Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
place to look for the national Qatari dress, including beautifully embroidered
bukhnoq
(girl's head covering), spices, perfumes and oud (an exotic incense made from agarwood).
For a fun souvenir, take an empty glass jar and ask the spice traders to fill it with layers of
colourful cumin, fenugreek, turmeric and ginger. If you get tired wandering round the an-
tique shops and contemporary art galleries, stretch out on a divan and cushions at
Coffee
Asherg
and watch the world go by.
Most of the shops in the souq close around noon and reopen at 4pm but the many cafes
and restaurants remain open all day.
Falcon Souq
SOUQ
(Adjacent to Souq Waqif; 9am-1pm & 4-8pm, 4-8pm Fri; )
This fascinating new souq, next to
Souq Waqif, is worth a visit just to see the kind of paraphernalia involved in falconry. All
kinds of equipment, such as
burkha
(hoods) and
hubara
(feathers), are on sale. During fal-
con season (October to March) you will also see dozens of peregrines and other assorted
falcons patiently aperch their stands. A truculent falcon costs about QR2000, but a well-
mannered bird can be many times that figure and usually changes hands privately. The
shop owner is quite happy to show off the birds to anyone who shows some interest. The
best part of the experience, however, is seeing young Qatari lads buying their first falcon
under the beedy eyes of an uncle or grandfather, keen to hand down the family heritage of
bird-handling skills.
Gold Souq
SOUQ
(adjacent to Souq Waqif; 10am-noon & 4-10pm)
This pageant of glorious design and spectacular
craftsmanship is fun to see even without the intention to buy. The souq comes alive later
in the evening, especially before a holiday, when men traditionally express the value of
their relationships through buying 22kt gold bangles, or a 'set' comprised of earrings,
necklace and bracelet for the women in their family. Qatari bridal jewellery can cost thou-
sands, but sometimes pieces can be traded back after the wedding for something more
readily usable, or even just for cash.
Doha Fort
FORT
(Al-Koot Fort; ; Jasim bin Mohammed St; )
Built during the Turkish occupation in the 19th cen-
tury, this fort has been used as a prison and an ethnographic museum. During restoration
in the late 1970s, however, many of the original features of the fort were lost. The fort is
