Dhows and Dunes in Doha

Isaiah, Will and Ben

Doha skyline

A few weeks ago we went on a dhow dinner cruise with friends. A dhow is a traditional merchant sailing boat that delivered goods between East Africa and the Persian Gulf. Dhow cruising has become a popular tourist attraction in Doha and other cities in the Middle East. They have been renovated so that tourists can enjoy a meal on board or go for a day trip to go swimming.  

Andy dancing with the Lebanese family

The boys had a great time on the dhow cruise: the food was good, the views of the city were incredible and the air was warm. We met some very friendly people on board. A Lebanese man taught the boys how to write their names in Arabic. And then Andy ended the evening dancing with him and his family to Lebanese pop music. They knew all the words and all the steps - it was hilarious watching Andy trying to keep up!

This weekend, our friend Natalie is visiting from Dubai. We took her to the souq because the boys wanted to show her the little chicks that are dyed pink, purple and turquoise. Poor little chicks!  

We squished her into the back seat between the two boys and went to see some of Doha’s sights. Our first off-road adventure took us to the Singing Sand Dunes about 30 mins outside of Doha. When you sit on the sand and scooch down the dune, the sand makes a humming or singing sound. They are just off the highway but to get to them, there is a rocky stretch of about 500m. Trying to follow someone else’s tracks in our little car didn’t work very well and since we didn’t know if we had a spare tire, we decided to park and walk the rest of the way. 

The boys were great - they just climbed right up the the top despite the heat and the flies. When we got to the top, we realized that the other side of the dune was the side to slide down as it was much steeper. Only problem was the sand was too hot to touch. Burning hot. I gave it a quick try, got the sand to “sing” but I lost a flip flop and had to dig for it while my feet were burning in the sand. Ouch! We’ve decided to give it another go when the weather cools off a bit. 

Disappointingly, the local people who frequent the sand dunes for dune bashing, do not take their garbage with them. Even though there is a huge garbage bin on the road side. There were hundreds of empty water bottles and wrappers from take out food. Will thought it might help if we put up some signs like he did he Ocean Park last year. Sadly, I don't think it would help. There is no culture of recycling or responsible waste management here, nor does there seem to be much a desire for it. Hard to explain to two environmentally conscious kids from BC.