Bridging the Gulf: Is Doha the new cultural capital of the Middle East?

"Along the semicircular bay in Doha, in the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar, dozens of glittering new skyscrapers are rising out of the blazing desert sands. Marble-lined shopping malls and luxury hotels proliferate, while opulent waterfront apartment complexes meant to invoke the Italian Riviera and other far-flung locales are emerging alongside futuristic private villas. And just offshore, on its own man-made island, an eye-popping stone-clad ziggurat floats above the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf: the new Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I. M. Pei, the first of at least half a dozen major art museums in the works here."

"Until now, this sun-scorched city was best known to Americans, if they were aware of it at all, as headquarters of the Al-Jazeera satellite television network. But significant changes are under way. With the country rich in petrodollars, Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is intent on reinventing Doha as nothing short of the cultural hub of the Middle East and the center of an educational and scientific renaissance in the Arab world. Other Persian Gulf states have been touting plans to boost their cultural offerings—most recently, Abu Dhabi unveiled a quartet of designs by celebrity architects for a lavish museum district. But Qatar’s efforts in this direction are the furthest along in reality."

Read more about my new home from Travel + Leisure Magazine... the article tries too hard to portray Doha as emerging out of conservatism, but the educational renaissance efforts are true through and through.