Doha, Qatar
Visiting a country so different from mine shocked me to the point where I ended up walking around almost gawking at everything (or everyone!). Katara Cultural Village displayed the beauty of Muslim culture through its marvelous architecture at sunset and had my jaw drop down even more. Although Doha was only a 24 hour transit for me, it made a strong impression without a doubt. I was fortunate enough to take Qatar Airways’ evening city tour with an amazing local guide right before my flight, and this majestic village lingered in my head all throughout it.
Transportation
I’m going to be honest, I did not do any research for my layover in Doha because I only had 24 hours and Qatar Airways had my hotel and tour booked in advance. All my transportation was either uber or the tour bus so I haven’t even tried any public transportation. I was at the airport gathering point with other Qatar Airways passengers who booked the same tour and we all departed together to the West Bay then Katara Cultural Village, Marina, Souq Waqif, and back to Hamad International Airport. My 3 hour city tour was around 15-20 USD including everything and it was a promotion that Qatar Airways had when they first launched couple routes that transit in Doha from East Asia.
But if you are not with Qatar Airways nor any city tour, I’d recommend taking the metro from the airport as it newly opened in May, 2019. Check out https://corp.qr.com.qa/English/Projects/Pages/DohaMetro.aspx for all the available stations. The red line seems to connect most of the tourist attractions and the cultural village, which would be near Katara station. Single journey is only 2 QAR and a day pass is 6 QAR, which is only a 1.5 USD! If you prefer something more convenient, you can uber from the airport to the village which is about 30 minutes, and the price may vary upon traffic and demand.
Things to do
Walking around the village with a new friend I made on the tour bus was pretty much all I did. The girl I sat next to was actually my university’s senior who was studying the same major as I, coming back from her internship and exchange. It was such a nice coincidence as I was on my way to my internship and exchange for a year and to hear her stories of her year abroad made the entire tour so much more interesting. The world is so small yet so big!
From the main entrace it was a nice 15-20 minute walk around the village with eye-catching patterns and architecture, endless photospots, unique Islamic culture, and people with traditional garments. There was no entrance fee, so you only need a phone/camera and a pair of comfortable shoes then you are good to go. I highly recommend visiting the village at sunset as the sky turns pink and purple over the village and it’s the most beautiful thing ever. Hands down one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.
One thing to note, although it is not strictly regulated (if I remember it correctly), wearing floor length clothes or something that covers shoulders, arms and legs was the general dress code of the people at the village. I wore a loose jumpsuit and brought a scarf to cover my shoulders but it wasn’t required to do so. Since it’s a mosque where people have religious ceremonies at, please be mindful of your outfits out of respect π
Summary
All the sparkly patterns dazzled my eyes and the pink sunset framed the entire village so wonderfully that I would genuienly say that this village had the most impressive architecture and magical atmosphere out of all the places I’ve visited in Doha. Secretly felt like Jasmine, waiting for Aladdin to come pick me up with his magic carpet!
Feel free to visit http://www.katara.net/en for more detailed explanation of the village.
-Transportation
Qatar City Tour: 15-20 USD, 3 hours total, as of Jul-2018
Metro: 2-6 QAR, 50 minutes from Hamad International Airport
Uber: 30 minutes from Hamad International Airport, prices may vary
-Things to note
Bring a camera or a phone
Visit at sunset
Cover your legs out of respect
No entrance fee
*conversion rate: 1 QAR to 0.3 USD approximately
Travel with Mon 