The only reason I even knew about the city of Doha was because my friends live there. Of all of the places I visited, Doha was the one that surprised me the most for many reasons. In the 1970s, Doha had about 90,000 people. Then a lot of people moved there because of all the oil and gas found in Qatar. Now 1,500,000 people live in Doha. Can you imagine how many  construction projects it would take to build homes and business and schools for all of those people?

Until the 1990s, there was only one big building in the city, the Sheraton Hotel. Then the Sheik gave land to many of his family members and told them to build offices and apartments and businesses on the land. That is how the city sprang up in just a short time. There is still lots of construction going on in Doha. One huge project right now is to build a subway system throughout the city. There are no taxes in Doha because the government gets so much money from gas and oil.

One day we drove to a place called The Pearl. The Pearl was built on reclaimed land just like The Palms in Dubai, . It was built on what used to be one of Doha’s major pearl diving sites and that is how it got its name. (Remember in the video how James talked about pearl divers and showed you the type of boat they used?) The Pearl has lots of fancy houses like Palm Jumeirah does in Dubai. By 2018, they expect to have 45,000 people living on The Pearl.

Remember the photos of me by that gigantic horse? That was near a hotel on The Pearl.

Another surprise in Doha was seeing the falcon souq and learning about how the falcons are used. Falconry is a huge sport there for rich people. The best falcons can cost thousands of dollars. Falcons may even get their own passports to make sure they are not stolen or taken out of the country without the owner’s permission. Wouldn’t you be surprised to see a full-grown falcon in a cage sitting next to you on a plane? That is one way the owners transport their falcons for hunting!

Many Qataris (people who live in Qatar) spend fortunes on their falconry equipment. These can include radio monitors, 4×4 trucks, and other high priced items. The hunters want to be sure to arrive right when the bird is taking down its prey.

However, before the birds are ready for hunting, the owners must spend lots of time training the birds. One of the training techniques is keeping the bird on your arm for several hours a day. This is painful and someone who had a regular job would not have the time for that. They put hoods on the falcons heads to prevent them from flying until they want them to fly.

If someone goes hunting in the US, they would use a gun or a bow and arrow. In Qatar, the hunters use their falcons to catch the bustards and other birds they hunt.

Things to think about:

What surprised you most about Doha? What questions do you have about my visit to Doha?