Qatar

We call it the appetizer country. When traveling internationally, my wife Alice and I always try to spend a few days in the city where we make a flight connection.. Many cities encourage it and it rarely impacts the airfare to the final destination.

This time we were traveling to Rwanda, and chose Qatar Airways, and Doha became the “appetizer country”.

It was a nice relaxing way to adjust to the 7-hour time difference, experience a new culture, and for the first time visit the Middle East.

At 12 hours, it’s a long flight from Washington, DC. With prevailing Westerlies, the trip home was 14 hours!

The Qatari government subsidizes tourism and it’s possible to find luxury hotels at very reasonable prices. This is what we did at the Sharq Village Resort. We spent 3 days at this gorgeous resort right on the Persian Gulf with beautiful pools, lovely restaurants, and charming staff!

Our room had a balcony that overlooked the Gulf, and across the water, the modern skyline of Doha. In the 60’s, oil changed Qatar from a sleepy pearl-diving desert nation to a rich modern destination. Today the economy is powered by oil and immigrants. In 3 days, we did not meet a single Qatari. The people we met were Uber drivers, waiters, shopkeepers, and hotel staff and they were all immigrants. They were from Egypt, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. They all spoke English and they were all friendly and kind!

We took one day to visit the National Museum of Qatar. The building was designed by famous architect I.M. Pei and resembles a natural sand formation called the Desert Rose. It’s a great way to escape the intense heat of day, and learn about desert culture and the history of Qatar.

Across the street from the museum was a row of small local restaurants. Though it sounds touristy, the Museum Restaurant was decidedly not a tourist spot and we had a great lunch. From an American perspective, Qatari food is somewhere between Lebanese (Tabouleh, Hummus), and Pakistani (Kabobs, tandoori, Naan). it was casual but delicious. There was an area in the restaurant with traditional tables, but also a slightly raised platform where locals stretched out on pillows and dined together. We chose a table where I had some really memorable lamb chops!

Day 2 we started at the pool and beach (it is vacation after all!) but by mid-afternoon we ventured out to the sleek West Bay lined with skyscrapers, each with its own unique architecture.

We went to the Dusit Hotel which had a roof deck bar on the 48th floor called Tropicana 360. From here we had a spectacular view of Doha in all directions. It was a laid back vibe of mostly visitors, about 50% westerners. We stayed till the sunset and headed to the central market, or “souq”

The Souq Waqif is a traditional marketplace with shops, restaurants and lots of people. The crowd was a mixture of locals and tourists and the restaurants reflected that. There were restaurants that advertised Iraqi, Iranian, Yemeni, and Qatari cuisine; but there was also a Coffee Beanery!

We chose a restaurant called Parisa, which was Persian cuisine. It was fabulously ornate with a very traditional menu. I quickly texted the QR menu code to my Persian friend Sateen in the states. Fortunately it was mid-afternoon there and she helped us with recommendations. The meal was delicious and the entire experience was pretty special!

There was lots we didn’t get to see as we only had 3 days and were using that to relax and adapt to the time change. The Museum of Islamic Art was closed for a special event on the one day we had available and I would like to return to see that.

Also, everywhere you go you can see this amazing mosque, the Fanar Mosque with its breathtaking minaret.

There are lots of adventures one can take out into the desert, to various villages, and lots of nightlife.

As a 55 hour layover goes, however, Doha was a great time! I loved being among a different culture, a different climate, and customs. It’s unusual for me to see groups of men dressed in dishdashas with keffiyeh head scarves. Many women wore full burkas and yet we never felt uncomfortable in western dress.

We did, however, take steps to dress somewhat conservatively. I didn’t wear shorts off the resort, and Alice covered her shoulders and knees (as we had read). Still, in the museum we saw plenty of western tourists who didn’t get the memo and it didn’t seem to be a problem.

Would I go again? Absolutely! It was a great start to our vacation and exiting to be there!

TT