DOHA: Castles Made of Sand

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
in DOHA
20 November 2009

My first impression of Doha was to note just how massive it is. Coming from Edinburgh I'm accustomed to a whole city contained within the space of few square miles. Doha is a sprawling mass that eminates outward from a horseshoe shaped harbour, flanked at its northern edge by a futuristic cityscape that puts Blade Runner to shame.

At the northern tip of the harbour stands the toblerone shaped Doha Sheraton Hotel, and to the south is the newish Museum of Islamic Art, a lego shaped building full of artifacts from 1000 years of Islamic history (might do a full review later).
From there the city expands outwards in concentric circles, marked out by circular motorways called simply Ring Road A through to E.

Outside of the Blade Runner metropolis at the shore, the rest of Doha architecture consists of simple, flat roofed buildings the colour of sand, as though they were whipped up in a sandstorm by an industrialist djinn. Conical spikes stick out every half mile or so signifying the ubiquitous mosques, which five times a day cry out in unison for the call to prayer. Most expats grow tired of this regular interuption to their day (especially the sunrise call at 4.30am) but to the ininitiated they have a haunting quality.