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| This is a very basic guidebook. |
| The information in it was compiled from various reliable sources to serve as a quick reference for your journey. |
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| What's inside? |
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Doha hosted the 2006 Asian Games, the largest Asian Games hosted so far. The world focused its attention on the country, which is rich in its Middle Eastern culture, lovely deserts, marvellous lip-smacking food and fun-filled activities along the Arabian Gulf. To save you time and hassle looking up places and activities, grab our guide, specially prepared for the Doha traveller!
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| Save our fellow friends, the Fallow Deer |
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| Fund collecting in progress... |
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| The fallow deer have been severely threatened by extinction. Hunting has caused the species to diminish, and there are further threats to its habitat by firewood gatherers and overgrazing by domestic animals. According to a Greek legend, these deer have swum across the Mediterranean, with each deer resting its head on the back of the deer in front of it.
Fallow deer feed on primarily grass. In winter, they take leaves and in the fall, they consume nuts as well. Making the woodlands their habitat, their breeding patterns do not help them increase their number. Males do not breed for several years, mating only occurs in the fall, only a fawn is born each time and the gestation period is long, for about 230 days. As such, there is every reason to help these animals preserve their mortality on earth. |
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| What's an a4trip guidebook? |
| An a4trip guidebook is a travel guide that'll provide you with the information you'll need to plan your trip and to find your way around. Our guidebooks are downloadable in PDF format, and are designed to be so compact, you can take it with you everywhere you go. |
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| How can I pay for a guidebook? |
| We accept credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express (USA only) and Discover (USA only) via PayPal. Your transaction will appear as 'PAYPAL*A4TRIP' on your credit card statement. |
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| Help! Why can't I download the guidebook? |
| Don't worry, just get in touch with us and we'll deliver the guidebook right to your inbox. |
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| Just how often do you update your guidebooks? |
| We try to update our guidebooks at least once a month. |
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| Have more questions about a4trip? |
| Just Contact Us, we'd love to hear from you. |
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Doha is the capital of Qatar. Not only the largest city, Doha is also the Qatar's centre of economy, the government's centre of administration and home to the Education City which caters to the education and research needs of the country.
Aladdin, how can anyone not know the name? A popular lovable character from Disney, Aladdin comes to life in Doha. Although you might not spot a real life Aladdin there, The Kingdom of Aladdin is an entertainment city for the whole family. There are all sorts of rides and games, an artificial lagoon, a theatre, a rest house and a cafeteria. Mondays and Wednesdays are open especially for ladies and young children only.
The cornice is a popular hang-out place for the family. Lovely with landscaped views and running along the coast of the Arabian Gulf for 7km, it is perfect for a picnic while waiting for the sun to set. The Al Rumaila Park is located just nearby, a beautiful park with grassy areas, restaurants and facilities. There is also the Dahl El-Hamam Public Park as an alternative if the Al Rumaila Park gets too crowded for your liking.
Even if you are not an animal lover, you would need to head to the Oryx Farm to see Qatar's national animal. Some of you might not even have heard of an oryx, thus it is surely a good idea to see for yourself how this unique animal with long straight horns looks like. At the farm, there are also Arab horses known for their beauty.
The Middle Eastern countries are known for their deserts. Take a desert safari trip and see sand dunes that can be up to 60m in height. Watch and listen for the soothing sound of sand cascading. Tempted to lie on those smooth sand, the Khor Al Udaid beach would be good choice for you to enjoy the sun and view similar, albeit smaller, sand dunes. For another taste of nature, there are amazing stone carvings dating back to pre-historic times at the rocky hills of Al Jassasiya.
It's time to head to the waters after a hot day at the beach and desert. Being surrounded by the Arabian Gulf, there is plenty to do here. Gape at the stunning night view of Doha when you take a sunset cruise on a traditional Arab sailing ship called the dhow. You can also hire pedal boats, go fishing or get an adrenaline rush from parasailing or wind-surfing. Cool down next at the Doha City Centre, which is the largest shopping complex in the Middle East.
Popular brands from home can be found easily all over Doha, but of course you don't come here to have McDonald's, Burger King or Pizza Hut. There is an amazing variety of Qatari food. Balaleet are noodles cooked with cardamom, sugar, cinnamon and saffron. Try their version of yogurt by sampling some laban. Get a meat-fix with some Matchboush which is meat served with spices and rice or a schwarma (similar to kebab but uses Arabic bread to wrap meat marinated for 24 hours in spices and tomatoes). Zatar pies are Arabic bread baked with thyme. Harrees, which takes hours to prepare, is soaked split wheat and meat. Falafel is a great snack that resembles meat balls but is actually made from parsley, ground beans, chickpeas, garlic and cumin. With all that variety, surely the familiar fast food wouldn't be your choice unless you are missing home or an unadventurous traveller! There is also a number of restaurants serving good Indian food due to a large population of Indians in Doha.
Before you leave the city of Doha, you may want to try the shisha. Increasingly popular in Asia, the shisha is fruit-flavoured tobacco. The tobacco is first soaked in fruit shavings. The tobacco is charcoal heated in the hookah and then inhaled through a mouthpiece connected to the hookah. Be warned though that health researchers have found that the shisha is as equally detrimental to health as smoking.
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