Qatar

So the big 6 week trip has started.  It started with a brutal flying schedule.  Detroit to Chicago, Chicago to Boston (20 hour layover, Boston to Qatar (7 hour layover) and then onto Johannesburg. Overnight and a 90 minute flight to Victoria Falls.  Qatar is a hub for Qatar Airways and most of their flights have a layover in Doha.  So a company called Discover Qatar has started doing layover tours.  I was lucky enough to be eligible for one (long enough layover and during the hours of the tours) so i signed up for a city tour.  The city at night is limiting for a photographer but I got some really good shots.  Most of the city is very high end.  This isn't a cheap city.  It was well light and there is virtually no litter.  It was incredibly clean.  The street lights differ in different parts of the city and they are all artsy and fun and still functional.  The buildings were amazing and I'd like to go back to get better shots in the daytime.  Qatar is an amazing country with low taxes, low crime, and high employment.  We visited a waterfront to see the skyline.  We visited a mosque.  We visited an area of the "Pearl" - a series of artificial islands.  The real estate here is available for foreigners to buy or rent.  Rent starts at $5000 per month...but you could totally have an apartment over the Ferrari dealership and that might be cool.  We also stopped at the local market.  Most of Qatar looks modern and progressive but a good portion of the market looked straight out of Indiana Jones.  I wonder if they keep it that way on purpose.