Doha Zoo, Qatar

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Travis

We were a little unsure about visiting the local Doha zoo, I had read a few negative reviews that claimed very poor conditions and animals mistreated, but it was new years eve, a three-day long weekend and we didn’t have too much else to do.

Entry price was five Qatari Riyal and as usual for Qatar, it was family-day, where single males were unwelcome (unless you were Caucasian of course).

First up was the a single white-tiger, which didn’t help with the zoo’s negative image, a tiny domed cage with the tiger strutting back-and-forth along the edge. You couldn’t help feel sorry for it.

Onto the birds, a much more pleasant encounter, many varieties including Grey Crowned Cranes, ducks, geese and flamingos, which we had never seen before.

Next was a lonesome elephant, the small enclosure brought the elephant only a few metres away, so close that a man was able to extend his arm with popcorn and the elephant was able to extend its trunk to grab it, and would have, if the man hadn’t been stopped by the zoo keeper. Feeding the animals was a common occurrence in this zoo.

Similarly to the elephants, the monkeys were in arms reach, however nobody seemed to mind that they were being fed, and young Qatari boys and girls were happily feeding them popcorn and biscuits, even though there was a “Don’t feed the animals” sign right above them.

The open savannah enclosures housed zebras, giraffes, deer, antelopes, and of course Oryx, one of the main reasons for the zoo visit. Surprisingly, Oryx weren’t very lively animals, preferring to laze around on the ground.

Finally, we visited the nocturnal and small animal enclosures, similarly to the other animals the animals were easily visible and accessible, however there was minimum security, and many children were banging on the glass trying to get the animals attention.

Overall the zoo was enjoyable, animals were visible and accessible, maybe too accessible in some cases, the small enclosures and children feeding them being a result of this. Unfortunately, like the rest of Qatar, Qataris are ‘above the law’, and this isn’t a good thing for the animals.

Mathaf – Arab Museum of Modern Art – Cai Guo-Qiang – Saraab

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Travis

The Christmas long weekend finally gave us a chance to visit Mathaf (‘museum’ in Arabic), Qatar’s Arab Museum of Modern Art. At the time, Mathaf was showcasing Saraab (‘mirage’ in Arabic), by Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang.

Guo-Qiang’s work ‘homecoming’ is visible as you walk through the Mathaf entrance, sixty-two large granite rocks all the way from Guo-Qiang’s hometown Quanzhou, China. Carved on the rocks are Arabic calligraphy, a tribute to the deaths of the Muslims minorities in Quanzhou.

Once inside Mathaf (the gallery itself was designed well, with white , minimalistic spaces, though easy to get lost), the first indoors work was ‘ninety-nine horses’, a large eighteen metre gunpowder drawn mural with additional small gold leafed horses hanging in front. One of Guo-Qiang’s signatures are the use of gunpowder in creation of his work, from simple explosions with templates creating works on canvas all the way to extravagant outdoor ‘daytime fireworks’ exhibitions.

The next work was one of Sonya’s favourites, titled ‘fragile’, it consisted of 480 porcelain square panels assembled into an eighteen metre canvas, each square had intricate ‘Blanc de Chine’ or Dehua (an area in the Fujian province in China close to Guo-Qiang’s hometown) porcelain flowers. On the large canvas the Arabic word ‘fragile’ was drawn with gunpowder and ignited, this contrasted with the delicate porcelain.

One interesting work, titled ‘flying together’ was a suspended lifelike camel with falcons surrounding, the falcons seemed to either be attacking or helping the camel to fly. Like the camel, falcons are a symbol of Qatar, where falconry (essentially, keeping falcons as pets) has existed for thousands of years.

Towards the end of the exhibit were documentaries showing Guo-Qiang’s fireworks choreography, which even included the ‘daytime fireworks’ in Doha that we unfortunately missed. Daytime fireworks use coloured powder to paint the sky, because there are no smoke trails, the powder looks to appear from nowhere (except for the big bang prior).

Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque, Qatar State Grand Mosque

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Travis

Mosques, one of the defining components of the Middle East, for every city we have visited, there is at least one ‘Grand Mosque’, a big, beautiful, lavish mosque, which tells the city’s story.

The Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque or Qatar State Grand Mosque is no different, opened only two weeks ago for Friday prayers, the extravagant mosque has a very modern feel with crisp lines and large open outdoor spaces. However, the mosque preserves some of the traditional aspects of the gulf region’s past, the sandstone facades, the modest building height and ninety smaller domes mimic the building constraints present when Qatar was in its early years.

Looking past the construction directly outside our apartment window, we have a clear view of the Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque, and five times a day we hear the mosque’s ‘call to prayer’.

Qatar National Day – the Qatari Celebration

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Travis

Qataris (and other supporters from Arab countries) have an interesting way of celebrating the Qatar National Day, held on 18^th December every year.

Every year around the time of National Day, Qataris will dress up their four-wheel-drives with white and maroon themes of Qatar flags, photos of the Emir and royal family, the Qatar emblem, slogans and even love hearts.

Starting the night before National Day and ending the night after, Qataris will parade their cars along the Doha corniche, making as much noise as possible, including loud music, honking, and high revving of their engines sometimes causing explosive bangs. When with friends, all wearing traditional dress of thawbs and gutra or keffiyeh, the friends would sit or stand on the top of their four-wheel-drives, while usually supporting a large Qatari flag, sometimes women and children are there, and sometimes even teenagers are the drivers.

Spectators in tradition dress and all supporting Qatari flags and colours use load horns, shaving cream or silly string, sometimes spraying at the cars.

After you get past the cringe worthy and dangerous nature of what you are seeing, it is quite an enjoyable experience, and something that we will never forgot.

Sonya and Travis

tales of travel and adventure

Category Archives: Middle East

Doha Zoo, Qatar

Mathaf – Arab Museum of Modern Art – Cai Guo-Qiang – Saraab

Imam Abdul Wahhab Mosque, Qatar State Grand Mosque

Qatar National Day – the Qatari Celebration