North Qatar excursion

Yesterday I took a road trip to the north of Qatar, just to get out and have a look around. In honesty, I was doing a dive site reconnaissance mission, to see if there would be somewhere else worth going. There are coral beds on the north coast, but the problem is there is no gradual dropoff to constitute depth of any kind. Almost all the diving is boat-based here, unless you go to one of the man-made reefs (which we have been doing almost every weekend, but a change of scenery is always good...).

There aren't a lot of countries out there where you can go from one end to the other in less than half a day, but that's the case in 'the country which begins with Q'. In one hour's time, I made it from Doha, via the North Road, all the way up north-- a sleepy village called Madinat al Shamal, which is next to another sleepy village called Al Ruwais. At least half the population of Qatar lives in, or directly around, Doha. (Even if you go south, the road is still called the North Road-- so, no, I didn't made a ridiculous comment there by stating I went north on the North Road)

I found out that, other than a few more trees/ green outcroppings and a lot more rocks, North Qatar looks pretty much like the rest of the country.


There were more plant life outcroppings up north.


A Sidra tree. Sidra are known for their large branches, under which one can take shade in the desert. The logo of Qatar Foundation is a Sidra.


Stacked fish traps-- a common sight on coastal towns such as Madinat al Shamal.


Coast line, with blackened coral.


Submerged trees, looking toward Madinat al Shamal.

From Madinat al Shamal, I made my way west along the coast toward Al Zubara. There are a number of old forts and settlements along this part of Qatar. With my particular route, I came across one-- a small settlement called Algamel.


Abandoned Mosque.


Another view of the Mosque and manara (minaret). The manara is where the muezzin leads the call to Friday prayer and 5-times-daily prayer. Nowadays, the call to prayer usually comes over a loudspeaker (especially in shopping malls)/


Steps leading down from the top of the manara.


View from the top of the manara.


The stairwell to the manara was extremely narrow-- I had to sidestep.


The room just off the entrance, where people washed before entering the Mosque.