Al Zubara Fort

At the beginning of February we took a trip to visit Al Zubarah Fort. When we left, we had vague directions found online (which is how all directions in Qatar are). We should have looked a little more so we wouldn't have been so surprised when we realized we were driving over to the western coast.
The drive wasn't too bad, as Qatar isn't very big. Once we arrived, we paid a small fee (10 QR) to the "gatekeeper," who was a very interesting looking fellow.

The fort was built in 1938 on the ruins of a castle. Being right on the coast, it was a great location to protect the country, especially against strained relations at the time with neighboring Bahrain. In the 80s the Coast Guard used this as a post as well.

Leoni checking out the cannon

My mom & me

Keeping watch

Travis ascending a ladder to one of the towers

Lindsay

Nor helping Leoni try to join us

The primitive air conditioning
Wind from the Gulf breezes comes through to keep thing cool

Travis & Leoni checking out some of the downstairs rooms where artifacts from the Al Zubarah archaeological dig are displayed

Since we were up north anyway, we decided to drive the last bit to Qatar's northern tip, Al Ruwais. We saw wild camels along the way.

Al Ruwais is pretty small but lots of fishing boats were docked there

It was low tide

Piles of fishing traps

You can kind of see how clear and blue these shallow waters are here

On our way home, we drove along the Corniche in Doha and stopped to take some pictures

Sheikh Faisal Museum

We visited the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al-Thani Museum with my parents. You have to make a reservation, which was surprisingly easy, considering that tour companies usually charge a lot saying "all fees included" but the museum itself is free. We called and they set up an appointment for the following day in the late afternoon.

Sheikh Faisal is a cousin of the Emir (Qatar's political figurehead and leader) as well as a very successful businessman. The museum is for everything he has collected throughout his life, and he has put it together in a museum to preserve the heritage of Qatar.

There were rooms set up to look like traditional Qatari homes, artifacts, the cars that have belonged to his family over the past 100 years, and so much more. He has a collection of money that is currently being worked on for display. He has bills and coins from around the world, some dating back to 250 B.C. that are in VERY good condition. We will have to go back and check those out more when the displays are finished because we only saw part of the collection.

The entrance

A view of a part of the museum

In front of the little lake thing & a ship floating in it (???)

Kind of feeling like Disneyland

Leoni dreaming of her future as a pirate girl

Inside a courtyard

Checking out a stagecoach

We were there at the same time as a girls' school group. They loved Leoni & tried to use her as a part of their assignment of finding things in the museum and what country they're from.

Amazing collection of fossils including this dinosaur skull. It is huge!

More fossils

Fossilized turtle heads

Who knew these would be so "common" in the Middle East

Checking out more displays in one of the big halls

Fancy Arabian furniture covered in inlaid mother of pearl

Sheikh Faisal himself
He arrived and spent time with us showing us different things in the museum including pulling up water from a still functioning well in the middle of the museum and offering everyone a drink. I have a better picture, but for some reason it won't transfer over. He was very nice.

Museum of Islamic Art

We visited the Museum of Islamic Art. I.M. Pei was the architect for the building

We saw everything from old manuscripts of the Quran done in beautiful calligraphy, to astronomical measuring & tracking devices, to rugs and carved doors.

The highlight was the current special exhibit entitled Pearls, which had only opened two days prior to our visit. There is more information here.

Examples of all different pearls
I had no idea that all of these are considered pearls
Indian Baroda Carpet
This was one of the coolest things on display. It is a rug woven entirely out of tiny seed pearls and has precious gems in it as well. It is evidently a world known carpet and was purchased last year for a record amount for a carpet, $5.5 million USD.

Leoni checking out the 4th floor

A little more exploring

Some of the beautiful architecture from inside
Enjoying a view of the bay & Doha skyline from floor to ceiling windows
The view

Police

The crime rate is VERY low here, which I assume is due to the law and punishments attached to violating the law. As a result, the police have plenty of time to parade around looking fancy.

Iraqi food

We ate at a recommended Iraqi restaurant when my parents visited. The restaurant, Al Adhamiyah, is at Souq Waqif and was delicious. The service was very good and we were alone in one of the upper dining rooms during the lunch hour.

Tabboulah, Baba Ganoush, & fresh Iraqi bread

My parents enjoying the atmosphere & Iraqi bread

Checking out some of the restaurant decor

Some of the tasty food. Check out Travis' Cashew cocktail. It was more like a shake, and it was delicious.

Catch Up

So, I am finally getting around to catching up on a few posts. Just a few pictures of us and the Doha skyline to tide over until I get them up.

A very sunny and windy day in Doha
Doha's skyline can be partly seen on the opposite side of the bay

Leoni doing her fake/courtesy laugh

Sand Dunes

There are tons more pictures, but I don't have time to put them up right now. They are all on the external hard drive anyway. While my mom & dad were visiting, we went out to the "Singing Sand Dunes." They weren't "singing" because it had rained the day before and the sand needs to be REALLY dry, but the trip was still fun (other than the "vicious" speed bumps getting there - yes, we were warned, but "vicious" was an understatement).