Doha

Doha is Qatari’s rapidly-developing capital and a landmark of 21st-century city-making located on the Arabian Peninsula. Its glittering skyline of glass skyscrapers rises out of the desert on the country’s eastern coast. With a population of over two million and climbing, the city is growing at such a rate that it almost seems to reinvent itself anew each day. This makes Doha one of the most emblematic cities of our contemporary era. Prior to the oil boom, Doha was a modest port town, but today, it’s one of the wealthiest and most culturally sophisticated spots in the entire region.

The juxtaposition of towering skyscrapers and state-of-the-art museums and galleries with dhows (traditional wooden boats) on the water and bustling souqs (street markets) gives Doha its singular appeal. The Pearl-Qatar in the city’s north, which was built on an old pearl diving site (a cornerstone in the city’s pre-oil economy), stands as an iconic reminder of the city’s modern development. This man-made island stretches 4km into the water and is home to ritzy apartment buildings and commercial properties, including some of the best restaurants in the city.