THE CORNICHE, DOHA QATAR

DOHA, QATAR

The Corniche, January 2008

The Corniche is a beautiful 7Km paved walk way along the Arabian Gulf. Unspoiled by western t-shirt vendors, fried food stands and the crowds you find so often on American and European shorelines.

Something you don't see very often in Qatar is grass. The Corniche has gorgeous grass. The rumor is that it's imported from Australia and has to be watered 4 times a day in the summer. The potential for mad tourism is there. For now, it's peaceful. In 1989 Qatar issued the first tourist Visa. It wasn't until recently (past 15 years) that Qatar has even been drawn onto western published maps. And, I'm not sure my mother even knows exactly where I'm living. A perfect get away, few visitors, not on the map, and your mom can't track you down. The original name of Doha was Al-Bida (Big Tree). The legend is that a prominent tree stood in the village that was to become Doha.