Katara Cultural Village – History of Qatar at Once Place

If you are an art or history lover and you are in Doha, you shouldn’t miss Katara Cultural Village. Constructed on reclaimed land, it’s a wonderful place offering models of traditional architecture, theaters, restaurants, souqs (shops), various learning centers and beach.  The etymology of word “Katara” is interesting. In fact, the word “Catara” was the first and most ancient name designated for Qatar Peninsula in geographic and historical maps.  The name “Katara” (instead of Catara) appeared in the geographical and historical maps in early eighteenth century AD. In order to revive Qatar’s ancient name, the idea of constructing Katara Cultural Village was born.

Museum of Islamic Art – Doha, Qatar

Last year, I visited Qatar with my family. Doha, being the capital of Qatar, has recently undergone huge developments keeping in view the preparations to host FIFA 2022 world cup. While wandering around the capital, one may observe several construction sites as well as road divergences/closures. For a person like me, who completely relies on navigation system, it proved a little bit troublesome. However, I hope, things would be improved by 2022 when all projects would be completed.

Kings Park and Botanic Gardens – Largest inner City Park in World

It won’t be fair if you visit Perth and don’t visit Kings Park and Botanic Gardens which are visited by more than five million people each year. Covering an area of approximately 4.06 square km, it’s one of largest inner city parks in the world. It’s main attractions include botanic gardens, splendid view of Perth city skyline, several war memorials, walkways, parklands and restaurants.

Sandstorm in Saudi Arabia

While living in Saudi Arabia, I have encountered a natural phenomenon several times which I never experienced before. People living in middle east are quite familiar with it. Yup, sand storms – which are quite common here and could be as frequent as once in a month.

Visiting Qatar from Saudi Arabia by Road

An added benefit of living in Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is that one can visit other nearby GCC countries by road. Most of these states offer visit visa on arrival to GCC residents of certain professions. During my stay in Khobar (Saudi Arabia), I have visited Bahrain several times as it’s just at an hour drive from my current city. You can read more about my Bahrain experiences by clicking here. However, Qatar is relatively far from Khobar.