Doha

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Doha is the capital of Qatar. It is a modern and rapidly developing city and, considering the money being poured into construction, Doha looks set to become one of the premier cities in the Gulf within a few years.

Contents 1 Get in 1.1 By plane 1.2 By car 2 Get around 2.1 Bus 2.2 Taxi 3 See 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat 7 Drink 8 Sleep 8.1 Mid-range 8.2 Splurge 9 Get out 9.1 Umm Salal Mohammed 9.2 Al-Khor

[edit] Get in

[edit] By plane

Doha International Airport (IATA: DOH) (ICAO: OTDB) is the biggest in the country and is becoming increasingly important in the Gulf Region. Local carrier Qatar Airways is building a worldwide network from there and already connects the city with destinations in Africa, Europe and Asia.

If you're already in or around the Gulf region, the cheapest way to fly to Doha is with Air Arabia, but you will almost certainly have to break your journey in Sharjah, the airline's hub in the United Arab Emirates.

[edit] By car

Saudi Arabia is the only country that borders Qatar and it can be difficult to obtain permits to drive through Saudi Arabia.

There are plans to build bridges linking Qatar with both Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the future.

[edit] Get around

[edit] Bus

In late 2005, a public bus service, with two different routes, was introduced as the city's first mode of public transport. By March 2006, there were six routes running, but it is still a limited service. They are operated by Mowasalat ( http://eng.mowasalat.com/ ).

[edit] Taxi

The only other way to get around without your own vehicle is by taxi. There are two different types of taxis: orange-and-white metered ones, which are cheaper but less comfortable; and air-conditioned green taxis operated by the Mowasalat transport company known as "Karwa" taxis. Karwa taxis are made up of much newer cars, none older than 2 years, and are generally more expensive than the orange-and-white taxis but much more comfortable.

The demand for taxis often exceeds the supply and sometimes you find yourself waiting on a street corner for 20-30 minutes before you can flag one down. In the scorching heat of summer, this is pretty much unbearable. This problem is now being solved as the Mowasalat transportation company is bringing in hundreds of new taxis every month to deal with this demand and in preperation for the 2006 Asian Games.

Occasionally, a local driver will offer to give you a ride if he or she sees you on the side of the road. It is customary to offer some money at the end, though sometimes they will refuse to take it.

[edit] See

The visual highlight of Doha is Al-Corniche, a long seaside promenade that curves around Doha Bay and affords pretty views of Palm Tree Island and the city's skyscrapers. In the afternoons you will see plenty of locals strolling along the Corniche, often trying to get out of the way of the odd crazy Western ex-pat on rollerblades. It's also a good place for jogging or cycling.

There are several parks close to the Corniche which are ideal for families, and right on the Corniche there is a giant statue of Orry, the Oryx who is the mascot for the 15th Asian Games, which took place in Doha from December 1-15, 2006.

[edit] Do

Doha has a reputation for not being the most exciting place on earth, but there are still a few things to do if you are in the city for a business trip and have some time to spare.

A popular excursion was to take the small boat ride from the Corniche (near the Sheraton) to Palm Tree Island in Doha Bay, although in July 2006 the island was closed for complete renovation. As of February 2007, the island is still undergoing renovation and is completely bare except for 2 trees.

A typical Middle Eastern activity in the afternoons is to find a sheesha cafe and smoke some fruit-flavoured tobacco. One of the best places in Doha is Ras-Naswa at the non-Sheraton end of the Corniche. Located in a picturesque old-style building reminiscient, in colour and texture if not grandeur, of the red Mughal structures in India, Ras-Naswa has a nice outdoor garden and serves decent Middle Eastern food.

Doha has several markets which are worth visiting as well. See the Buy section for more details.

If you want to people-watch afluent young Qataris who are inseparable from their mobile phones, the best places to head are the modern shopping malls, starting with City Centre, not far from the Sheraton.

The Qatar National Museum reopened in late March 2006 after a long period of closure for renovation.

[edit] Buy

You can buy pretty much anything you want in Doha, apart from pork products and alcohol (except with a license or in the major hotels). Shopping is a major leisure pursuit of many Qataris and expats. City Centre stands out as the major shopping mall. Situated near the northern end of the corniche, it offers a fantastic shopping experience. There are several other malls around Doha, for example Landmark, Hyatt Plaza and The Mall.

For a one stop shopping experience try Lulu Hypermarket on D ring road. This has two huge floors and a massive selection of goods.

The best shopping experiences, however, are to be had in the various souqs (markets). Not far from the Corniche near an HSBC branch and a landmark spiral tower is the Souq Waqif (also referred to as the Iranian Souq or Old Souq), a good place to pick up souvenirs and to see falcons for sale with a pleasant ambience. Another souq worth visiting is the Omani Souq on Haloul St, parallel to Salwa Road. There you can buy things like spices, incense and woven baskets. Next door is a vegetable market.

The Gold Souq, by the bus station,

[edit] Eat

Drinks Because of the restricted availability of alcohol in Qatar, you cannot drink alcohol at restaurants except those that are part of international hotels.

Given the population diversity in Doha, there is a large variety of different types of cuisine, including Indian, Thai, Chinese, Italian, Korean and, of course, typical Middle Eastern food.

Turkey Central, Al-Mirghab St. Offers good, cheap Middle Eastern fare. The portions are large (try the Mixed Grill) and the appetizers are recommended. It's on Al-Mirghab St; to get there, turn right off C Ring Road just after Hardee's if you're heading away from City Centre. Across the street from Turkey Central and a little further back towards Hardee's is a decent Thai restaurant.

Best Fish a little further down Al-Mirghab St. sells good local fish dishes at reasonable prices, and has just been redecorated inside. The Grilled Hammour with garlic butter is recommended.

Il Rustico, Rydges Hotel. Serves quality Italian food, as does one of the restaurants at the Ritz-Carlton.

Among the American fast food chains in Doha are McDonald's, KFC, Hardee's, Arby's, Burger King and Dairy Queen. Pizza places include Pizza Hut, Little Caesar's and Pizza Inn.

The intersection of C-Ring and Salwa Road is known as Ramada Junction, (due to the Ramada being there), or more jokingly as "Cholesterol Corner" due to the high number of fast food and other restaurants within a block or less of it.

More upscale American chains include TGI Fridays (in the Landmark shopping mall), Applebee's, Chili's, Fuddruckers, Bennigan's and Ponderosa Steakhouse.

Starbucks are very common in the malls around Doha

[edit] Drink

Alcohol is only available in bars attached to international hotels such as the Ramada, Rydges, the Ritz-Carlton etc. To purchase it outside these bars, you have to have a Residence Permit and apply for a liquor licence. When you have that, you can purchase a certain amount of alcohol each month (related to your salary) from one bottle shop on the outskirts of town know as Qatar Distribution Compay in short QDC.

It is not permitted to bring alcohol into the country and customs at Doha airport will confiscate any alcohol they find - all bags are x-rayed and a receipt is issued for you to reclaim your goods when you leave the country.

Soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages are readily available.

[edit] Sleep

There are quite a few four- and five-star international chain hotels in Doha.

There are scores of new five-star hotels on the rise, such as the Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and Intercontinental. There are also the newly-renovated Ramada and Marriott hotels.

[edit] Mid-range

• Al Muntazah Plaza Hotel, [1]. Al Muntazah Plaza Hotel has fully furnished 2/3 bedrooms apartments as well as standard hotel rooms, situated on the prestigious. Al-Muntazah Road convenient for the corniche, city center, airport, supermarkets and the shopping centers.

• Shezan Hotel, [2]. Shezan Hotel is located in the center of Doham quite small with 60 rooms and a restaurant serving a range of Pakistani and international delicacies.

• InterContinental, [3]. The InterCon is five minutes up the coast from the town center and directly across the road from the seemingly never open Alladin's Kingdom amusement park. The pool and beach complex at are large, quiet and relaxing. The restaurants are nothing special, but the rooms are great and the nightlife decent.

• Marriott, [4]. The Marriott is in a slightly out of the way location, but since nowhere in Doha is really walkable, that's not a huge strike against it. It has two towers of excellent four-star rooms and a selection of restaurants few hotels can match: the Mexican is acceptable, the pan-Asian quite good, the buffet nothing special, and the Indian really great. Alcohol is available in the restaurants, but there is no cocktail lounge or bar. There is a disco attached to the hotel that has a door policy to match Studio 54 at its 1970s peak (again though, showing up in a Maserati will get you whisked inside).

• Mercure Doha, [5]. A four-star hotel belonging to the Accor group. Located pretty much in the town center, it has a sauna, a swimming pool and various restaurants. Shuttle buses go regularly from and to the airport. Its location means you can actually walk around and see things just outside the door (unlike most Doha hotels, which are someone isolated), but it is also a little less tranquil.

• Oasis. Run-down, but reliable, if a bit out of the way and home to smarmy types. It may be closed shortly.

• Ramada, [www.ramada.com/hotel/15334]. A comfortable four-star hotel with a few pleasant surprises. The Indian restaurant is one of the best in town (and, because it's in a hotel, it serves alcohol). The pub-turn-disco on the hotel's 1st floor is a large club that on weekends comes alive under the guidance of a Filipino cover band and hundreds of Asian workers letting lose after a hard 6-day work week. The Library Bar, on the hotels top floor, has a small, slightly worn clubby field populated by large-bellied ex-pats. But the beer is cold and the mural around the walls is something to behold. The Ramada will be opening a second tower in 2007 that promises more restaurants, bars and nightlife.

• Merweb Hotel, Al-Sadd Road. Newish, pleasant three-star hotel.

• Rydges Plaza Doha, Abu Firas Street Al Bidda ph 9744385444, [6]. Overlooks the Arabian Gulf and is 10 minutes from the center of Doha. It is one of the city’s newest four-star hotel. Rydges Hotels and Resorts is an Australian owned and operated company and its restaurants and bar attract homesick Ozzies.

[edit] Splurge

• Four Seasons, [7]. Located on the water near the City Center shopping mall, the Four Seasons is the newest five-star hotel in town. It has a great but expensive Italian restaurant and a decent cigar/cocktail lounge just off the lobby. The pool and beach area are for hotel guests and spa members only.
• The Ritz-Carlton, [8]. The Ritz-Carlton is a 10-minute drive north of the heart of Doha, along the Gulf Coast. It has great service and luxury rooms, all for the price you'd expect to pay at a Ritz-Carlton. The pool complex is large and landscaped to look an oasis, complete with fake rocks and waterfall. There's also a swim-up bar in the pool. The cigar bar/cocktail lounge is small, but the balcony has great views of the marina and pool. Friday brunch at the Ritz is exeptionally good. There is a disco located on the grounds, but only hotel guests, club members, and people driving Italian supercars are allowed in.
• Sheraton, [9]. The Sheraton is an architectural and minor cultural landmark in Doha. It is situated at one end of the Corniche, making it visible from that long, waterfront road and walkway. It is also shaped like a pyramid with an Imperial Star Destroyer stuck on top. It has also been in town longer than any other international hotel. That doesn't mean it is at all shabby -- it just has more character than most modern hotel towers.

[edit] Get out

[edit] Umm Salal Mohammed

An easy and pleasant morning or afternoon trip out of Doha is to Umm Salal Mohammed, a short drive from the northern outskirts of Doha on the North Road to Al-Ruweis.

Umm Salal Mohammed boasts two interesting sights: an old fort that has been reduced to two towers, a mosque and one other structure; and another tower that is in a run-down area of town but is interesting nevertheless.

The fort is regularly closed but it's easy enough to climb over the low wall to get inside the grounds. Once inside, you can climb to the top of the mosque or, better still, part of the way up one of the towers or nearly all the way up the other. Photographing the towers can be good in either the early morning or late afternoon, though if you want to take a picture of the front of the mosque, which faces east, it is better to go in the morning.

The tower, a couple of minutes in a car to the west, lies near an oasis of palm trees and greenery, next to a mosque. The bottom portion of the tower appears to be in use as living quarters for a family, but it is still easy to get close to the base of the tower for a better look or for a photo. Though there are steps near the top of the tower, these don't appear to be accessible at present.

To get to Um Salal Mohammed, take the North Road (which begins in Doha as D-Ring Road) out of the city for about 10-15 minutes until you see a sign indicating Um Salal Mohammed is on the right. You will have to make a U-turn, and then take the first right. Once you reach the town, take a right at the main intersection to reach the fort, which you are likely to have already spotted by this time. The tower is west of the fort and you should be able to see it by climbing to the top of the mosque or either of the two towers within the fort.

[edit] Al-Khor

Al-Khor is about 50 kilometers north of Doha, reached by either the North Road to Al-Ruweis, or by the Coast Road that goes past the racing track that hosts the Doha Moto GP race.

Al-Khor is a pleasant and quiet town, and though its Corniche cannot match Doha's in beauty, it does offer a nice enough place to relax and sunbathe, or play beach volleyball or cricket if you feel like being a little more active. There are plenty of shady places to sit near the sand, but you can't swim in the bay here as, like much of Qatar, the water is too shallow.

Near the Corniche is a museum (not always open) and a port containing many fishing boats.

The other major attractions of Al-Khor are its numerous watchtowers, which you will see near the Corniche and also on the road coming in if you have taken the North Road, and its laid-back atmosphere, especially when compared with the traffic of Doha.

There are several places to eat in Al-Khor. The cafeteria near the port offers decent burgers and a soft drink for a very cheap QR3.

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