Due to its natural and climatic features, Qatar is not rich in historical and natural monuments. The main attraction of the country is its rich history, as evidenced by the ever-expanding archaeological excavations that reveal more and more traces of ancient civilizations on the territory of Qatar. Softer than in neighboring countries, Islamic traditions, original culture and magnificent products of local artisans are also attractive. Doha (Ad-Doura) has earned an unenviable reputation as the dullest city on Earth, but this is not entirely true. Located in a harsh arid climate, the rather young capital of Qatar (founded in 1867) is located in a picturesque place in the bay. Many houses in the traditional Arabic style, created over the centuries based on maximum adaptation to local climatic conditions, create a characteristic style of urban development. The old quarters are framed by blocks of ultra-modern houses with mirrored windows, avenues and palm alleys that have grown during the years of the “oil boom”. The sights of the capital are the “old city”, Fort Doha, the Government House, the City Center Doha complex, the Landmark and Hyatt Plaza shopping malls, the Corniche, the Palm Island entertainment center, the Aladdin amusement park -Kingdom”, Aquarium, Doha Zoo and, of course, the traditional oriental markets (“suk”) “Suk-Wakif”, “Suk-Gold” and others, as well as many small traditional markets located mainly on the outskirts of the city. Museums of the capital deserve special attention. The ancient land of Qatar has only recently begun to reveal its secrets to researchers, and yet this territory was one of the centers of the spread of mankind in Asia. The National Museum of Qatar is located in the building of the palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed, who ruled the country from 1913 to 1951.
According to Get Zip Codes, the main exposition of the museum is a two-level aquarium with representatives of the local underwater ichthyofauna, materials on Arab sea expeditions and the period when Europeans discovered the sea route to India are no less interesting. It also presents the traditional astronomical navigation methods of ancient sailors, the history of the formation of Islam, life, astronomy, industry and the traditional way of life of the Qataris. The Museum of Weapons of the Capital is based on the Sheikh’s weapons collection, which contains weapons of all times and peoples, including a unique collection of long-barreled Arab flintlock guns of the 18th-19th centuries. The Qatar Ethnographic Museum is housed in a restored traditional Qatari house found during construction in the courtyard of a new shopping complex. The museum shows the life of local residents before the oil boom and includes unique exhibits, including one of the few surviving “wind towers” – a traditional form of dwelling with a unique system of natural air conditioning and ventilation of the dwelling, indispensable in such a hot region. On the territory of Fort Doha, there is another museum of the capital, which largely repeats the exposition of the National Museum, and is famous for its good exposition of the country’s traditional crafts, including carving, chasing and gold notching on metal, carpet weaving and tapestries.
There is also a small postal museum in the capital. 25 km. north of Doha is the Umm Salal Mohammed Fort – a small snow-white structure with two towers and a small mosque with an old minaret, which has only recently been restored to its original state. The only reason that justifies visiting this place is some truly unreal feeling that Umm Salal Mohammed lies in another world and in another space – the contrast of the azure sea, the desert white from the heat and the ancient brick walls of the fort is so fantastic. Umm-Salal-Ali, lying 40 km. north of Doha, is the most famous archaeological area in the country. The mounds and mounds that are now being studied by archaeologists are very old, and probably date back to the 3rd millennium BC. e. Scholars suggest that since Islam forbids burial in barrows, these stone mounds must have been left by some ancient tribes of pre-Islamic times. Some romantics even claim that these are the graves of mythical Aryan tribes or even no less fabulous Atlanteans.65 km. north of Doha, on the east coast of the country, lies the small town of Al Khor – by local standards, an open-air collection, consisting of a small museum (however, it is rarely open), mosques and many old towers scattered throughout the city, some of which have been restored to their original form. The real reason to stop at Al Khor isa huge and extremely picturesque panorama of the ocean, opening from the mosque (in the conditions of an absolutely “flat” country, this is already a rarity in itself). Lying along the northwestern coast of Qatar, the Al-Zubara region was for many centuries the main populated area of the country. For almost 200 years, the region was ruled by the al-Khalifa dynasty, the ruling family of Bahrain, but was hotly contested between them and the al-Thani, the royal family of Qatar. The fort that can be seen here today was built in 1938, shortly after the al-Thani dynasty took full control of the area. A couple of kilometers from the sand-covered city of Zubara lie the ruins of an ancient coastal fortification, probably from the 17th or 18th century.
