Don't Stop Looking

Did I mention Lightning had a second case of hives after taking the second dose of the second (non-penicillin) prescription of antibiotics?  Since we didn't want to drive all the way downtown to find a doctor on a Friday night (a Sunday equivalent for most of you) we ended up just taking him off everything for 24 hours to see what happened.  Nothing, which is good, so this morning he tried the second antibiotics again - I mean he can't really be allergic to both kinds, can he?! - with Benadryl at the ready.  So far there's been no reaction so we're gonna continue with that at the moment.  But it's tiring, though he doesn't appear any worse for wear.

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of the week and the kids are still not well enough to go back to school, which poses me with serious office-time issues.  Looks like the kids'll be coming with me (yey. And I obviously say that sarcastically), since Club is tomorrow night and I really need to do some practical stuff at work before then.  The Don's no help for the next two weeks since he has an intense course to teach so there's no option but to do what I can at home, and do what I can with four kids in the office.

So I'm blogging. Because quite frankly that's more fun that trying to work out how tomorrow's schedule will actually work.

First up: Doha.

With more than half of the population of Qatar residing in the capital, you might expect Doha to have an ancient and powerful history. On the contrary, Doha was a small fishing and pearling village up until the mid-19th century, when the first Al-Thani emir, Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani, established his capital at Al Bida, now the port area of town.  From a notorious safe haven for Gulf pirates, it became the British administrative centre in 1916 and the capital of the independent state of Qatar in 1971.

The university of Qatar which opened in 1973 and Qatar National Museum (1975) brought education and culture to the city and slowly the shape of Doha changed, from an ugly concrete rash to the elegant city of today.  The master-stroke, they say, was the early construction of Doha Bay, carved out of reclaimed land, and giving harbour to Doha's shrimp industry, leisure for inhabitants and a vantage point that architects have exploited to the full in West Bay.

The new airport was completed in April 2014, and since then I have flown through it four times.  This Easter, Joey and my fifth time, we decided to stop for 24 hours (quite literally 23 hours and 28 minutes) en route back to Scotland to see what Doha itself had to offer.

First time I've ever flown over AD in daylight...
and I didn't even have the window

And we really enjoyed it.  Well I did, and I am really glad we stopped over.  The Don thought it was pretty much the same as Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, and Bahrain, and all these other Gulf countries with money, which is probably fair enough, but at least he can now tick off visiting the last of the GCC countries.

Anyway, we landed at 8:13am, dropped our bags off at the hotel, and started our hot day of walking towards the corniche, which is unquestionably the highlight of Doha.  Doha Bay was carefully constructed with landfill to make an attractive crescent, along which runs shaded footpaths and cycling tracks....

...and exercise equipment, more often seen as play equipment by those under ten.

Our destination was the Museum of Islamic Art.  Except it was closed and wouldn't open for another forty five minutes.  So we hung around, headed back, walked past the guards and up to the entrance... to be told it was actually closed until noon that day.

Attempt Two

So we checked it and the Bay out from the water instead on a traditional dhow.

Heading west

Looking back east

Richard Serra's verticle steel structure (in MIA Park) is his
first public piece of art in the Middle East

Afterwards it was time for lunch, and like so many touristy places we've found here in the Gulf, it was pretty hard to find food.  A bay-side cafe would be a great idea if anyone fancies a career change and move to Qatar??

Doha's famous pearl monument

So we headed to the souq which wasn't, in reality but felt like, a long walk.

Souq Waqif has been reincarnated in the last decade as the social heart of Doha.  There has been a souq on this site for centuries as this was the spot where the Bedu would bring their sheep, goats and wool to trade for essentials.  It grew into a scruffy warren of concrete alleyways by the end of the last century and at one point was almost condemned for demolition.  Instead the entire market area has been cleverly redeveloped to look like a 19th century souq, with mud-rendered shops and exposed timber beams and some beautifully restored original Qatari buildings.  As well as the odd ATM.  But despite the slight Disneyfication of the souq, the chief business continues unabated and it remains one of the most traditional market places in the region

After lunch it was most definitely time for a siesta. For some of us.  For others it was time to play, despite the scorching temperatures.

They're like kittens: constantly on top of each other!

And then third time lucky we hit the MIA, and after stocking up on tea and cake saw Islamic art, after Islamic art, after Islamic art.  There was a lot of it.

Rising from its own purpose built island and set in an extensive landscape of lawns and ornamental trees this is a monument of a museum.  It was designed by renowned architect IM Pei (architect of the Louvre pyramid) and is shaped like a post-modern fortress with minimal windows (to cut down on energy use) and a 'virtual' moat.  The museum houses the largest collection of Islamic art in the world, collected from three continents.

I love all this woodwork

Richard Serra's sculpture from inside the MIA

Then it was back to the souq for dinner (cos where else can you find food?!) - this time Arabic nutella crepes - a bit of dancing, and a walk back to the hotel where we all collapsed in bed.

Great start to the holiday!