Ethnographic Museum
The Ethnographic Museum is housed in a traditional Qatari house that was discovered during the construction of one of the many shopping centers. The museum features truly unique exhibits that illustrate the life of Qataris before the world was shaken by the oil boom. One such exhibit is the original “Wind Tower,” a traditional form of Qatari housing. It is especially interesting because it is equipped with a unique air-conditioning and ventilation system-so necessary in such a hot climate.
Al Zubarah
In the northwest of Qatar’s coast lies the Al Zubarah region, which once was the most densely populated area in the country and a major trading hub that disappeared by the mid-twentieth century. Here you can find a fort built in the first half of the twentieth century, along with the ruins of ancient fortifications, presumably dating back to the 16th-17th centuries. Today, this fortification serves as a regional museum and, thanks to its unusual appearance, is quite popular with tourists.
Umm Salal Ali
Located forty kilometers north of Doha is the Umm Salal Ali area-something of a Mecca for both enthusiasts and professional archaeological diggers. There are simply enormous numbers of mounds and barrows here, and, according to archaeologists’ estimates, some of them date back to the third century BCE. What could have been there? What were they made for? Since Islam forbids burying people in barrows, these stone creations cannot be related to Islam in any way. Some romantically inclined individuals tend to believe they are the tombs of mythical Atlanteans or no less mythical Aryan tribes. What is true and what is fiction is difficult to say, but one can only hope that someday the truth about Qatar’s mysterious barrows will be revealed.
