Being mostly in the city where the main population lives and works, we tend to forget that there are good places to visit outside Doha whether you are a local resident of the country or a tourist.
For people who already know and have visited places on the outskirts of Doha, you probably know what I am talking about and let us agree here. Not all will be iconic in terms of the photo opportunity and nice to know facts.
To give you a better idea, I have selected some places which in my opinion can truly be iconic when you visit Qatar. Our starting point will be Hamad International Airport which will be your gateway to Qatar. I will be providing an estimated travel time for each location from the airport.
— Text and photos by Ralph Kester@Dnameizking
East-West/West-East steel sculptures in Zekreet: If you do not want to see the ruins and film city in Zekreet and just want to visit the famous art installation of Richard Serra, then head directly to East-West/West-East steel sculptures. Travel time from the airport is around an hour and forty minutes via Dukhan highway.
This breath-taking sculpture in the Brouq nature reserve spans over a kilometre and comprises four steel plates, each over fourteen metres in height.
To guarantee perfect alignment, Serra examined the topography of the land and beautifully enhanced the vast, desolate space in the heart of the desert. The result is spectacular and although modern, timeless.
The steel plates that were installed are around 15 metres long precisely at all levels with each other. They were all assembled in Germany and transported to one of Qatar’s deserts. I can imagine how serious are the people involved here in making things possible.
As mentioned by Qatar Museums, “Serra’s public art has always been driven by a desire to take sculpture off the pedestal and on to the street – which perfectly aligns with our philosophy at Qatar Museums.
To him, the content of the work derives from interaction with the viewer, meaning he always has pedestrians in mind. He acknowledges that he can’t predetermine what people will make of it.”
Inland Sea at Khawr Al Udayd: Khawr Al Udayd is a settlement and inlet of the Arabian Gulf located in the Al Wakrah Municipality in southeast Qatar. People call this the “Inland Sea” and in the past, it accommodated a small town. The travel time from the airport is around two hours via the Sealine Beach road.
It has breathtaking views which include deep blue beach and sandy white dunes all around the area.
This place is popular for dune bashing, swimming, fishing to catch some barracudas and picnic or camping. The site is a must when it comes to photo opportunity places when you visit Qatar as it consists of nicely shaped dessert dunes. You can even climb to the top and enjoy the scenic view from above.
If you are too tired to return down, give yourself a few minutes to enjoy the sunset. Yes, you are right! One of the best time to go to this place is before the sun sets to experience the most peaceful sunset gazing of your life.
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