Day 231 – Doha, QATAR
Welcome to the Middle East!
We were surprisingly refreshed after the world’s longest flight (at the time of travel) from Auckland, New Zealand to Doha, Qatar which took ~17.5 hours and approximately covered a distance of 14,500 km. This was my first time going to the Middle East and first time flying with Qatar Airways, and I must say I was impressed with the service throughout the flight. I watched a total of 5 and a half movies on this flight.
Qatar Airways Flight – currently worlds longest flight.
Once in Qatar, we were given free tourist visas for 30 days without any dramas for our Australian and New Zealand passports. For other countries please see https://www.qatarairways.com/en/visa-free-arrival.html. We were lucky that we had a family friend who works in Doha. He graciously provided us with accommodation at his place, and also offered to take us around the country after he finished work each day.
He picked us up from the airport and then he insisted we go to a Turkish food shop to try Shawarma. Shawarma is basically thinly cut meat in a wrap, which is delicious. After going back to his apartment we slept for a few hours.
Then our Middle Eastern adventure began…
We drove up to Al Zubara Fort, which is near the north of Qatar. The official name is the Al Zubarah Archaeological Site Visitor Center. It is 104 km away from Doha and took around 1.5 hours to drive there. The fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the first that I’ve been to which has free entry.
A water well
The fort is situated in the town of Al Zubarah, which was at its peak only 200 years ago. It was a trading and pearl fishing town back then. The building is nice, but I would not call the fort massive, with only a handful of rooms.
From the visitor centre, there is a short drive to the sites entrance. After driving down the dirt/sand road, you come to an information sign, and some small ruins. There is a short walk that you can do around the ruins that we opted not to do.
Entrance to the archaeological site
We then drove up to the northernmost town in the country Al Ruwais. Here we went to Al-Dhalouf Park, before checking out the Abu Dhalouf Beach. We arrived during low tide, which meant there was no water for as long as you could see. The land in Qatar appears to be very flat.
The very large Abu Dhalouf Beach during low tide
Following this, we drove back to the capital Doha, so we could go to the Museum of Islamic Art. Entrance to the site is 50 QAR (Qatari Rial) / $19.66 AUD per person. It used to be free entry, until around the start of April 2019.
Museum of Islamic Art Sunset in Doha
The Museum, is nice, with several stories of displays and art. It was interesting to see. The work that caught my eye was the “Man with boomerang” as I had always associated boomerangs with Australians. The art work was dated to the end of the 10th century BCE.
Man with Boomerang Orchestra playing inside the museum
After the museum, we walked around the circular pier to the the East and West Mound Skyline View Points for some epic views of the CBD. The buildings looked very unique and cool to see.
After spending a few minutes here, we got back into the car and drove into the CBD. I must say, the buildings look cooler from a distance.
After this we headed back to the apartment, to conclude a very busy first day in the middle east.