An old radio, trunks in the style of the 'India route', worn Persian carpets thrown in a jumble or model ships that have lived a long time... A treasure island! In his small antiques shop in the Waqif souk, Saad Ismail al-Jassin waits quietly for customers. However, in the midst of all this joyous chaos, a pretty secret is hiding. In another life, the old man was... a pearl fisherman. His eyes light up as soon as he mentions his glorious past. From a drawer he pulls out sepia-toned photos of his youth, when he was built like Johnny Weissmuller. These are private memories, but also testimonies of a time, not so long ago, when pearl oysters were one of Qatar's main resources. At the beginning of the 20th century, 13,000 men were still working on 800 dhows, the Qatari boats, taking all the risks. Taking all the risks. The fishermen could make up to 50 dives a day, spending long minutes in apnea to harvest the oysters. Attached by a cable to their waists, they were brought to the surface by "pullers" when they ran out of breath. On board, singers and percussionists tried to cheer them up!
Getting back to your roots
Today, Saad Ismail al-Jassin's shop has taken on symbolic value. Like other Gulf countries, Qatar was once tempted to look only to the future, but the country decided to bring its history up to date, aware that culture could play an essential role in its development as a tourist destination. And over the last few years, a host of initiatives have been launched to ensure that the country does not forget its roots. Like so many islands, sometimes incongruous in the midst of the skyscrapers and air-conditioned shopping centres that have covered West Bay in just a few years. The Waqif souk, in the historic heart of Doha, is one of these "islands of resistance". "It has become one of Doha's biggest attractions," explains Mohamed Haleem Siham, a guide with Qatar International Adventures. Nothing to do with distant Marrakech! Built in the 18th century, it was renovated around ten years ago. With its paved floors and the woven palm roofs of its Arab houses, it's almost glitzy - too glitzy, some would say, as an open-air shopping mall, with its adjoining car park crammed with hundreds of Land Cruisers and Range Rovers!
Spices, Rolexes and falcons!
As soon as dusk sets in, the crowds invade the café terraces, from which the scent of hookah wafts forth; especially in the main street, with its restaurants and bars offering a mix of Arab and Western atmospheres. These are all places that can be privatised. In the midst of this mix of tourists and expatriates, you will also come across many Qataris, looking very classy in their immaculate dishdashas - a traditional garment that reaches down to the ankles - without the slightest crease! With the inevitable ghutra as headgear, once highly prized by the Bedouins for its protection against the sand and sun, this scarf folded into a triangle and held around the head by a double black cord has become a veritable fashion accessory. On a par with the latest smartphone and Rolex... As for the women, they're a little less bling-bling! The abbayah, a long, ample black dress, is de rigueur. Some wear masks to hide their faces completely, while the younger women are content with a burqa revealing their eyes. This evening, sitting on the terrace of a café, they cheer on a group of street musicians, while their husbands noisily remake the world...
The back streets of the souk are much less busy. Here, in this never suffocating maze, spices, fruit and trinkets imported from Asia are traded; rabbits and fish, too. Then, as you stroll along, you come across a shop full of falcons waiting for a new master, a leather mask screwed onto their heads giving them a strange air of early twentieth-century aviators. This is because in Qatar, falcons are used for hunting, a pastime reserved for a few wealthy Qataris, given that the price of birds of prey can be so high - up to several tens of thousands of euros. As a result, the birds are equipped with radio transmitters and even have their own hospital in the souk! However, they have to share the limelight with other animals that are very dear to the country: horses, of course. The Racing and Equestrian Club's stables in Al-Rayyan, on the outskirts of Doha, are as clean as a palace and, of course, air-conditioned, and are home to the finest Arab thoroughbreds. They are happy to be stroked, before going on to compete at the neighbouring racecourse every Thursday, the scene of some fine incentive operations. But betting is out of the question, as gambling is prohibited. The camel races - which take place from October to May - are even more spectacular. They take place at Al-Sahaniya, 30 minutes from Doha. The children who used to ride the animals have been replaced by remote-controlled robots, adding a strange futuristic touch to the races! Cocktails and dinners can also be organised here.
From Bedouin culture to Islamic culture, from the souk to the Islamic Cultural Centre of Qatar, there is only one boulevard to cross: Grand Hamad Street. Like a lighthouse, with its architecture inspired by the Tower of Babylon, the Fanar - as the centre is called - shines out over Doha. You only have to push open the doors to discover the foundations of Islam and its artistic treasures: its fine calligraphy, its architecture and the rich arabesques adorning the mosques. But that's just the beginning. On the other side of the Corniche, the 7-kilometre long avenue of flowers that links the old Doha to the modern district of West Bay, the brand new Museum of Islamic Art rises from the blue waters of the Persian Gulf. At first glance, the setting designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Peï, with its stack of white cubes, is rather massive. But as soon as you walk through the doors, you rediscover the sober lines that made the Louvre Pyramid such a success. Visitors are drawn in by the dome that tops the reception hall, with its geometric surfaces that fit together like a gigantic kaleidoscope. The museography, entrusted to French designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, had to be up to the task. Subtle lighting effects highlight the vases and jewellery, the brilliant illuminations on the 15th-century Korans and the finesse of the silks. These are just some of the many examples of Islamic art from all over the world, from Spain to China.
While Doha continues to build higher and crazier, the desert is never far away. You find it as you leave the city, especially when you want to reach the peninsula's west coast, first heading north because the gigantic oilfields are off-limits. You cross a desolate plain where nothing ever grows, just pierced by the ribbon of asphalt of the motorway leading to Al-Zubara. In 2014, this town will be linked to Bahrain by a 40 km bridge, the longest in the world. The promise of new development for Qatar. And new tourist opportunities for the region's former military forts.
Cruise in the bay
In the meantime, the Al-Maha Sanctuary farm provides an opportunity to get close to oryx, gazelles threatened with extinction. Burj Barzan, an ancient fortified house, is not far away, drowned in the dust of the motorway widening works. And what about the nomads? For the most part, they have returned to Doha. The only thing we come across from time to time are a few Bedouin tents, always pitched close to a village. Very handy for hooking up a satellite dish! The east coast is more welcoming to visitors. In particular, Al-Khor and its beach, which is experiencing a resurgence in activity. This former fishing village has even become the country's second-largest town, making it a popular holiday destination for a day... or a weekend. You have to cross the ever-expanding suburbs, with their white houses and doll's minarets, to reach the port. There, as in the days before oil, nets dry on the quays where hundreds of dhows are moored. Indians, Nepalese and Sri Lankans are busy on board. They have fled poverty to support their families back home. In the absence of fishing, many of these dhows are now the delight of incoming agencies. The boats host cruises in Doha Bay, departing from the Corniche. On the menu: barbecue, traditional music and swimming on the beach of a sandbank off the city. The backdrop is the skyscrapers of West Bay, which light up as night falls.
Sand yachting and dune skiing
But most of the time, the Qataris head south for the weekend. And here, the desert finally lives up to expectations. It's a Hergé-style Coke en stock atmosphere as the 4×4 speeds along a snake of tarmac across the dunes. To the left, huge refineries. To the right, the kingdom of the sands. In their improbable wooden shacks, quad bike hire companies wait for customers. And instead of this noisy adventure, the truly intrepid prefer sand yachting or dune skiing. And then there's the simple 4×4 experience, a game consisting of driving along the ridges, hurtling down the endlessly undulating dunes. Controlled skids, blistering acceleration, and the occasional feeling of tipping over into the void... Under the tyres, the sand creaks and whistles, almost as if it were singing. That's why this region is known as the "singing dunes".
Finally, Inland Sea, the final stage of this rodeo of the sands, appears on the horizon, revealing an unreal beauty; that of a wild and violent encounter between the golden dunes of the desert and the blue waters of the Persian Gulf. Directly opposite, the shores of Saudi Arabia contemplate the happy marriage. A nomad camp has been set up on the water's edge, for a few hours out of time. Camel rides and swimming, followed by dinner under the starry sky... the menu on offer is as good as any Michelin-starred restaurant in the world.
