March 2015
I remember my Saudi friend Meshal used to be the lone member of our coffee clutch from Java Beans in Abha who traveled regularly to Qatar while everyone else headed to Bahrain or Dubai. Meshal tried to convince us that Doha was "better". Finally, when I made it to Qatar because another trip had suddenly been cancelled and I needed a last minute holiday, I realized that Meshal was right. Dubai has several built up areas that impress - Sheikh Zayed Road and the Marina District [see: Dubai Marina] spring to mind. Unfortunately, Dubai, except for the original part of the city based around Dubai Creek [see: Abra, Dubai Creek], is on a straight and "beachy" strip of the Persian Gulf. Almost everything is built in parallel to that coast. If any "water feature" was needed, it had to be "terraformed" like the Marina or Dubai Canal [see: Dubai Canal]. Doha is blessed with a location on a natural bay and was immediately more pleasing to my eyes than the straight lines of development in Dubai.
The bay of Doha has a lovely esplanade on which to walk and anchoring both ends are stunning architectural visuals. One the one side is the I M Pei-designed Islamic Museum and on the other, West Bay, which appears to be a collection of cast off architectural models from a design competition. One of the best things about West Bay is that the buildings are so different one to another. Dubai does have some daring buildings that punctuate the otherwise conservative architectural style of the Emirate, but Doha appears to be a proud magnet for interesting buildings. Meshal's favorite place to stay was the Torch Hotel which was actually built in the shape of a torch!
DC bestie PM recently sent me an article on rampant kidney disease among South Asian workers who had labored in the hot Middle Eastern sun in the rush to complete Doha's World Cup infrastructure. I knew, however, that not only returnees from Qatar, but also Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia would be suffering from the same. Even in Singapore guys regularly toiled in the tropical heat. Apparently, relentless hard work in the hot sun, even with good hydration, will simply wear out a person's kidneys. What a price for these young men to have paid. Yes, their salaries were far higher than back home, but they were not making Western Expat wages. They toiled daily from sunrise to sunset. Maybe they sent money home and built small houses for their families. Finally, after all that labor they found out that their kidneys were shot. How absolutely unfair.
Of the modern cities of the Middle East, Doha for me was the best in terms of planning and overall design. It is daring and occupies a naturally beautiful location. The West Bay is the architectural heart of the "new Qatar" with a group of quirky buildings on display. I loved walking down the bayfront esplanade toward those towers with a kind of Wizard of Oz-esque flashback to my youth. Unfortunately, how many young men worked themselves to death, so I could stroll down that beautiful walkway toward a cluster of glass towers and enjoy a latte in their shadow?