The Qatari Desert

You cannot come to Qatar and not see the desert.

Doha is the administrative capital of Qatar. Doha is a relatively modern city of about 800,000 population with all the amenities and facilities you can expect from a modern city. Once you are out of Doha, it's desert land.

Qatar is a relatively flat peninsula jutting out into the Arabian Gulf. The land is generally flat and mostly rocky desert. The entire country is well-served by highways and dotted with smaller towns but you can expect nothing but desert once you move away from the towns and highways.

Most days, the sun is strong and because of the flat terrain, you'll be able to see far into the horizon as you have never seen before. The sky is mostly a nice blue and you will find little or no cloud.

The desert is not all quiet though. It has it's own life too. There are wandering Bedouins, cattle and camel herds, desert shrubs and wildlife.

The desert is also the key industrial lifeline for Qatar's economy because of the various oil and gas plants dotted all over.

On weekend, the desert becomes the playground of Qataris and expatriates with it's myriad of social activities. Just remember to bring a hat, sunglasses, sun-tan lotion and lots of water...

4WD line up for some sand dune bashing fun

Falcon racing anyone?

Watch yourself riding a camel on large video screen

Does it rain in Qatar?

Some people believe that it never rain in the Qatar or for the matter, in the Middle East. That's an incorrect assumption.

It does rain. Especially between December to February of the winter months. The rain tend to be short and intense - 10 to 30 minutes at best.

Most people living here are happy for rain. Rain brings joy to everyone's face, washes away the dirt and sand, let flowers bloom for a while and add a snappy smell to the air.

Drivers though, do not really like rain. Qatari roads are not designed with proper drainage system for rain, even light rain, and they tend to flood quickly. Random potholes in the road add to the flooding problem.

In heavy rain, sand on the sidewalks and clogged drainage system draining onto the road quickly result in a quagmire of slush and mud and the roads become extremely slippery. The fast driving speed and unfamiliarity with wet roads of the local drivers often result in accident rates shooting up during raining days.

It does rain in Qatar

Roads flood quickly.
This is a typical road after 15 minutes of light rain.