We had breakfast again in the nearby buffet. It's the third day here in a row and the staff recognise and remember us.
Suzy wanted to go back to the souq to do more shopping but when we went downstairs, all the shops were boarded up. There was almost nobody in the street.
At first we thought that Ramadan must have started but the hotel concierge explained that the Muslim Friday is like our Sunday. He said the shops will open late this afternoon.
He was encouraging us to come back to Qatar and his hotel in future. He said they are building another souq like this one about an hour away. He said they are building 20 new stadiums for the world cup and only one has been completed so far.
We checked out of the hotel at about 2:45pm. They'd given us a late check-out until 3pm. We left our bags with them and we set off to walk to the Museum of Islam Art.
It was still hot and there was a hot breeze as we walked through the souq area towards the seaside. There was an elevator that took us down one level to the car park which led us to a passageway near the Corniche. Then we took the elevator up into the heat again.
It was a pleasant setting walking along the water's edge. There were dozens (maybe hundreds) of wooden boats in the harbour - mostly moored rather than sailing in the harbour. Beyond these we could see the Museum of Islamic Art which is a very modern building on the edge of the harbour.
The walkway was wide and there was a pleasant grassed area between the walkway and the road and the city buildings. It was an active scene with lots of men around the area. There were just a handful of women and many of the men were holding hands with each other.
As we walked along the seaside, men would approach us asking us if we wanted to hire their boat. We didn't feel comfortable here and we were glad when we safely reached the museum. The first task was to have lunch in the cafe on the ground floor.
The museum contains artwork dating back more than 1000 years. It is very tastefully done and no expense has been spared. Artifacts include pottery, metal items, carpets, maps, jewelry, paintings and armour. Most items are contained in individual displays enclosed in glass.
We didn't want to walk back to the hotel after our experience earlier. Initially I approached a taxi driver and asked how much it would cost to which he replied 30 Riyal. I walked away and we organised a Uber trip which ended up costing 10 Riyal.
Back in the hotel, we tried their Qatar coffee. Suzy thought it was OK and had a second cup. I thought it was the best dishwater I've had in decades and declined a second cup.
Suzy wanted to go back to the souq to buy more scarves. By this time, the souq had come alive. It took us a few attempts to find the right passageway back to the shop where she'd bought the scarves last night.
We organised a ride with Uber and we left the hotel just before 6pm. At the airport, a porter helped us with all our baggage. Customs went smoothly and we managed to find the business class lounge up the escalator near the duty free store.
The business class here is very classy. It is a long thin area with casual dining at one end and a restaurant at the other end. In between there is plenty of modern seating. We had a light snack before moving to the seated area. Because Ramadan started tonight, there was no alcohol available in any part of the airport.
The seats we chose each had a screen that displayed flight information, maps, etc. There weren't many other people in the lounge. I get the impression that they have built the airport for the future to cater for large volumes of passengers at some future date.
Our flight left on time at 9:20pm and they served dinner soon after we took off. I tried both the Bordeaux wine and the Portuguese wine and decided that the Portuguese wine was even better than the French wine.
Once we reached cruising altitude, they had WiFi on board. It was complimentary for the first 15 minutes which was long enough to do updates on my iPad.
After dinner, we took advantage of the bar behind business class. Once again, very classy.
Having had several glasses or wine with dinner followed by port in the bar, it was time for bed. The flight attendants had turned our seats into beds while we were in the bar.
At first we thought that Ramadan must have started but the hotel concierge explained that the Muslim Friday is like our Sunday. He said the shops will open late this afternoon.
He was encouraging us to come back to Qatar and his hotel in future. He said they are building another souq like this one about an hour away. He said they are building 20 new stadiums for the world cup and only one has been completed so far.
It was still hot and there was a hot breeze as we walked through the souq area towards the seaside. There was an elevator that took us down one level to the car park which led us to a passageway near the Corniche. Then we took the elevator up into the heat again.
It was a pleasant setting walking along the water's edge. There were dozens (maybe hundreds) of wooden boats in the harbour - mostly moored rather than sailing in the harbour. Beyond these we could see the Museum of Islamic Art which is a very modern building on the edge of the harbour.
The walkway was wide and there was a pleasant grassed area between the walkway and the road and the city buildings. It was an active scene with lots of men around the area. There were just a handful of women and many of the men were holding hands with each other.
The museum contains artwork dating back more than 1000 years. It is very tastefully done and no expense has been spared. Artifacts include pottery, metal items, carpets, maps, jewelry, paintings and armour. Most items are contained in individual displays enclosed in glass.
We didn't want to walk back to the hotel after our experience earlier. Initially I approached a taxi driver and asked how much it would cost to which he replied 30 Riyal. I walked away and we organised a Uber trip which ended up costing 10 Riyal.
Suzy wanted to go back to the souq to buy more scarves. By this time, the souq had come alive. It took us a few attempts to find the right passageway back to the shop where she'd bought the scarves last night.
We organised a ride with Uber and we left the hotel just before 6pm. At the airport, a porter helped us with all our baggage. Customs went smoothly and we managed to find the business class lounge up the escalator near the duty free store.
The business class here is very classy. It is a long thin area with casual dining at one end and a restaurant at the other end. In between there is plenty of modern seating. We had a light snack before moving to the seated area. Because Ramadan started tonight, there was no alcohol available in any part of the airport.
Our flight left on time at 9:20pm and they served dinner soon after we took off. I tried both the Bordeaux wine and the Portuguese wine and decided that the Portuguese wine was even better than the French wine.
Once we reached cruising altitude, they had WiFi on board. It was complimentary for the first 15 minutes which was long enough to do updates on my iPad.
Having had several glasses or wine with dinner followed by port in the bar, it was time for bed. The flight attendants had turned our seats into beds while we were in the bar.
No comments:
Post a Comment