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On the last day of my visit to Qatar I had a quick tour at Qatar Islamic Museum, its one of its kind in the Gulf and has a very large collection of Islamic art, plus a study and a library, intriguing.

It was opened back in 2008 and lies on the edge of Doha harbour, inside it was big and uniquely designed on three levels. The museum houses a nice collection of Islamic civilization works from the past centuries including manuscripts, jewelry, textiles, ceramics carpets, swords, books and much more.

It is one of the world’s most complete collections of Islamic artifacts, with items originating in Spain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India, and Central Asia

Those who are into history of Islamic civilization will truly enjoy visiting Qatar Islamic Museum. To give you a feeling how my visit was, I tried to take numerous photos.

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In my last post I took you on a tour at Souk Waqif, and today I’ll take you in another amusing tour at Katara which is the name given to the cultural village in Qatar, so buckle-up fellas.

It is located by the sea between Doha’s West Bay and “the pearl” and they said it was softly-opened in 2010, I arrived there at 6:00 PM, a perfect time to enjoy day and evening scenes. I got interested in the name “Katara” and tried to google it, some sources say it is a type of daggers from India.

I observed buildings were designed to reflect Qatari traditions, there were art exhibitions halls, modern restaurants and cafe’s, auditorium, and beach area.

 I find Katara great spot for fun, dining, and enjoying arts and cultural events. I took many photos that I hope you will like, enjoy.

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Last night I had an amusing tour at Souk Waqif (thanks for those who helped me find great places in Doha), which is located nearby the Corniche and Qatar Islamic Museum.

Luckily weather wasn’t that hot plus no humidity, my timing was also great to see the Souk at day and evening. It reminded me of Souk Mubarkiya with the traditional buildings and shops, but Souk Waqif also have modern stores and cafe’s so I can best describe it as “past meeting the present”.

I was interested in the name “Souk Waqif” which translates as “The Standing Market”. I just love how Qatari’s were able to maintain a hundred year old Souk in such a great condition.

I find it a great spot if you wish to shop for traditional garments, spices, pets, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also home to dozens of restaurants serving cuisines from all over the world, as well as Shisha lounges. I took many shots during my tour.

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I arrived at the Torch Hotel yesterday afternoon, I heard great stuff about it from friends who visited Qatar before so I decided to book a Delux room for three nights, the rate was also tempting 700 Riyals (about KD60) per night including breakfast, its about 20 minutes drive from Doha airport.

The Torch can be seen from kilometers away because its a high rise tower (51 floors) with a nice architectural design that resembles a torch, its adjacent to Villaggio mall but sadly its closed for inspection due to the fire.

Inside, they had big lobby and reception area with amazing designs having sport theme; luckily my room was on the 11th floor so I enjoy nice window view. The hotel has two major restaurants; The Flying Carpet and 360 Degrees Restaurant located on the 47th floor and rotates, nice.

 They had really fast glass elevators, the room is spacious with king size bed, the window view is nice but its blocked from the steel structure, the curtains and lights are controlled with a switch. The bathroom and shower were cool, I also liked that there was a fast free WiFi internet that can be surfed from the TV or by connecting your laptop or phone.

 I loved the idea of color-changing wall lights, you can choose green, red, blue, violet, purple …etc. lighting for you bedroom, room service was also great and breakfast was exquisite.

They had a small gym at the 19th floor with an outdoor swimming pool, there was also a SPA and a nice lounge. If you wish to go anywhere they offer their BMW limo service for 100 Riyals flat rate.

 I have taken many pictures for the Torch Hotel to give you an idea how my experience was, enjoy.

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 I arrived to Doha Qatar today at 11:30 AM via Qatar Airways and will stay for a few days then will fly to Dubai next week. I decided to visit Qatar because I’ve never been there before and I heard from some friends that Doha is developing fast. I’m staying at The Torch Hotel, but as you can see I’m totally clueless about the nice places and activities in Qatar, any idea what are the touristic places to visit? Good malls for shopping? or interesting activities to do? Thanks fellas.

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I see that Jazeera Airways has fixed self-check-in kiosks at Kuwait airport that allows travelers to check-in, choose their seat, and print their boarding pass easily. This really makes traveling a lot easier and faster since waiting at the counter takes forever sometimes though I wish other airlines do the same especially Kuwait Airways.

The kiosks are located ahead of the immigration entrance, passengers need to enter their reservation number, credit card or passport number to check-in.

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A week ago I conducted a quick survery for the most desired summer vacation destinations for this year, and now I bring you the results which I think are very interesting and can tell a lot.

The total votes were 284 and the results were:

Europe (70 votes): The majority of travelers (25%) will be flying to Europe this summer, I think its because people are escaping Kuwait’s burning sun and dusty weather to European countries where weather is amazing and temperatures never exceed 35 degrees.

Not Traveling (56 votes): This is quiet surprising, 20% percent of people will not travel this year and don’t mind the hot summer and frequent dusty days. I think its because Ramadan is coming by mid of summer, otherwise it could be financial reasons.

America (47 votes): It came as the 2nd favored destination (16%) after Europe. I personally wish to visit the the U.S or Canada this year, I also heard great stuff about Cancun in Mexico

GCC Countries (27 votes): 9% of people will be enjoying their summer in GCC countries, the advantage is the short traveling hours plus the lower needed budget, GCC countries do have amazing places to visit.

Arabian Countries (20 votes): I kinda expected that, only about 7% will travel to Arabian countries even though it should have been much higher but I think its because of the political situation in several Arabian countries.

India (19 votes): I think of India as the un-discovered or secret vacation destination, many people are still not-familiar with tourism in India even though there are million of things to enjoy there, its a subcontinent after all.

Other Destinations (18 votes): Maybe some Islands or destinations (7%).

Australia (5 votes): It came as last, I think mainly because its so far far away, I never went to Australia and I really love to.

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Summer holiday is almost here, college and schools final exams are about to finish and most will prefer to spend their summer leave outside Kuwait to escape the heat, dust, and to get to see new places. We wanted to know what’s the favorite vacation destination that most people prefer for this year.

Personally, I’m still undecided where I’m going to spend my vacation but the earlier the better since ticket prices can get sky high and Ramadan will be at end of July, so most people will either go on vacation on June/Early July or late August I guess. I think people destinations will change this year because as we know there were many political issues in some Arabian countries.

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