums; sadly we did not have enough time to fully immerse ourselves, but to enjoy the dune-like edifice that is the National Museum
The beautiful symmetry and reflections of the Museum of Islamic Art
And to come close to a $70mln Ferrari and a Ghost car of the 1950’s
Katara Cultural village – north of downtown, on the Red line this village has been put together to showcase various cultural elements of Qatar; an expansive project that looks to be held in reserve for big shows and outside of such events is left to tourists such as ourselves to find an explore. The impressive amphitheater, the iconic pigeon lofts, the mosque and quirky exhibitions such as the Postal stamps museum!
The Consumer Heaven
As if you are transported back to Europe on a very hot summer’s day, a lot of Doha’s malls seem to recreate pieces of France and Italy…with a lot more heat and a lot less people. Starting with Place Vendôme Mall that despite all the famous French names has a bit more an a Vegas/Italianate feel, complete with dancing fountains in the expansive central area.
Galeries Lafayette brings more of the French Je ne sais quoi, along with a unique outdoor street that transported us back to Paris, not just in look, but also temperature as the street has underfloor air conditioning to drop the temperature by 10 degrees or so…we just hope its all powered by solar energy!
As with a lot of Doha you can’t help but wonder when the crowds are going to turn up to enjoy all these marvels as we had most to ourselves, only outnumbered by the plentiful staff that were on hand to assist us!
The Iconic Architecture
You can’t move very far in Doha without coming across yet another arresting edifice to stop and stare at. From the expansive Western Courtyard of Souq Wakif, surrounded by mosques
To the Doha skyline, best viewed after dark from the Dhow harbour or on a 20 minute tour of Doha bay on one of the ‘disco dhows’.
The horseshoe shaped Katara Towers are the place to go for sunset mocktails…housing a Raffles hotel on one side and Fairmont on the other they drip in luxury…with a Hogwarts like sky ceiling in the foyer, plush lift that have their own sofas to rest on while ascending and heady views from the Acoustic bar and its openair terrace at the top of Doha!
Finishing with a Feast
As with everything here, there is just so much choice when it comes to food, and we were not disappointed, although in our short stay we did not really get to try Qatari food, but rather Persian and Lebanese…and Filipino!
Parisa will appease all senses, an expanse of mirrored colour, the full flavours of the mezze and the grilled meats matches the spectacular surroundings and is a must visit.
Damasca One takes you to Lebanon with more great mezze, bbq and eastern promise!
Save room for desert and pick up some takeaway kunafa cheese desert from Al Aker (just by the Golden Thumb!) that is just so mooreish that you will surely overeat. An interesting norm here is that you can often take your own food into the bars and cafes to enjoy with a refreshing juice or strong coffee together with friends.
And so our 36 hours are almost up, but all of this is waiting for you to come and experience and enjoy!
