eyewitness
joyless destination, and one that could
prove far more difficult to get to.
Visitors discovered a city dominated by
cars rather than people and where most
of the entertainment seems to be found
in shopping malls. The city boasts one
small traditional-style souk – and even
that has the feel of a filmset and is
highly sanitised.
Walking anywhere, apart from along
the seven-kilometre Corniche waterfront
is a lost cause – and not simply because
of the heat. There are few pavements,
walking distances are huge and even
those that exist have fallen into disrepair
and are invariably blocked by cars.
Qatar has sold itself on being a
“compact” destination but that is rather
misleading. It is certainly a small country,
but Doha sprawls like a city in the US
Midwest and public transport consists
mainly of an impenetrable network of
buses aimed at migrant workers.
The Gulf state was named as oneof the world’s 10 unfriendliest cities for
visitors by the Conde Nast Traveller
magazine in 2016 and online forums
for foreign residents are littered with
complaints that the city is dull.
“There is a shocking lack of things to
do in a city of this size,” was a comment
on the website Tales from a Small Planet.
“Families have it best as Doha is geared
to those with kids. Even then, I’m told
many families spend their weekends like
the rest of us: in front of the TV, wishing
there was more to do.”
Then there is the question of alcohol,
which is far more strictly controlled than
many visitors might have imagined. It is
only sold in a handful of authorised
places, mainly five-star hotels, at priceswhich start at around £65 for an average
bottle of wine.
Qatar has also become more difficult
to get to as the boycott by neighbours
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab
Emirates means flights have to take long
diversions around those countries. Qatar
Airways, while offering bargains for
journeys which use Doha as a connection
point, charges a small fortune for those
that actually start and finish there. For
example, a return flight to Doha from
Zurich is 50 per cent more expensive
than a return to Windhoek via Doha.
There are no ferries and the only landVisitors discovered a city dominated by
cars, where most of the entertainment
seems to be found in shopping malls
Artificial...the island
known as The Pearl,
which juts out from
the city of DohaPlan...Education City
Stadium is due to be
ready by December