Tuesday – January 30, 2018
This was another day to myself as the rest of the tour group would arrive later in the evening. I had a leisurely breakfast outdoors on the patio of the Santa Monica Breakfast Club. It was a gorgeous bright sunny day!
I asked the doorman to call a taxi for me and I rode into downtown Doha. I took the photo below out of the window of the taxi. The face on many buildings and cars is that of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the current Emir of Qatar.
Qatar has about 2.6 million inhabitants. The majority of the citizens live in the capital city of Doha. Foreign workers make up 88% of the total population. There are about 300,000 Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates or “expats” as the workers are called.
At home, I had researched important sights to see in Doha and I checked off the ones listed on the tour itinerary. One sight not mentioned was the Msheireb Museums, a complex of four historic houses located in the oldest part of the city. The Bin Jelmood House explained the global and local slave trade and acknowledged the cultural and economic contributions of enslaved people to the development of the region.
The Company House told the story of the pioneering petroleum industry workers and their families who helped transform Qatar from a tribal desert community to the vast riches of oil and natural gas. Videos, three-dimensional figures, and interactive displays helped to tell the story of the rapid growth and development of Qatar during the last 50 years.
The third house was the Mohammed Bin Jassim House which demonstrated changes in the Msheireb neighborhood. The exhibit stated that past experiences were the foundations of the future development of Doha. The was also an exhibit of genetics and educating future generations about medical advances.
The Radwani House was built in the 1920s and recently restored to show traditional Qatari family life over many decades.
I spent several enjoyable hours at the Msheireb Museum houses and learned a lot about Qatari history. It was getting late and I had to find a taxi back to the hotel. I walked through the neighborhood toward the bay and the famous seaside Corniche. It was rush hour and the traffic was heavy.
The Mosque in the museum complex:
The Souq Waqif and the Islamic Center in the distance:
The Clock Tower of Diwan-e-Emire, the Parliament Building and near the Grand Mosque:
I finally found an available taxi and returned to the hotel. I relaxed and met our Vantage tour guide: Maged Salib who was waiting in the lobby for everyone to arrive.
My roommate, Linda, arrived and we settled into our large shared room on the first floor with a huge outdoor patio. We explored the beautiful grounds at night and enjoyed a delicious Turkish dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. It was a beautiful evening in the Richest City in the World:
