i got to spend a day in doha, qatar on the way to my family reunion in kenya in december, which was a place i’ve always wanted to be able to visit. qatar is famous for being the richest country in the world thanks to its exports of natural gas, and recently for punching well above its weight in the sphere of international relations. it is scheduled to host the 2022 fifa world cup despite concerns over the treatment of many of its foreign workers, a demographic which constitute 90% of its population. my south indian taxi driver in doha ranted about how they took away his passport for the duration of his five year work contract, and how qataris are so entitled and do nothing with themselves, treating foreigners with zero dignity. his words. i went to the new atmospheric museum of islamic art, built on the waterfront with a view across the gulf to the impressive doha skyline. the building is probably more impressive than the art inside. i then spent the rest of the day visiting malls, including one themed after venice, where you can take gondola rides through the mall’s canals.
lobby of the museum of islamic art, dohadohadohadohavenice-inspired mall, dohamuseum of islamic art, doha
i got up really early in dubai, and made my way across town to catch my bus to muscat, oman, about a six hour drive to the east. at the border, an omani guy wearing coveralls meticulously scrounged through every last pocket and every piece of clothing in every bag on the bus – needless to say it took a while. then all the bags were lined up in a straight line on the ground, and for some reason it had to be a perfectly straight line, and a cute little dog was brought out to run back and forth about 80 times, sniffing for drugs i guess. once in muscat, i found myself an inexpensive hotel, the conditions of which i will not disparage you with. it is very hot here. i’m also dealing with the inevitable onset of gastrointestinal issues… but overall all is good. muscat is a very interesting city that is full of contrasts. on the way in, we passed some of the most impressive steel and glass luxury car dealerships that i’m sure exist on the face of the earth, but the downtown souks are basically no different than probably existed here a thousand years ago. there are over a million people living along a 50 km long strip known as greater muscat, but you’d never know it because its basically a bunch of little towns separated by huge rocky mountains, successfully making it seem like you’re out in the middle of nowhere arabia. i really like it. the buildings are all white and subtly arabesque, apparently because everyone here belongs to a form of islam that prohibits outward glamour in any form. i went to the fish market, where they bring in the freshly caught fish and barter for them. i also went to the sultan’s palace. intruigingly, there is this one part of town that is off-limits to visitors; it is inhabited by a secretive islamic sect that came here from iran. when one walks by there are big barriers so you can’t see down the streets and old men that sit there and glare at you until you leave. needless to say, oman is a very interesting place. tomorrow i’ll hang out some more, then take the afternoon bus back to dubai, spend the night at the airport, and fly out early in the morning to doha, qatar, and then nairobi!
palace of the sultan of oman, muscatsouk, muscatsouk, muscatfish market, muscatmuscatmuscatmuscatmuscatmuscat
