Qatar

Qatar 

What do you get when one of the poorest nations of the world, supporting itself largely through the dangerous industry of pearl diving, becomes awash in oil wealth? If you are the independent emirate of Qatar, within just a few decades you go from nomadic tribes living in the desert to building the gleaming, sophisticated city of Doha. 
This port, our first after boarding in Abu Dhabi, defied all my expectations. 
 

The skyline rivals the view in New York or London. One iconic piece of architecture after another seems to be saying, “l’m the show here. Look at me.”

 
But Qatar also honors its past. When the old Souk, the Bedouin marketplace, was destroyed by fire in 2003, it was restored while maintaining the original’s identity, using the same natural, local materials. We walked through on a quiet Saturday morning.
 

Yes, the gold statue in the center of the picture is a giant thumb. Qatar wanted a modern piece of public art that celebrated its unprecedented soccer victory when it won the Asian cup in 2019. The thumb is the signal for victory. The curved tower in the background is part of a mosque and community center.

It was a short walk from there to the newly redeveloped Msheireb downtown Doha. The city proudly considers this retail, commercial and residential area an example of a “sustainable” city. A free tram loop aims to keep cars out of the area, trash is blown through underground tubes instead of collected by trucks and there are water features, parks and shaded gathering areas.
This modern plaza uses the traditional Arab architecture of latticework to protect the center and provide shade.
We visited the Katara Cultural Village, a center for visual and performing arts. Its impressive gem is the 5,000-seat amphitheater, constructed with travertine marble imported from Italy.
The theater is Greek style, but has Arab touches, such as the arches.
The view looking into the Katara village from the amphitheater exit

The beautiful Katara Mosque is one of the most admired in Qatar. The architect is a Turkish woman Zainab Fadil Oglu, and she designed it with some classic Turkish features.

  Next to the mosque are city’s famous Pigeon Towers, an homage to the past, when attracting pigeons and storing their waste for fertilizer, was an important part of the farming culture.

Our last stop was the Pearl Island, a very classy man made island where Qatar apparently recreated Palm Beach in the Middle East.

Our guide told us that the Doha skyline beautiful at night. She was right. Goodbye Qatar, and thanks for the light show.

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