The works of world-renowned architects, futuristic spaces, Venetian canals with gondolas and the preserved heritage of the Bedouins give tourists the opportunity to “get lost” in time when visiting the portDoha on a cruise in the Persian Gulf.
Here you can walk on your own (go to the center or just walk around the cruise terminal) or buy an excursion with a Russian-speaking guide. But definitely on this day it is definitely not worth staying on board.
QATAR NATIONAL MUSEUM
It is one of the most iconic buildings in Doha with a futuristic exterior and interior. You can always take great photos here.
National Museum Katara repeats the outlines of the desert rose. Photo: ATOR
From the outside, the structure seems fragile: its walls consist of sand-colored discs that are complex in their geometry, which are literally nested into each other. The fact is that architect Jean Nouvel, who is also the author of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, was inspired by the “rose of the desert” – a unique natural phenomenon, and tried to give the building exactly this characteristic shape.
The desert rose is just a fancy-shaped plaster, a combination of sand and water. Photo: ATOR
For this, he used steel, glass and fiber concrete, which allowed him to create a real masterpiece of architectural and engineering thought. The museum was under construction for almost 10 years and was opened in 2019.
The museum’s exposition includes 11 halls where the history of Qatar is told in detail. Not only exhibits are used to convey information and create an atmosphere, but also various interactive techniques.
On large screens, you can see how as-sadu, the woolen fabric of the Bedouins of the Persian Gulf, was produced, how coffee was roasted and cooked over a campfire – an important ritual for nomads, and, of course, how pearls were extracted, which was the basis of Qatar’s exports until the advent of the oil industry.
Qatari pearls have been used by jewelers all over the world. Photo: ATOR
ARABIAN RIVIERA
Doha is home to another masterpiece of urban planning – the artificial island “Pearl of Qatar” (Pearl Qatar).
Its construction lasted from 2004 to 2012. Specialists of various profiles worked on the project in order to create a convenient innovative space on the one hand, and on the other – to preserve the ecological balance of the marine territory as much as possible.
As a result, Pearl Qatar has become a favorite vacation destination for Qataris, a comfortable home for foreigners who are allowed to purchase real estate here, and an example of respect for nature for the whole world: despite the development, the water remained flowing, and the local beaches are considered among the best in Doha.
This is the view of the Pearl of Qatar from the Marsa Malaz Kempinski Hotel. Photo: ATOR
The most striking place on the island is the Qanat Quartier area, which is also called “Little Venice”. There are several thematic blocks built up in the Venetian style – with canals, gondolas and even its own variation of the famous Rialto Bridge.
In Doha, you can briefly feel like a real Venetian. Photo: ATOR
CULTURAL VILLAGE
Not far from Pearl Qatar is the so-called “Cultural Village”, which was opened in 2010 during the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. However, “village” is a very conventional name, rather it is a “city within a city”, where all the most striking cultural phenomena of Qatar are collected.
The monument “The Power of Nature” by Lorenzo Quinn is dressed in the national women’s clothing of Qatar. Photo: ATOR
For example, there is a drama theater with 430 seats, an outdoor amphitheater in the ancient Greek style for 5,000 spectators, an opera house where the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra plays, a state-of-the-art planetarium, a cinema, a congress hall, galleries and exhibition halls.
There is also a Golden Mosque covered with thousands of gilded tiles and a Blue Mosque decorated with mosaics with inscriptions made of real gold.
The Golden Mosque fits perfectly into the futuristic quarter of Doha. Photo: ATOR
The reconstruction of Qatar’s traditional pigeon towers deserves special attention. Once these structures had two functions at once – they sent carrier pigeons to all corners of the country, and the droppings produced by birdsit was used as a fertilizer in agriculture.
Pigeon towers once stood all over Qatar. Photo: ATOR
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Of the modern engineering solutions, tourists are amazed by the air conditioning system “built” right into the street, where the branch of the legendary French Gallery Lafayette is located. And in terms of culture, travelers are impressed by numerous installations and sculptures, such as the hyacinth of the desert created from Bohemian glass.
Hyacinth of Bohemian glass adorns the street where the top boutiques are located. Photo: ATOR
SOUK-WAQIF MARKET
In Qatar, it is impossible not to visit the traditional bazaar Suk-Waqif. This is a historical place – the market here existed long before the development of Doha as a city, and has always been the center of trade and social life.
Unfortunately, the market was severely damaged by a fire in 2003, but in 2006, after a global renovation, it again appeared in an updated form with recreated narrow streets and houses made of stone and wood.
A lot of wood, stone and a big rose of the desert – bazaar at all it has not changed in our time. Photo: ATOR
You can walk around the market for a long time, going into shops, choosing carpets, spices, perfumes, or you can sit in one of the authentic restaurants. The most curious can walk to the falcon market with a hospital for these birds of prey, a camel pen and the emir’s stables.
The Mounted Police is another attraction of Suk Waqif. Photo: ATOR
Suk Waqif also follows modern traditions – for example, there is the Al-Rayyan Theater for about 1 thousand spectators and several galleries where artists work.
And in the center of the old market there is a very unusual sculpture – a thumb raised up. This is a monument by the French artist Cesar Baldaccini. The monument was erected in 2019, when Qatar won the Asian Cup for the first time, and today every local boy tries to take a picture with it.
The finger symbolizes victory and the mood for success. Photo: ATOR
GRAND CRUISE TERMINAL SEAPORT AND SURROUNDINGS
Finally, in Doha, you can simply stay at the port to get a vivid impression of modern architecture. The cruise terminal itself is an engineering-unique building with unusual openwork ceilings. And it may well be considered one of the most beautiful sea stations not only in the Persian Gulf, but also in the world.
Tourists leaving the liner enter an amazing openwork gallery. Photo: ATOR
The marine station was built in 2022 for the FIFA World Cup, which was held in Qatar, and became famous thanks to the luxurious inauguration of the top liner MSC World Europa, which took place in the same year.
Tourists leaving the liner are amazed by the outdoor roof terrace overlooking the city, an art gallery, as well as a huge aquarium with a variety of fish.
You can watch the fish in the aquarium of the port of Doha endlessly. The main thing is not to miss the flight. Photo: ATOR
Not far from the terminal there is another iconic place in Doha – Mina quarter. It appeared on the site of the Old Port and is now a kind of business card for cruise tourists and a popular point for photo shoots. Its distinctive feature is colorful houses and paved pavements, on which you can wander for a long time, literally lost in time and space.
And if you walk further along the Corniche, you can see another architectural masterpiece of Doha – The Museum ofth Islamic art.
Its author was Yumin Bay (or Io Ming Pei), who created the famous Pyramid in the Louvre in 1989. At the time of completion of the museum in 2004, the architect was almost 90 years old, and this amazing building became his final project.
At sunset, the Museum of Islamic Art begins to shimmer with different colors. Photo: ATOR
Olga Pegasova
