"Exploring Doha After Dark: The Ultimate Guide to Making the Most of Your Night Layover"

Calling all curious! Landing in Hamad International airport in June as I stepped outside the plane I was already sweating. Summer in Qatar brings 114 degree heat and I knew I was in trouble, but hey I was curious to get a glimpse of what the world's richest city had to offer. Luckily I was only in Doha (the capital) for eight hours on my way to Kenya which had much cooler weather. Flying on Qatar airways, you can book a transit city tour for three hours which will cost you $20 USD. Little did I know that upon arrival I found out that you can book this tour for free. Anyway, since I am always thinking ahead, the $20 spent was well worth it. Qatar airways also has many other transit tours to choose from as well depending on how long your layover is.

I arrived at night and my city tour of Doha was at 8 pm. Although it is dark, don't worry you will still have enough light to take pictures and enjoy the sites. As you wander through downtown Doha in a air- condition bus, your tour guide will provide you with crumbly sweet date cookies and bottled water. The first stop on my tour was the Doha Harbour where there is an opportunity to see the traditional sailing vessels used extensively around the Arabian Peninsula. The harbor is right next to the Museum of Islamic Art. The highlight of the harbor is not the boats or the pearl statue on the entrance, but the magnificent panoramic view of the city.

For our next stop, we went into downtown Doha, to Katara Cultural Village, so I had the chance to observe more of the daily life of Qatar’s capital. Here you can find some fascinating art, and the amazing blue mosque. I learned that Katara Cultural Village also named as the Valley of Cultures, is an interesting place to visit for everyone, especially for those fascinated in traditions, theatre, art and architecture. One cool thing was admiring the pigeon towers. The towers were designed to collect pigeon droppings, which was used as a fertilizer for farming. A design dating back to several milennia, these towers can provide housing for thousands of pigeons. The most famous pigeon towers in Qatar can be seen here at the Katara Cultural Village.

The third stop of the Doha City Tour was an artificial island called The Pearl. Qatar was one of the significant pearl traders of Asia. To honor their heritage, the Qatari people decided to build an artificial island that resembles the shape of a string of pearls, right on top of a former pearl diving site. Spanning nearly four million square meters, it is also the first land in Qatar to be available for freehold ownership by foreign nationals.

The last stop of my Doha layover trip was the Souq Waqif Market and my absolutely favorite part. We were given a 45 minutes to explore it. The market was quite nice and It was built in the traditional Arabic way and sold all kinds of stuff from souvenirs and clothing to incense and spices. The colorful lamps and narrow passageways had me a bit lost. I was even the last person to board the bus back to the airport. Running in 114 degree heat trying to get to the bus was unpleasant, but hey this is what happens when you are an adventurer.

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Doha is a cultural hub. I highly recommend this tour when you are stuck in the airport for 8 hours or more. The Discover Qatar Tours desk is located right on the start of Concourse B, but you can also book the tour online. To be honest, I enjoy the big international airports. Seeing so many different people from different cultures has always been fascinating for me. Lastly, Hamad Airport is one of the best airports in the world. Either way, you will have a nice time roaming inside or going on this tour.