D'OH HAH!

Doha World's Track and Field Championships
The entire trip was pretty much planned around attending the World's Athletics (Track and Field) Championships in Doha.  While I spent a few hours wandering around in Doha during a layover some years back, this was my first lengthy stay in the Middle East since living there in 1982-3.  In short, I hated it then and ultimately would hate the atmosphere this time around.  With a population of around 3,000,000, Qatar is a pretty small place.  Of the 3,000,000, less than 1/3 are Qataris.  I don't believe I found one that I liked the entire trip and their character is much the same as the Saudi's; extremely arrogant and self righteous.  They treat the other 2/3's of the population like the slaves they are; poor people from the region just trying to make a living and putting up with abusive behavior and poor wages to send a few bucks back home when they get paid.  The lines at  Western Union type money transfer places were always long.  The workers themselves were sweet and kind and extremely deferential to the bosses who could send them home on a moment's notice.

I made a huge mistake booking a nice AirBnb in a very nice area N of downtown.  The mistake involved having to drive to the meet in an area full of road closures due to construction for the 2022 World Cup.  In a sense, those few of us who attended this meet were guinea pigs for the big show in a few years at  which time the subway will be finished and all the roads in tip top shape.  What we got into was a subway system still under construction, despite the fact that it was promised to be finished for this meet.  They're building stadiums all over the place for the World Cup and pretty much everything W of downtown is a construction zone.  To make things worse, the drivers are among the worst in the world, yet attempt to drive like they're skilled Formula One drivers.  And the horn in our car didn't work.  A minor miracle we escaped without an accident, driving no less than 90 minutes each day in our stadium commute.  Prior to booking our AirBnb, it looked like about a 10 minute freeway drive or a shorter subway ride.

The saving graces were seeing many old friends and seeing what was objectively rated as the best World's ever.  We were most happy to get out of there and head towards Oman.  I'll just finish with a bunch of photos, since I have nothing good to say except that I'll never have to spend another hour there, unless it involves an airport layover.
Great Light Show Before Men's 100 Meter Final


The Mall Next to the Stadium Looked Like a Vegas Hotel

Al Khor Fort on the W Coast.  Doha's First UNESCO Heritage Site

Downtown Area.  Some Amazing Architecture

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