Just got home from our six-hour day trip zig-zagging across the northern part of Qatar. We covered 300 km from Doha, first traveling to the north-east coast to the very northern tip of the country, directly across from Iran. It was hot!! Although it wasn't humid (and this is somehow supposed to make us feel better?) being outside in the sun felt like opening an oven door on your face ALL DAY LONG! But I'm not one to complain as I really did enjoy the trip and it was nice to get out of Doha for the first time and see the countryside, even if it is a barren moonscape. Traffic was a lot better.
Our first stop was the city of Al Khor, formerly a small fishing village and now a weekend destination for Qataris, where many keep a second home. Even when families are back in Doha during the week, a full staff, including housemaids and driver, reside at the home. It's all very Downton Abbey-ish. We visited the fish market and it was a shame we couldn't buy anything for dinner as you really get can't anything fresher around here. Fork over a few extra rial and they'll even cut up the fish for you, however you want. We learned that many Qataris will drive out here just to buy fish because it's so fresh. On the way home they'll hang the fish in a bag on the outside of the car as to not stink up the interior (how the fish doesn't steam in the sun I do not know).
Fishing boat at Al-Khor. Note the man in the water cleaning the boat.
The biggest catch of the day! In Qatar, the government has banned trolling so only small nets and cages are used for fishing.
This watchtower probably stood right beside the beach 100 years ago. Today the shoreline is a good kilometer away. At night a fire was lit on the top to warn boats of the impending shoreline.
That little triangle with a hole jutting out from the wall was used to pour hot water, oil or date syrup on enemies below.
This is the fort at Al-Zubarah and the site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built in 1938 and used until the 1980s the fort itself isn't actually that old. However, surrounding the fort for several kilometers is one giant archeological site where it is believed the foundations of four different cities ,each from a different time period, lay buried in the sand. That site is closed to the public.
Here we are baking in the sun, uncomfortable and sticky as all moisture evaporates from our pores.
A view of the surrounding archeological site from the top of the tower
The most northern tip of Qatar at low-tide
By far the coolest thing we saw today were some rock carvings (below) believed to be 3,000 years old. The carvings were discovered accidentally by a company who was digging up the land for a construction project. Little is known about the people who made the carvings but our guide told us this was probably the site of a seaside market back then. He said archeologists believe the fish-shaped carvings were likely used to hold fresh fish and the lines running perpendicular were a measurement tool which could help determine price. Or maybe they were just decorative. Ancient street art?
These small circular carvings were probably used to showcase pearls recently retrieved from the ocean deep.
These are the remains of an old village, on the outskirts of Doha
Two views from the tower
I learned a lot about Qatar today. For example, when you see a single housing compound with several houses inside this could mean one of two things. It could be three brothers who all live in the same compound with their families or it could be one man with three wives (Islam permits polygamy) and since he has to treat all his wives equally, he has to build three houses. Traditional Qatari homes are usually surrounded by a ten-foot high wall so that the women can be outside in the courtyard with their heads uncovered and not worry about any men seeing them (which is prohibited). The main entrance to these homes was usually built at a very low height so that visitors would be forced to stoop down low (and look down at the ground) to get inside. The reason for this: while guests were stooping to get inside, women inside the home would have a few extra seconds to cover their heads if they viewed a non-family member entering the home. Nowadays everyone has video cameras at their front entrance so the doorways are built to a normal height. I also learned that for Qatari students education at Qatar University is free. The government also pays students 10,000 rial (just under U.S.$3,000) a month to attend university.
FIFA 2022
You may have heard that the FIFA World Cup is coming to Qatar in 2022. You can bet that preparations are already underway for this, including building several new air-conditioned stadiums throughout the country. When the country won the bid, there were immediate concerns that, in June and July, the country is extremely hot and you can't really go outside. Sure, the stadiums will be air conditioned but fans who come to watch the games don't always stay indoors. No problem! We'll just make some clouds using cloud technology and cool everybody off. I'm not even kidding, apparently they can do this now. The stadiums that are going to be built are designed in such a way that, after the World Cup, they can be disassembled and shipped to developing nations. One World Cup stadium, will make four smaller stadiums. These aren't just your regular old soccer stadiums, Qatar plans to build the first green stadium, the first stadium on a man-made island (you have to arrive by water taxi) and the first underground stadium. Stadiums will take the shape of a traditional fishing boat known as a dhow and a seashell, among other things. If you want to see a great promotional video for FIFA 2022 that perfectly captures the ambition and optimism of Qatar, you can view it
here.
