We had a Ramadan stopover of three days, so, with the city slowed down during the day, we decided to take a guided tour out of Doha, just to see the country: the desert carries a reputation that needs to be seen, rather than envisaged.# This occasion seemed to offer a good opportunity. What was the desert? What were the details; what was the experience beyond raging 4WDs and group campfires? The cliché 'Sahara' image might prevail, but this was not clear. One needed to be there to sense its reality.*
One way to see the place in such a tight time-frame was to go on a tour. We are not fans of these occasions, and do not frequently use such services, but convenience overcame our usual fears of crass commercialism and shallow, programmed, banal entertainments. A least one would know that most 'touristy' support places would be closed over Ramadan. We chose one tour that gave the broadest scope, a trip that might reveal different aspects of this country as we drove through it and paused from time to time. The promotional material for this journey that was described as accessing the north and west of Qatar, included eight dot points itemising the tourist attractions that would be visited, as encouragement for any prospective client. These 'attractions' varied in scope from mangrove areas and beaches, fishing villages, ancient forts, archaeological village sites, and natural outcrops, to desert sculptures, and camels - see below. It all seemed to be a reasonable cross section of a place that would be a good, brief introduction.+
The trip started from the Doha hotel on the road heading north to our first destination, a fishing port, and continued on all day, going progressively from one tourist attraction to another as these tours do; north, then west, and then southeast, to complete the triangle.
While interesting in themselves, the identification of these locations seemed to establish the whole pattern and meaning of the day, its raison dêtre: to go from A, to B, to C, etc. while being told the story, the standard patter, about these places. This information was rattled off by the guide with a flat, disinterested, bored necessity, just as he had done day before and the day previously, and before this, as he transported foreigners to each destination which must have been more than commonplace to him. His demeanour and body language suggested a repeated, nonchalant indifference that seemed to be accompanied by the silent thought: “Here we go again.” His distracted meanderings at each stop exposed his boredom; he could hardly wait to get back to browsing on his mobile phone while we meandered. What might he have thought of his passengers' interest in these things? He was obviously thinking about matters as he did ask what I did with all of my photographs: "Do you put them on social media?" The simple response, "No," must have only puzzled him, as the shrug of disbelief seemed to know of no other purpose for a stranger's photographs of his country; his home; his everyday.
One soon realised that Qatar, instead of being seen for what it is, was being itemised, presented as a series of highlights, dot points, assembled just like a set of hopscotch panels for visitors to engage in - hop here, then full speed ahead to there, then again, and again, until one was 'home' - as if this was all one needed to do, know and see; a programme promoted and re-enacted as: schedule, cost, time, day - next. Tourism transforms places with its organised hype, generating packaged 'highlights' to sell to the tourists who queue for the experience which is usually presented as promising every engaging distraction one can want, and more, when the reality is that one does exactly what has been determined in the promotional material, to the letter, and little more. This intent to present a set of ‘highlights’ for amazement became clear in one location when the guide noted that the site had been used for the Star Wars movies, as if we should have been impressed with this information. It had never occurred to us that we might ever visit such a place just to participate in this provenance, but here we were, admiring a unique landscape for its own qualities, not because of any pedigree. The Star Wars reference changed perceptions for the worse; it would have been better not to have known: it was a stunningly beautiful countryside.
Visiting Durham in England for a few days later gave us the same impression: that the city, for the tourist, was merely a collection of 'must-see' places in the 'Durham bucket' - been there; done that; next.
What we were interested in were not the selected highlights chosen on the basis of 'interest' and popularity, but the bits and pieces of everything in-between. We wanted to see and sense the desert; to observe settlements, housing, development, people; everything otherwise around the 'gems.' One could extend the analogy and say that we wanted to get to know 'the mount,' the context for these chosen places, the 'jewels,' both in Qatar and Durham; to get to know Durham's streets, the people, the river, the sky; the countryside; the sounds; the details, as well as the cathedrals, gardens, and museums noted in the brochures: open from . . .; free, or cost . . .; information accompanied by the most attractive image possible; etc. Welcome to Durham! Welcome to Qatar! We just wanted everything in-between; the places that framed the precious exhibits.
We enjoyed the desert in Qatar, and the tiny villages and towns. We were saddened by the way the desert was never left alone just to be itself. Something was always being done to the desert, to make it something different. If not roads, then fences, walls, wires, towers; there always seemed to be some intervention impeding one's sensing of pure desert place.
Tourism may have monetary value for these areas, but the transformation of the expectation of experience and understanding into formal packages converts wholeness into 'desirable' fragments, a set of popular images, casting the deserts, the streets, the towns, the villages, and the people of this world into an uninteresting no-mans-land, a mere aside, as the inertia of tourism grows with its unstoppable bucket-listed desires enhanced by tempting promotions that promise fulfilment and more - if only one can see them while ignoring everything else as sundry background material.
This situation is truly not helpful, as it encourages the formalisation of perceptions, with places being shaped so as to be presented as just one of the scheduled items on the list of things to do rather than kept for its own integral relevance. We not only begin to see the world as highlights, but we start creating highlights to be seen instead of living out lives with integrity and care. We end up fabricating theatres and performances to be admired, out of things both old and new, gouging the relevance of any thoughtful intimacy one might have with ordinary, everyday people and place; with its form and formlessness shoved into the void, leaving a no man's land of meaning to be ignored.
Still, in spite of this, we managed to squeeze out some enjoyment and sense from the journey: snippets of relevance.
#
Anthony Alofsin, Wright and New York - The Making of America's Architect, Yale, 2019.
. . the desert's purity, its paradox of threatening void pulsating with subtle life represented something deeply personal for Wright. "Living in the Desert is the spiritual cathartic a great many people need. I am one of them." "For the Desert," he elaborated, "comes to the Artist as an inner experience. Like Art or Religion, it comes to some quickly. To others only after repeated experience. When it does come it comes to all as a beneficent simplifying influence."
The desert played a fundamental role at this turning point of Wright's career.
*
Alan Keohane, Bedouin - Nomads of the Desert, Kyle Cathie Limited, London, 1994.
p 21/22
Contrary to Hollywood-inspired visions of the desert, it is not land of endlessly shifting sand. In fact, sand covers not much more than a third of the world's deserts. The rest is made up of mountains and areas of gravel or stony plains, correctly called either reg or hammada depending on whether the stones were weathered in situ or washed there over the course of history by rare flash floods.
p.22
Deserts are not places of permanent drought, but if little rain. They are defined by geographers as land receiving an effective rainfall of less than 250mn (10 in) each year.
We were lucky to visit the Qatar deserts on a rainy day. It was overcast, with occasional light showers.
+
There is something of an enigma in the promotion and expectation that is revealed on arrival at these attractions. In most cases, one steps out of the vehicle, and assesses the circumstances, noting that, yes, this is the attraction, as seen in the tourist brochure, or online. The fantasy becomes an everyday reality, and one finds oneself there, warts and all - not free from everyday existence - moving strangely into a place that has no relationship with any vision other than its photographic appearance. (This is no different to the experience of arriving at Le Corbusier’s Ronchamp or any other familiar, iconic architectural site.)
One moves into a place that needs to be forgotten to be discovered and experienced for what it is. Until one re-orientates oneself in this new environment, neutralises oneself as it were, ready for the place to reveal itself, one finds oneself in a whirl, disorientated; being imported as a stranger, an intruder, just there, bringing one's self and preconceptions to bear, frequently feeling deflated with the disappointment of context that is never revealed in the gloss: until one finally forgets and sees.
The sooner one can engage, the better. Places are never ‘seen’ by tourists bringing their expectations while seeking the fulfilment of the bucket-list tick. Even cameras bring a barrier between self-seeing and just what is. One has to manage this accessory and use it to further explore and record being there and all the qualities this involves. The cliché is the tourist coming to know a place only as a subject for the camera to point at. One might understand the guide's question about how I planned to use my photographs - on social media? No; they are gathered to help expand the experience of place in review; to capture more and more to further discovery and understanding. The family joke is that there will never be a person in any image. These photos seek to explore and reveal rather than record any particular individual experience such as "This is me at . . ."
So it was that, even in this short time period, one discovered the village, the fort, the desert - well, an aspect of these that can be used to expand understanding - as if a symbol, or a hologram might have been perceived. In one way, to have touched/sensed one tiny portion, one has experienced a whole. Photographs become a part of the expansion of this vision. The original tourist fascination disappears as a lie, a nonsense, a guide: a misguidedness.
Now, months later, one ponders the experience. What lingers in the memory is the desert, its rugged beauty; its efforts to be; and the re-use of the Bedouin tents. In the small settlements, the magnificent long, blue and white striped woven strips of walling could be seen enclosing carports, and sheltering chickens and gardens from the dry dustiness of the adjacent desert. These tough fabrics had been put to a new use in the now sedentary way of life that modern living has enforced on the migratory Bedouin, where Toyotas have replaced camels, and work and education mean stability, fixed place. The 'gems' listed in the colourful brochures took a sad third place in the order of things of interest, or slipped lower with their theatrical offering being carefully prepared, or still being constructed, ready for the consumption of the paying visitor. We wanted to sense the real world; ordinary life and its raw, honest beauty. We were pleased to have got a glimpse of this.
THE TRIP
Full Day Qatar’s North And West Tour – History & Heritage.
Itinerary
1 Al Khor
Also spelled Al Khawr means "sea on threesides" in Arabic. Older than Doha but far smaller in size. Al Khor is located an easy 50 kilometres to the north of Doha. It used to be the center of the pearling industry in Qatar but lost its importance after the introduction of cultured pearls. It now boasts a scenic harbour where you can find traditional fishing dhows, a corniche leading to mangrove colonies and a museum showcasing the fishing, pearling and dhow building industries.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2 Al Thakhira Beach
The mangroves colony is not only a major tourism product for Qatar but an important natural environmental resource for Qatar. It provides a natural habitat and a sanctuary for birds, fish and other animals as well as prevent coastal erosion.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3 Purple Island - Al Khor Island
Located in the northeast of Qatar, Bin Ghannam Island, popularly known as Purple Island, is a must-visit spot. An hour’s drive from Doha, near Al Khor city, the island is famous for its natural beauty, exotic flora and fauna, and is ideal for a day trip for the whole family.
40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4 Al Zubara Fort
Situated on the North-Western part of Qatar, the Al Zubarah Fort was built besides the ruins of an ancient fort. Al-Zubarah was once a flourishing port and a centre of trade, fishing and pearling. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, this protected area has become one of the most important archaeological sites in Qatar. An international team of archaeologists and antiquities experts, led by the Qatar Museums Authority, have uncovered many of the artifacts which are displayed in the renovated fort.
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
5 Al Jumail
The old pearling and fishing village is the place to see for those interested in heritage and learning more about the history of Qatar.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6 Ash-Shahaniyah
View the camel racing track while they are under training.
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7 Zekreet Fort Ruins
One of the most amazing historical landmarks in Qatar, the Zekreet Fort is one of the very few historical places in Qatar that underwent two different phases of construction. Here's how it all unfolded.
40 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8 EAST-WEST / WEST-EAST by Richard Serra
This breathtaking sculpture in the Brouq nature reserve spans over a kilometre and comprises four steel plates, each over fourteen metres in height. To guarantee perfect alignment, Serra examined the topography of the land and beautifully enhanced the vast, desolate space in the heart of the desert. The result is spectacular and although modern, timeless.
35 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
NOTE: The selected photographs have been kept in the same sequence in which they were taken during the trip.
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