TAKE OFF TO QATAR REASONS TO VISIT A DIVERSE COUNTRY

With the arrival of this year’s FIFA World Cup, the spotlight is already shining brightly on Qatar. But away from the football stadiums, Qatar Airways’ 77 direct flights a week from the UK make it easy to unearth showpieces beyond the pitch.

Cultural heritage, underwater encounters, thrilling adventures and wild sightings await every kind of visitor...

FOR THE CULTURE

Thanks to its thirst for world-class art and heritage treasures, Qatar easily backs up its billing as the cultural hub of the Middle East’. Capital Doha lays claim to more leading museums and art galleries than you can count, with the Museum of Islamic Art sitting at the top of its cultural tree. Here, you can walk through 14 centuries in just a few hours, with three continents’ worth of textiles, paintings, ceramics and glassworks to pore over. Both the National Museum and the Msheireb Museums celebrate Qatar’s rich heritage, from the history of the Bedouin right up to how the discovery of oil transformed the nation. Truth be told, all of Doha is much like a museum and gallery rolled into one, where past and future is showcased in its eclectic architecture only without the attention and crowds that neighbour Dubai endures.