Doha, Qatar - Part Two

The journey home had begun.  We left Kilimanjaro Airport in the early evening, arriving in Doha, Qatar around midnight.  Our connecting flight wasn't until the following night so we went back to the same hotel.

Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani 

hotel lobby

Roof top swimming pool

After a good night's sleep we were ready to explore Doha.  This time, with no time change, we felt refreshed and not in a jet-lagged stupor!  But again it was the heat (+38 degrees) and humidity that hit us as we stepped outside the hotel.  We took the cab even though we could have walked.

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART

This is a fascinating building with its geometric design inside and out.  The collection of art represents Islamic art from throughout the Islamic world - from the Middle East, Persia, Asia and Europe - where ever the presence of Islam went.  It presented a history of the spread of Islam through art: ceramics, jewelry, wood work, textiles, and calligraphy.  The artifacts dated from the 7th to 20th century.  It was so beautiful and very interesting to read about the history of the world from this point of view.  

one of many tapestries

beautiful calligraphy of the Quran

The dhow boat docks next to the museum

View from the museum.  It's built on a man-made island.

DHOW BOAT RIDE

Towards sunset we took a cab to the boat docks in hopes of getting a ride on the traditional dhow boats.  At first our cabbie wanted to drop us off at the modern catamaran dock, but I said I wanted to ride "the brown ones".  Ok. After an attempt at negotiating a price, we went (and probably paid way to much!)  It was beautiful to sail across the bay towards the downtown as the sun set and on the return watch the daylight fade with a full moon in the sky. 

SOUQ WAQIF

This looked like a scene out of some Middle Eastern spy movie with narrow alleyways of cobblestone with shops, restaurants and people everywhere.  One could get lost in no time.  We wandered past the horse market, the falcon market, in and out of some retailers selling fabric, rugs, clothing and even fishing gear. Finally we found an alley with several restaurants and settled on one for dinner.  We were sitting outside, the temperature still in the high 30s and an A/C unit acting like a fan. We had a sampler of Middle Eastern appetizers.  Delicious.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

We walked back to the hotel this time, and returned hot and sweaty.  It was time to freshen up, change into travelling clothes and make our way back to the airport. 

"Good morning", said the flight attendant as we boarded. Wait.  It was still evening, wasn't it?  Well, no.  We boarded at about 1:30 am and began the 16 hour flight back to Los Angeles.  It was going to be a long night.  

Los Angeles

Alberta

We got to LA at about 7:30 in the morning, local time, found our next gate and were on our way quite soon after that.  By 4:30 in the afternoon we were home again.  The body clock says its 1:30 a.m. again! 

What an adventure this has been.  We have been told that we'll be back again next year.  We'll see.