Around the World in 8000 days: Qatar

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Qatar - an evening in Doha

Fanar Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre, Doha, Qatar

So I mentioned before that the reason that we stopped off in the Middle East on the way back, was to see some friends who live in Qatar. We had three days here in Doha with them, and they had both really kindly taken the days off work to spend with us and introduce us to the sights.

Qatar is that little peninsula bit that sticks up into the Persian Gulf, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It is a small country of just over 4,400 square miles - that's less than the size of Northern Ireland. Like its neighbour, the UAE, its native population is massively outnumbered by immigrant workers, and whilst relationships are generally harmonious, there are issues. Qatari nationals are given significantly favourable treatment - they are never likely to be found at fault in a traffic accident for example, despite the truly awful driving that we saw - and there are many reports that the poorest manual workers have very poor living and working conditions. Reports of this abound regarding the building of the new stadium for the Football World Cup in 2022.

The Corniche, Doha, Qatar

Happily, our friends are not in that position, and for our first day with them, we took a drive over to the place to be seen in Doha - The Corniche.

The Corniche is a 7km promenade that runs alongside the bay, and is home to fancy hotels and expensive shops. If you can find somewhere to park your car, this is the place to come and take a stroll.

Souk Wakif, Doha, Qatar

After we had strolled, and the sun was disappearing from the sky, we headed over to the souk, to find somewhere to eat. Souk Wakif is probably only a hundred or so years old, but it has recently been restored, to remove the newer additions, and keep the older parts. It is incredibly popular, so is expanding, but this time they are doing so in keeping with the original style.

Souk Wakif, Doha, Qatar

This was certainly a much nicer souk than those we visited in Dubai. This really felt like a place that locals use - it had tourists of course, but the majority of people here were clearly people who lived here, and for whom this was a regular night out.

We were planning to return to the souk another day, so for now, we just passed through to find food. It does look nice at night though, so I had to take a few photos on the way.

Souk Wakif, Doha, Qatar

Parisa Souk Wakif, Doha, Qatar

Now regular readers will be aware that I am not the most of adventurous eaters, so the idea of Persian food made me a tad nervous, but I figured that now was the time to try it, when I had people with me who were used to the cuisine and could help me work out what I could eat. So we went along to the very ornately decorated Parisa. I think they must have bought up the entire city's supply of mirror tiles to create the mosaics that covered the inside, but surprisingly, the overall effect was impressive rather than just gaudy.

And the food was great. Of course, for the life of me, I can't remember what any of it was called, but it tasted good.