Qatar Desert Forts

Several weekends back (Friday, 26 October to be exact), several friends and I joined the Qatar Natural History Group for a tour of Qatar's desert forts that are north and west of Doha along the coast line. We started with Qalat (Fort) Zubara, then drove to three others - most were in ruins - and ended the day at Al Jumail, where we could see ruins of an old town and a very picturesque mosque. A person who organized the tour provided a colorful, written narrative of each site and included details of a pirate who used to operate in the area. It was fun going off-road (4-wheel drive was required for the trip) and seeing what the area north of Doha looks like - vast stretches of flat desert. And I'm glad we were part of the QNHG caravan - we'd have never found those sites without being guided there.