ad-Dawḥah, or ad-Dauha, is more commonly known as Doha. It sits on a pleasant bay on the Persian Gulf and boasts several interesting sights. Doha is also the only place in the country with hotels, so you'll likely end up there when travelling in Qatar.

Doha was founded in the 1820's and became Qatar's capital upon its independence in 1971. Nowadays it's Qatar's most important tourist destination.

Doha's architectural landscape used to be characterized by densely clustered dwellings interconnected with narrow passageways. This design offered plenty of shade and safety for residents. It remained the most popular way of constructing neighborhoods until the end of the 20th century.

The buildings used to have shuttered windows and huge verandas to minimize solar heat gain.

The so-called badgheer system (a form of construction that permits air to be channeled into buildings for cooling) encompassed windcatchers and wall vents. The buildings used to have large courtyards, apertures at the base of walls and in roof screens to promote draughts for a cooling effect.

Katara Cultural Village is the place where you can still see examples of Doha's traditional architecture. Buildings were constructed by erecting two walls measuring up to 0.6 m (2 ft) thick, made of two rows of locally quarried limestone. The empty space in between them was then filled with mud and gravel. The walls were then plastered to provide a smooth surface. These buildings usually had flat roofs made of danshal (mangrove beams) imported from East Africa. The beams were overlaid with split bamboo, woven reed and palm mats, after which it waqs sealed with tamped earth.

Most of Doha's original structures have been demolished and the Katara Cultural Village was established to preserve the few remaining examples of the traditional architectural style.

There are numerous places of interest in Doha.

The National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) used to be housed housed in a building that was once the palace of Shaikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed, who was the country's emir from 1913 to 1951. In 2019, a new building was constructed around the palace. Its shape was inspired by the desert rose. The palace itself is now included in the museum.

The museum boasts interesting displays on traditional celestial navigation methods, Islam, desert life, astronomy, the oil industry and the traditional lifestyle of the Qatari people. There is also an aquarium in the museum's basement, where you can see countless of species that can be found in the Persian Gulf, including sea turtles. One floor higher are many examples of stuffed fish.

In the center courtyard of a souq shopping area stands the restored traditional Qatari house that is home to the Ethnographic Museum. The museum has interesting exhibitions on life in Qatar, before the oil boom brought incredible wealth to the country. The displays offer a good insight in the daily life of ordinary families and how they lived. The houe in which the museum is situated, includes one of Qatar's few remaining wind towers. These towers were built to keep the inside of dwellings cool during the hot summer. It can be seen as a traditional form of air conditioning.

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) sits at the end of Doha's Corniche. The building is surrounded by a purpose-built park and faces Doha's harbour.

The fort in Doha houses a museum that includes displays on traditional crafts, such as carving, goldsmithing, rope-making and weaving.

If you are into stamps, you should visit the postal museum

Msheireb Museums is a project to promote the conservation of four historic heritage houses in the heart of Msheireb in Downtown Doha. The houses are Bin Jelmood House, Company House, Mohammed Bin Jassim House and Radwani House. The goal is to preserve and convert these houses into museums.

Doha Tower, Burj Doha, was formerly known as Burj Qatar. It is a rise building in West Bay. It is 238 m (781 ft) high and has with 46 storeys.

Aspire Tower is also known as The Torch Doha. It stands 300 m (980 ft) tall and it is home to a hotel. Aspire Tower is the tallest structure in Qatar.

Qatar National Library (QNL) is a modern facility that houses more than one million books.

Qanat Quartier precinct is a private and picturesque community that was constructed to resemble the charm of Venice. It has pastel-colored low-rise buildings, intricate canals and pedestrian-friendly piazzas. Its waterways are spanned by stylish bridges further evoking the soul of Italian romantic living. There are numerous boutiques and outlets that offer a great shopping experience.

If you like amusement parks, don't miss Aladdin's Kingdom, the only amusement park in the Gulf.

Doha boasts a wide variety of modern architecture. Ever since the 1950's construction slowly changed from traditional building techniques to more modern approaches. Locally produced shell-infused concrete blocks replaced the limestone ones and later more standardized building materials came into use. Nowadays, most new constructions are build using reinforced concrete and corrugated iron and steel. Modern air-conditioning systems replaced the traditional badgheer system.

By 2011, some 50 towers were under construction, including the Doha Convention Center Tower. Its construction was abandoned in 2012 following concerns that the tower would impede flight traffic, which would affect Qatar Airways; one of the world's leading airlines. The building site was redeveloped into a park.

Doha is the only place in Qatar with hotels, but there are plenty of them. There are also many restaurants in the capital. Doha is in the east of Qatar.

The city has hosted many international events, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Doha ©Abuli Munavary

Doha by night ©Hongbin

Doha ©Rowen Smith

Qanat Quartier ©Visit Qatar

National Museum of Qatar ©Jirayu Koontholjinda

Doha ©Amir Mortezaie

Qatar ©Hongbin

Doha ©Emre

West Bay ©Lucca Belliboni

Doha by night ©Akbar Nemati

Hamad International Airport ©Karim Mokalled

Katara ©Emre

Doha ©Kazuo Ota

The Torch Doha ©Bashir Mohd

Raffles hotel ©Elias Shehadeh

Katara Cultural Village ©Visit Qatar

Pearl-Qatar ©Visit Qatar

Qanat Quartier ©Fazme 77

View over Doha ©Jimmy Woo

Doha waterfront ©Jimmy Woo