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Of souqs and skyscrapers
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A city where the old and the new exist in harmony
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SIGHTSEEING AND SHOPPING The giant pearl in Doha
It was our last evening in Doha, Qatar's capital, and we had to rush through taking in the sights, sounds and smells. As we drove through the city, we were amazed by the number of skyscrapers which had come up over the past year or so. The city itself is a study in contrast since it has the old and the new existing side by side.
In some places, old apartment blocks have given way to new buildings and in residential areas, palaces make their presence felt with grand archways at the entrance and landscaped gardens. The roads are clean and the parking space, neatly allotted.
But one thing that we (a group of media persons) noticed was that there were no children playing on the road, no street dogs, no litter... there's clockwork precision everywhere.
We were in a country where the sheikhs plenty of money for charity and didn't like to say no. We were also told that people donated buildings to the government and they were painted in a particular colour.
As the sun sets on the horizon at around 5 p.m., we alighted at the Al Corniche, a 7-km stretch, where people walk during mornings and evening to take in the sea breeze. The giant pearl, the wine amphora and the Qatari Orxy, which was the official mascot of the 15th Asian Games at Doha, made interesting backgrounds for photographs to take back home.
On the other side of the Corniche, we could see the Emir's palace and various government buildings, including the museums.
Time to shop
And then it was time to shop. The various souqs (traditional markets) are amazing. There are separate ones for gold, clothes, dry fruits and even an enclosure for falcons. Earlier in the day, we went to the Souq Waqif and were just in time for the afternoon prayer. It is a lively place — a maze of small, whitewashed streets where you can buy everything, from garden tools to falcons, honey and dates — where people offer to carry your shopping bags on wheelbarrows. After a tiring shopping trip, you can chill out over a cup of Arabic coffee and if you want, a hookah!
In sharp contrast to the old markets is the City Centre with its ice hockey rink, real palm trees, aromatic soap and oil shops and branded clothes shops. There are other shopping malls too, similar to the huge ones that we see here, centrally air-conditioned, exotic labels, department stores and eating joints.
If you are a vegetarian, the only stuff that you can get in hotels are fruits, an amazing variety of salads and groundnut paste that is like our chutney. Though in a foreign land, you do not feel out of place because you can see Indians and Sri Lankans practically everywhere.
Doha was founded in 1850 and was called Al-Bida. In 1882, the Al Wajbah fortress was built. The city was made capital of the British Protectorate of Qatar in 1916, and when the nation gained independence in 1971, Doha remained the capital of Qatar. Doha is presently developing as an educational hub with an education city, which is home to the campuses of several foreign institutions.
Almost 90 per cent of the air traffic in and out of Doha is handled by Qatar Airways with its courteous Japanese crew. A new airport terminal is under construction and will be ready in a couple of years, to handle more passenger traffic. There are plenty of hotels in Doha, including the Ritz and the Marriot.
Some facts
The climate of Qatar is tropical, and hot and humid during summer, but pleasant in winter. The official language is Arabic but English is widely spoken and understood. The state of Qatar lies midway along the Western coast of the Arabian Gulf.
DEEPA H. RAMAKRISHNAN
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