Journey of Life

Doha Airport We are now at the conclusion of this journey. It was the last day in Qatar. There was a midnight departure time for our flight. One more day to spend in this contemporary metropolis is ours to enjoy. Following our arrival at the Msheireb station by the Gold Line, we went to the museum during our time there. Although it was a lengthy walk of 800 meters, the museum visit was well worth it. The Msheireb Museum is an essential component in the revitalization of the historic commercial center in the inner city, which is characterized by a lifestyle that is typically centered on the community. The Radwani House, the Bin Jelmood House, the Company House, and the Mohammed bin Jassim House were the four residences that were taken over and converted into museums. We visited two of them. The Company House was home to Qatar’s first oil company. It narrates the tale of the Qatari pioneers who worked hard in this sector to make Qatar a modern society. Let the stories of the men and fami...

On our previous visits to national museums, most of which feature large spaces, we spent several hours exploring the collections and artifacts on display. In Doha, there are two must-visit museums, namely the National Museum of Qatar (NMOQ) and the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA). We have booked a two-hour evening cruise on an Arabic cruise in the late afternoon. So we decided to take the Gold Line Metro to visit the NMOQ early in the morning.  After passing through the NMOQ Park from the National Museum Station, we were impressed by the NMOQ architecture, which was designed by architect Jean Nouvel. The building symbolized the iconic structure inspired by desert rose crystal formations. I was given a free entrance ticket; however, when we were about to leave the ticketing office, the officer ran to us and returned our money. She said neither of us has to pay! Yeayyy...  Picture on left: Me in front of the NMOQ.

Katara Mosque, Doha We chose to stay in Madaba because it was close to the Queen Alia Airport. It was just about 20 kilometers to the west of the airport. There were several Qasr (palaces) nearby that were worth visiting. Qasr al-Mushatta, an unfinished 8th-century Umayyad winter palace, is located just north of Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan. Our itinerary did not include a visit to the palace; however, upon our arrival, the site was undergoing extensive restoration. Scaffoldings and nets covered the building. Leaving the sites, we went to a smaller palace called Qasr al-Qastal. As I mentioned in an early post, Jordan is not on our bucket list, despite knowing that Petra is listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Link . When my wife got an offer for outbound research at the APCO facilities in Jordan, I was thinking that there were only a few intriguing places to visit. So we decided to buy flight tickets with a stopover in Doha. However, I would think that our usu...