Beyond a layover at the airport in Doha, Qatar, the Middle East wasn’t a region we planned to officially visit on this trip. That changed a bit though when we arrived at the Bangkok airport last Thursday to find that our flight from Doha to Cape Town had been canceled and rescheduled for a day later. After flying to Doha and waiting out the requisite bureaucratic confusion (go to that counter, talk to this person, nope that person, and then head back to the original counter until someone finally figures out what has happened), we were finally shuttled off to our complimentary accommodations at the Moevenpick Tower and Suites, a shiny new chrome and blue Swiss hotel tower in the midst of central Doha. The hotel itself was a bit ridiculous. As an example, there was a phone next to the bed, another at the desk, and even one next to the toilet, and there were blue mood lights under all the furniture, but it did have the softest, most comfortable beds of the trip, so I was satisfied with that alone.
With one full day to wander Doha, Anne and I decided to leave the luxury beds and wander out of our tower. Upon leaving the gold and leopard-print themed lobby, we realized that central Doha is really odd. Odd first of all because the entire area was under construction. We later found out that there are over 100 high-rise buildings currently being built there and only a few that were finished. Odd also because in between all of these skyscrapers was nothing. No smaller buildings, no street-side stands, no shops on the first floor of the high-rises, and no people on the streets. Just newly built roads, a few sidewalks and landscaped gardens, and towering skeletons of buildings. Depending on your school of thought, it was an urban planner’s dream or nightmare. I would opt for the latter opinion, while the Urban Planning and Development Authority of Doha (who have their own nice skyscraper going up) might disagree.
I don’t know the history of this section of Doha, but as it seemed like prime land right by the water, I would venture to guess that in a city this old something else used occupy this wide swath of land. I also don’t know a lot about the demographics of the population, but it seemed that the buildings were all being constructed with migrant labor from various parts of Asia and Africa, and it is likely that these workers are afforded few rights much as those in the UAE. I also had no good way to answer these questions as any printed information about Doha we received came from the government, so if anyone does please do leave your comments.
But to return to our wanderings: Anne and I eventually ran into a European couple strolling down the street and asked them for recommendations on where to go. They suggested a nearby park and were also surprised to find that we hadn’t yet made it to the city center. “What’s the city center?” we asked. They pointed to a giant complex not too far away, and told us that it was inside there – it was a mall. “It’s quite nice. Even has a skating rink and a bowling ally,” they said as we parted ways.
Well this was even more shocking than the landscape, so Anne and I turned around and headed towards the mall. From the outside, it reminded me much of a mall in the US, except that there were lots and lots of people milling about outside, quite a contrast to the empty streets around. Once inside, our senses were assaulted. Sure enough, there on the mall map was printed: City Center – Doha. We walked past an artificial pond and waterfall, where people were posing for pictures on the pond’s bridge, and headed up some stairs to the center of the city center, where we found the promised ice rink crowded with kids.
In reality, the mall was probably not much different or more garish than any other I’d been in before in terms of it’s construction. What made it fascinating though were the stores and the people. Imagine the site of a shop selling anitque Qatari furniture next to another selling Levis. Or a shop selling al-daraa and al-battoulah – the traditional long black dress and face covering that many Qatari women wear, next to a store selling American basketball jerseys. And then complete that picture by imagining the halls of this mall crowded with city residents, many of whom wear traditional Qatari and Saudi clothing. Perhaps this is what worries Islamic extremists? Myself, I was a bit overwhelmed as Doha had utterly defied any preconceived notions I might have had. After coming upon a display of life-sized dinosaur animatronics, crowded with parents photographing their kids, we decided that we were just about ready to move on . . .
-Julie
