Doha

A beautiful museum, a traditional souq, and a long picturesque waterfront complete the list of must –do things in the Qatari capital.

November 16, 2009 5:29 by kippreport

On the day that I visited, many people had gathered around to watch a jet ski contest, and according to my taxi driver (who became my guide for the day), these competitions take place quite often and are a major source of entertainment for the residents.

Though it looked fun, I decided to head out to the next place on my itinerary, Pearl Qatar. An artificial man-made island, the development is Qatar’s version of The Palm in Dubai. As the name suggests, the development is shaped like a pearl, and when completed in 2012, will include residential, retail and entertainment areas.

While the entrance to the island looks impressive, with picturesque lights on either sides of the bridge, the development so far doesn’t have much to offer save for a few high-end shops and cafes, and a nice view of Doha. After all the hype, I was disappointed with the place. But for Doha, it’s a primary attraction.

Typical of the region, shopping is another major attraction in Doha, so my next stop was the Villaggio Mall, one of the city’s newest additions. The Italian themed mall is complete with a fake sky ceiling and a small canal throughout the mall. For QAR15 (AED15), you can also take a seven minute gondola ride on the stream and do some window shopping. I enjoyed the gondola ride-although I received quite a few stares because the boats are used mainly by parents to amuse their kids. But besides that, there was nothing exceptional in the mall.

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Tags: Doha, eating, Museum of Islamic art, souk, tourism