Forbidden Doha

We are so glad we were able to make a trip to Doha last year in early May before flights to and from Qatar were closed a month later due to a diplomatic crisis. Without breaking from our precedent (of loving everywhere in the world), we loved Doha.

My enthusiasm for museums started when I was a delegate for Model United Nations and went to the national competition in New York City. We had time to explore and one rainy afternoon I got lost in the Met and I can still vividly recall the pieces by Degas and Rembrandt that I marveled at. Even though we had two five-year-olds as our travel companions in Doha, I insisted we head straight for the Museum of Islamic Art as soon as we dropped off our bags. It was a beautiful museum and although there were plenty of beautiful pieces to marvel at, I had a love affair with the Arab rugs on display. Some of those rugs are currently the model and bar set for the rugs I would like under foot in my home. Ollie and Aliya did great, and I think it was good for them to learn more about Islamic history. We only had to say “don’t touch” 856 times (anything less than a thousand is winning). 

We stayed at the beautiful Intercontinental right on the beach. We spent one morning in the Persian Gulf, and then headed to the pool. The kids quickly made friends with these adorable girls, and we ended up hanging out at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. I was basically hands-off for four hours thanks to those girls, so I ordered some juice, read my book on a lovely pool-bed in the sun, and fell deeper in love with Doha.

One night we drove to Souq Waqif. I love souqs, mainly from my time in Morocco; a souq is a market that sells traditional clothing including shoes and scarves, spices, jewelry, art, and a lot more. I love the energy in a souq and I’m getting really good at haggling (it has taken me years and numerous countries-worth of practice). After a bit of wandering we found a little corner of Moroccan paradise in Souq Waqif at Tagine Restaurant. Authentic Moroccan food is potentially my favorite in the entire world (running really close with Thai massaman curry). We had a little bit of everything and it was all delicious: pastilla, seven vegetable couscous, tagine kafta with the fluffy bread, and Moroccan mint tea to finish. The kids already love couscous, and we got them to try pastilla and kafta for the first time and they’re hooked.

We also did some mall shopping. The malls in this part of the world sometimes just leave me awestruck. They can be so opulent and often have an entire theme park inside. Instead of walking through the mall we took a gondola ride instead. Venice was recreated inside the mall and there was a river running right through the middle complete with private gondola rides. Why not?

Sometimes I have to take a step back and look at my life and just feel incredibly humbled and blessed. I am so glad that we made this leap and I’m so grateful that I’m seeing and experiencing this beautiful, and intensely fascinating region.