Doha is the capital and largest city (approximately
2,000,000) of the State of Qatar.
This is another city whose growth was propelled by the discovery of
petroleum and natural gas in its territory. While it has large oil reserves, its biggest holdings are in
natural gas. Qatar has the third
largest proven reserves of natural gas in the world. As with Dubai, that industry has fueled the creation of a
modern metropolis out of what was desert at the edge of the Persian Gulf. Also like Dubai, Doha is becoming a
financial and trade hub.
We arrived around 7 AM in the midst of a sand storm. This sand storm isn’t like the ones you
see in movies with swirling winds and brown sand everywhere. Instead the air is full of a fine white
grit which makes it look like a really hazy day. After breakfast we took the shuttle bus into town since we
had no tour booked today. Our
choices were 4X4ing in the sand dunes or a dhow ride and snorkel, neither of which
sounded like our cup of tea.
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| Doha through the sandy haze |
As we were entering the cruise terminal to get to the
shuttle we encountered a man in traditional Arab attire with a beautiful falcon
on his gloved hand. Falconry is
something these people have practiced since as early as 3500 BC. The Bedouins would capture migrating
falcons and train them to hunt for them in the desert. In the spring they would release the
birds unharmed so they wouldn’t die in the brutal summer heat. Today falconry is a sport not done for
hunting. During our trip to Abu
Dhabi the other day we passed a falcon hospital which is world renowned and run
by an Englishwoman. Ute our guide
told us that falcons are so highly prized that when someone travels with one it
is not caged but rather it is hooded and a seat on the plane is purchased for
it. Anyway, the falcon we saw was
a beautiful female.
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| Ignore the person on the left and just look at the pretty girl in the middle |
Doha will be the site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup (soccer
). The port is undergoing major
construction because we’ve heard that many soccer fans will be staying on
cruise ships as there aren’t enough hotels here. From what we could see, Qatar will have its work cut out to
complete their preparations.
Anyway, what we could see from the shuttle was unimpressive. The bus stopped at a large modern mall
which looked very much like the malls in Dubai. Surrounding the mall were skyscrapers. There was nothing that looked like a
tourist sight worth seeing and since we weren’t in the market for shopping in
Gucci or Armani, we made the return trip to the ship. The fine grit was also wreaking havoc with our eyes and sinuses. I wonder how people who live here deal with it. All the construction workers in the port area were wearing bandanas over their noses and mouths. I guess that's what you have to do. Tomorrow we'll be at Sir Bani Yas Island.
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