LANDING AT Hamad International Airport does feel like landing at one of the best airports in the world. I wake up gently, as the wheels of the plane hit the runway, to a sight for sore eyes. The sun is rising over the glistening Persian Gulf, right above my window seat. It reminds me of a Khalil Gibran poem: “We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us. Even while the earth sleeps, we travel…”
I’ve arrived in Doha, the capital of Qatar, located on the east coast of the peninsula. Seaside views aside, the airport’s architecture and design are impressive by Swiss artist Urs Fischer. Rooted in tradition yet forward-looking, the gateway to Qatar is truly symbolic of the country’s modern milieu.
