Doha is a young city on a flat, dry peninsula, and it grew almost from nothing in a lifetime. Fishing and pearling villages were what the coast held until oil and gas arrived, and in the decades since, the skyline of West Bay has risen along the curve of the harbour like a glass forest. The Corniche, a long waterfront promenade, is the place to see the contrast, with the towers on one side and the traditional wooden dhows drifting on the other. Across from the promenade, the Museum of Islamic Art stands on its own island, a pale, geometric building designed by I. M. Pei and opened in 2008, with collections that reach from Spain to India.
The old part of town centres on Souq Waqif, a market rebuilt in the traditional style, where you can wander lanes of spices, perfumes, falcons and cloth, and sit over tea or Arabic coffee in the evening. Falconry is a living tradition, and the falcon hospital close to the souq is an unexpected stop. The country hosted the football World Cup in 2022, and the city is still equipped with stadiums, a modern metro and wide new avenues.
Qatar is small, and so from Doha every ride is a short one. The roads are smooth, fast and well lit, with strict speed cameras on the highways and a firm attitude to the limit. The main routes run north toward the old pearl-trading town of Al Zubarah, a fortified settlement of the eighteenth century in the desert near the coast that is a World Heritage site, and south toward the dunes and the inland sea at Khor Al Adaid. Beyond the city, the land is stony desert, with little shade, ancient burial mounds, scrub and sometimes camels at the roadside. Sand blows across the surface in windy weather and can be treacherous on a motorcycle.
Summer is extremely hot and humid, with temperatures above forty degrees, so rides then are for sunrise only. From November to March the weather is mild and ideal. Fuel is cheap and stations are on every main road, with air-conditioned shops, and you can ride a long way before needing a refill. Coffee with dates in the souq is the habitual end to the evening.