Located on the eastern side of the main peninsula, Doha is the nation's capital and the only city in Qatar. The city is organized around four crescent roads arching across the city (the "A" Ring Road is closest to the gulf, "B" Ring Road is the next one out, etc.). Most businesses, government offices and attractions are either on or near one of the ring roads or in West Bay at the north end of Al Corniche, Doha's fabulous seaside avenue.
This Arab boomtown has some impressive sights to see. The National Museum, housed in a former palace, reopened in 2006 after a thorough renovation. We also enjoyed the old pearling dhows (sailboats) moored near the Al Bandar restaurant complex on the waterfront. The former ethnographic museum, now enclosed by the Al Najada shopping complex, offers a glimpse of what life was like before the oil boom. A traditional wind tower rises above one corner of the building. Other sites around town include a clock tower, zoological gardens, the Doha fort, traditional bazaars and more than 260 mosques (the multiple-domed Grande Mosque behind the Emir's Palace is, in fact, the grandest). We also enjoyed a pleasant walk along Al Corniche, which follows Doha's bay from the massive new Museum of Islamic Art all the way to the Sheraton Doha Resort. 30 mi/45 km south of Khor.
