Mom & Pam's Visit - final posting

Last posting about my Mom and Aunt Pam's visit to Doha ... promise!

After the camel races, the tour driver took us to an "Oryx Farm."  The oryz is the national animal for Qatar.  I'm not big on animals, but I think it's in the antelop family.  It's a beautiful desert creature - like a big black and white deer with 2 straight horns a top it's head - that has pulled itself out of the endangered category, but just barely.

I thought we would see beautiful oryx's roaming in a natural habitat.  Boy was I wrong.  It was the saddest little zoo you could imagine.  Poorly fed, poorly cleaned, poorly cared for animals in tiny cages.  They were filthy, smelly, malnourished, diseased, and skittish animals.  They even had dogs in cages.  Oh those poor dogs!!!  I can't even post any pictures because it just breaks my heart.

Oryx

Feeding the camel at the zoo

After the sad little zoo, we stopped by a museum that was just amazing!!!  Wish we had more time to spend going through this private collect of the Emir's uncle.  It was really fantastic!!  Armor, swords, guns, cars, boats, airplanes, jewelry, houses, furnishings, art work ... you name it, this guy collects it!!!  He even has a currency collection with nearly every currency in the entire world from the beginning of time until present.  Apparently he adds to his collection weekly!!  Can't even begin to guess the value!!  It was amazing!!!

 

 

Exterior of the museum

 

And finally, here are a few more random pictures from Mom's visit ...

 



Qatar flag

boys at soccer practice

Souq Waqif in the day time

The Pearl
 (high end shopping and apartments on the harbor full of yachts)

Boys at the Pearl