Three Fun-filled Days in Doha - A Travelogue of a Young Writer

After her delightful tale on Kashmir, our youngest writer, Noyna is back with travel stories from Doha

Touch down at Doha Airport

It all started when a transit trip turned into the most adventurous holiday! I was flying Qatar Airways for the first time, and was amazed to see just how multi-cultural the crew was! At one point, mom and I even played a game to guess their nationalities. The food served on board was excellent and so were the seats with their own little foot rest. Since the flight was not full, I had the luxury of sleeping on 3 seats. After restfully arriving at Doha, I was struck by the colours, dresses and sounds of different nations. It was as if the world had decided to collect here. I could have sat and watched people go by all day. There were women with fashionable burqas, men with different types of headgear, African women dressed in the traditional kanga dress, Indians in their sarees and salwar kameez and Europeans in western clothes.

 

The Lavish Hotel Al Najada

At Hotel Al Najada, a boutique hotel in the Souq, we were welcomed with Arabian coffee, dates and nuts, which were available all day. The hotel was a refurbished 100-year-old home in the heart of Old Doha City, Souq Waqif. The interiors of the hotel spelt understated luxury and taste. I particularly loved their pillows that were soft and squishy and my mother loved the ionic hair dryer. The breakfast had the best halal turkey salami from Spain and a great mezze platter of humus, babaganoush and pepper dip served with pita bread, olives and cheese. The carrot juice was extremely refreshing. At the foyer, they had a fountain adorned with rosé petals and water lilies. I was amazed at how in this desert they had managed to keep things so fresh and beautiful.

We dropped off our luggage at the exotic hotel and got acquainted with Kevin who was assigned to take care of our every need. Kevin was from Kenya, a place I had only recently been to, and after hearing about my trip I became his favourite guest, which meant extra candies and chocolates at bedtime! The service was superlative and we soon discovered that there were six such boutique hotels owned by the Sheikh’s family in the Souq.

Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club

My research on Doha had shown me that the place was famous for its prized Arabian horses. I couldn’t wait to go and see them, and sensing my level of excitement, my mom decided that our first stop would be the stables. The vet in charge of the horses took us to the grand stables. From the outside, it looked like a row of upscale houses each with its own double parking spot. As we entered the tall doors, what emerged were the most beautiful, clean stables that anyone would have ever seen. The glistening red and brass fittings looked straight out of an old movie. The horses stuck out their long snouts to see their visitors. They were so grand and handsome. Some had a naughty look in their eyes. The vet, Mr. Ali, was extremely gracious and answered all of my hundred and one questions. I petted the horses whilst they sniffed, nuzzled or licked my ears and learnt how to differentiate between an Arabian horse and a European horse. It was interesting to see how each horse had its family tree illustrated on his name board. The horses even had their very own treadmill and swimming pool! I also learnt that they ate about nine kilograms of food and cost millions of dollars. They even got vitamin supplements! I could have stayed here for hours but maybe, one day soon I will come back to greet them again.

 

Museum of Islamic Art designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei

All through the flight mom, was talking about the famous Islamic museum in Doha whilst I was focussed on figuring out just how different this was going to be from other museums that I had visited. This picturesque seaside museum was surrounded by traditional fishing boats or dhows on one side, while on the other side was modern Doha set amongst tall glass and steel buildings. As we entered the building, it was a combination of Islamic architecture and modern features. While the domes were not onion-shaped however, the building was circular with minaret-like structures. It was all quite magnificent. They gave us free headphones, which were very helpful in understanding the story behind every treasure. Every room had memorabilia belonging to a different period which helped me understand the different stages of development in art. The collections were from Turkey, Iran, Iraq, India, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, China and a few other countries in the Middle East. I noticed that most of the art consisted of either geometric shapes or was inspired by nature. There were very few portraits of people and hardly any of women. Treasures here consisted of priceless pieces of pottery, blown glass, embossed glass and other ceramics from the 7th century onwards. There were carpets, fabrics, gems, armours, calligraphy, Holy Korans and King Akbar’s lamp shades. My favorite display was a blue glass blown water jug with green parrots, orange flowers and white swirls depicting cloud and wind, while the rim was lined with gold. The museum also had a great cafe where I ate a shawarma sandwich with pomegranate and mint juice. It was indeed an enjoyable and educative experience and in the end, I bought myself a jewelled pencil as a souvenir.

 

Camel Racing in Doha

My excitement knew no bounds as I woke up early in the morning all set to see the Doha camel races. At 5:30 am, mom and I got into the car and were driven to the other end of Qatar, Sheehaniya. En route I saw masses of construction on either side of the road. As we arrived at our destination, I saw a big screen in the car park that showed camels running down the track like they show in horse races. I was about to witness the most famous event in Doha - the camel races! Massive white SUVs were parked near the track, all set for the races. A TV crew from our hotel was covering the whole event. The first whistle blew. The car engines started. The crowd hushed. The camels snorted. And then the gates were opened. The cars zoomed down the road whiles the camels raced down the tracks. The tiny toy helicopters with cameras tried to keep up. We stood and watched. Just then mom thought of an amazing idea. We would chase the camels too! So we got into the car and waited for the next race. As the second whistle, the crowd hushed and before I knew it we were zooming down the road. We drove for around five races and then decided to get ourselves the free drinks and snacks that were served at the venue. I was happy to note that kids were no longer used as jockeys, and instead were replaced by robot jockeys. The camels, which normally look so gawky, on the contrary looked tres elegant. It was so nice to see how people of Doha preserve and enjoy these traditional sports even in the modern times.

Souq Waqif

When I first walked on the cobbled streets of Souq Waqif, I was starving. We stopped at an Iraqi restaurant and were greeted with a big smile and escorted to our table. I could smell the sweet aroma of sheesha curling into my nose, which every man and woman at the restaurant was smoking. Mom ordered the best mutton I ever tasted. Today, mom was planning a surprise for me. I skipped down the cobblestone path with excitement. Mom was taking me to a Falcon Souq, something I had never heard of before. I was expecting to see nothing different from what I saw at Souq Waqif, but I was wrong. As we walked through big streets and alleyways we arrived at a set of shops. There I saw a bed of sand with falcons sitting on wooden pegs. The falcons had a small helmet to cover their eyes so that they don’t attack people who enter the shops. They even had leashes. I looked around the shops and asked some questions. Did you know that falcons are used for hunting?

 

As we walked back to the hotel, I spotted a falcon hospital. Mom did not want to go there at first but I persuaded her. We met the vet there and he showed us around; it would put any human hospital to shame. The doctors were from Jordan and Syria and told me about the Peregrine falcon, one of the fastest animals in the world.

Mathaf Museum

Last but not the least, on our checklist was the Museum of Modern Art. It was not that well designed but nonetheless was pretty cool. They did not have many paintings or sculptures but the ones that were left were made on fabric and canvas. There were also some PowerPoint presentations about the art that was showcased.  After a short walk around we went downstairs to the gift shop. I bought some highlighters and a cool ice tray, while mom bought some bags that read, “I am Palestine” in Arabic.
 

The End of a Memorable Trip

After a thrilling day we made our way back to the hotel and rested till our flight. There were many other things that I could have done like dune bashing, visiting the zoo and the Oryx center, taking a dhow cruise, spending the day at the cultural center, visiting forts and ancient villages or walking around the umbrella rock. However, I was more than satisfied with my trip and decided to keep these for my next visit. Goodbye Doha…till we transit next time!