9th – 10th January, 2024
I am typing this on 10th January, so when I say yesterday, you can work it out for yourselves as to which day I am referring! Anyway, yesterday was a slow start as Val’s meds seemed to be a bit on holiday as well, so our plans became rather flexible, with an attempt to go to the gym slightly kyboshed (spelling?), but we did try. So it was a nice quiet morning sitting by the pool for a bit, though the flies must have liked something about val, so that our stay there was cut short. Oddly, they did not seem to bother me (“No flies on me, etc”).
However, by early afternoon, things started to kick in, so we ordered up a taxi and made our way the short distance to the National Museum of Qatar. This is a stunning building, designed by Jean Nouvel, who was inspired by the desert rose crystal, which can be found in Qatar. It was opened in March, 2019 and is surprisingly large – with a surprising lack of signs as to where the entrance is! It also includes the renovated Old Amiri Palace, originally built in 1906. It was a little difficult to capture its true beauty, though I might have some better pictures on my wide-angle camera, but here is a taster.
The inside included two extra exhibitions, one on coffee and one on the art of the Pacific (I agree, not sure what that has to do with Qatar, but interesting nonetheless). The rest of the museum concentrated on the early settlers in the region plus its flora and fauna, with a whole section on the history of Qatar and particular exhibits on pearls (pearl-diving is particularly a Persian Gulf activity), textiles and, of course, oil and gas.
The whole museum was well-laid out with not so much that you are overwhelmed and we managed to do it comfortably in a couple of hours. We then came back to the hotel, this time using the very new Metro. Interestingly this cost more than the taxi, but was a good experience. Spotless, of course, like everything else here.
A quick guide to Qatar….
Qatar occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It’s only land border is with Saudi Arabia. It’s capital is Doha where about 80% of the population live. The rest is basically desert. The population in 1950 was 25,000, in 1970, 110,000, in 2010 about 1.85 million, but the estimate for 2020 was 2.8 million! Quite a rise. Of these 40% are Arab, 36% South Asian (particularly India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), 9% Egyptian and 14% Others. There are only about 313,000 Qatari citizens. Women only make up about 25% of the total population. It has the 4th highest GDP per capita in the world!! Not sure how that is measured! It is the world’s largest emitter of CO2 per capita…..
The state of Qatar emerged in the 19th Century, achieving recognition when the British imposed a settlement on Qatar and Bahrain in 1868 to stop a war that was bad for trade!! It also recognised the royal family of Mohammed bin Thani, who still rule as Emirs today. It was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1913 and became a British Protectorate from 1916 to 1971. Oil exports started in 1949. For a while it looked like Qatar might join with other Trucial States in 1968 to form a federation, but the talks fell through and it became truly independent on 3rd December, 1971. Apart from the rapid growth of the population, Al Jazeera and massive gas reserves, the highlight recently was the hosting of the 2022 World Cup, The Emir is authoritarian, though the Consultative Assembly can block legislation and sack ministers. 30 out of 45 of the assembly members are elected.
Ok, that should do for now – have a look at Wikipedia for more.
Val and I ventured out to the Souq for supper and ended up at a very nice Lebanese restaurant.
The Souq seemed busier than ever, with lots of people about. Qatar is wonderfully cosmopolitan – so far we have met people from Uzbekistan, Nepal (quite a few), Tanzania, Ghana, Tunisia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Bhutan, plus India and Bangladesh and Pakistan! The dress code varies depending on your background, though modesty is the order of the day.
I have entitled this Museums of Qatar, as today we visited the Museum of Islamic Art, but I will cover that tomorrow.
OK, time to publish!! All comments welcomed and good to see some of my most faithful followers already living the vicarious experience!!
More soon…..
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