life is what you make of it - Doha pt. 2

Lesedauer // reading time 5 Min.

Feb, 2024

Apparently, fridays are the most holy days in Doha. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is closed until 2 pm. Taxis and the metro don’t go, the souk and all the museums and restaurants and whatever you might want to do is closed. I managed to be there just on a friday. At this point, I wasn‘t even surprised, given how chaotic it was that I even ended up here. 

I was thinking about booking a tour to the desert, but decided against it on the plane because those tours are really expensive and they all sounded like it was mostly driving and dune bashing, which is also driving, just in a desert. So I decided to make the most of the few hours I had left here, and walked out the hotel lobby. 

And right back in. I needed more caffeine so I ordered a large cup of coffee and sat outside the hotel in the sun. It was again time for prayer. I watched as people practically came running from all corners, they left whatever they were doing, to line up shoulder to shoulder on the side of the street. I mean absolutely no disrespect when I say it was so interesting and kind of fun to watch. It‘s just so different from what we know here in central Europe. I especially loved watching one guy who was wearing sunglasses, and every time he bowed, he took them off, only to put them back on for the standing part of the prayer. 

As I was walking along the quiet roads - most of the city was still closed - a car almost stopped, then almost ran into a traffic light, and eventually actually stopped. The driver let the window down and took a good look at me, then said something in a language I couldn‘t identify. I waved him no and continued walking, and he continued driving. This time a lot more focussed, it seemed. 

It was the perfect temperature. No clouds in the sky. I was happy as I marched towards the National Museum of Qatar, which I decided would be my first stop. I was there early, so I had another coffee at the café right next to it - but not before being amazed by the unique architecture. This museum was built to resemble a desert rose and channel air in a way that makes it a natural outdoor air conditioning system. I was in awe. 

I don‘t usually go to museums, but this one was worth it. There was no lines anywhere, you could walk freely and get so much information about everything related to Qatar: flora and fauna, history, geology, culture, clothing, ways of live, politics in the past and today… I think I spent a good 2.5 hours in there, until my head was buzzing. 

Next stop on my lousy itinerary was the souk. I love me a good souk, so I was eager to get there. Some of the streets were fairly touristy, though the tourists seemed to be mostly of Asian or Arabic descent. In some of the smaller back street I would often find myself being the only European and also the only woman amidst Qatari men in traditional dress, haggling loudly in Arabic. I was feeling this place, I must have had a big smile on my face as I strolled from shop to shop. Until I found myself standing in front of a 6 m tall golden thumb. Yes, you read that right. 

Crossing the street to walk along the promenade was a real mission. There were traffic lights, but as I waited, more and more people crowded around me and the traffic lights kept on red. There were barely any cars. I contemplated just walking over but none of the locals did it so I thought it better to wait and see. 10 minutes passed (yes, I checked the time), and I could finally walk over. I loved the promenade. Being close to any body of water always relaxes me. The view of the skyline on the other edge was something I had never seen before, and I especially enjoyed seeing all the traditional wooden boats in front of it. 

As I was walking along the promenade, I realized how tired I was. The sun was already setting and so I turned around and started walking back to the hotel. Well, I didn‘t really walk far until I had to cross the road again. I was waiting and waiting, being the only foreigner and woman, and it started to get dark fast. I don‘t know why, but I was feeling a little nervous. Probably because of all of the stress of the last couple of days and the many many new things I have done and seen today and being thrown out of bed last night. 

However, I started walking faster and looking around me anxiously. Any time I saw someone looking at me, most likely just because people have to look somewhere, I was getting more and more nervous. And I think being so nervous eventually made people actually look at me. I crossed a corner and almost ran into a bunch of construction workers having tea on the side of the street. One more corner and I could finally see my hotel. 

I don‘t believe that at any point I was unsafe, absolutely not. It was simply me being nervous because of everything that had happened the days leading up to this trip and not knowing what this country is like but still suddenly being here. 

Funnily enough, the Doha-theme aka chaos continued as I am writing this article. I initially planned on writing about what I did in Doha and a little about how it went, call it „What to do in Doha on a 26h layover“ or something and done, but that‘s just not me and frankly, there‘s more than enough articles like that out there. I strayed far from the path, and I don‘t even mind. 

Perhaps you can let this be a little reminder that whatever you think you feel and whatever you feel you attract. Me being afraid of getting too much attention and possibly getting into a dodgy situation was exactly what put me there. There was no dodgy situation, safe for the one in my head and what I made of that. Instead of keeping my mind open and enjoying where I was, I was stressed out and made things bad that actually were very normal, wherever in the world I might be. Just people enjoying drinks and good company on a friday night and looking at the one unprepared backpacker in the whole city because that might just be the most exotic and curious thing they‘ve seen today. 

I often come back to these memories whenever I am unsure of what to think about a certain situation. Is it actually bad, or do I just make it bad in my thoughts? Is it actually bad, or am I just worried it could be and therefore make it bad? 

Well, Doha was a lot. A lot of beauty, a lot of new experiences, and a lot of lessons learned. In the end, everything worked out so well and I am very grateful I had this opportunity to see a part of the world that I have never seriously thought about before. As with any other trip, I left a part of my heart there and perhaps took a part of its with me.