Katara is a cultural village located on the eastern coast of Doha between West Bay and the Pearl. It was opened in October 2010 during the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. It houses many facilities, including an open amphitheater, an opera house, a multi-purpose cinema, a multi-purpose conference hall, a beach, and a souq.

We were very fortunate during our visit to see an exhibit of Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy, part of Doha’s annual Contemporary Arabic Calligraphy Symposium, with over 60 works on display. At Katara, one also comes across two pigeon towers. Traditionally, the pigeons were domesticated not for their meat but rather for their droppings, which the locals collected and used as fertilizer.

(Nikon D7100, December 2015)