Doha's Heritage Village
Al
Zubarah  Barzan
Towers Camel
Racing Dhow
Workshop Doha
Zoo Heritage
Village Inland
Sea National
Museum Rumeila
Park Sheik
Faisal Museum Singing
Dunes Things
To Do Umm
Slal Mohammed
 Doha's Heritage Village - This Mock Village Offers an Insight into the Culture and History of this Tiny Gulf Country
Where is Doha's Heritage Village?
Corniche, at the end of Rumeila Park
When Can You Visit?
Usually during special occasions and festivals.
What is Doha's Heritage Village?
The Heritage Village is a mockup of a traditional Qatari village. Not a desert camp, but a seaside settlement, complete with well, nets and even a Dhow permanently under repair.
During festivals and special occasions, this heritage village becomes a hive of activity. During the afternoon the almost forgotten crafts of weaving and and wickerwork are taken up, and during the evening music and dancing take place.
What's There?
Sadhew weaving, or Al Sadwh, the "old womanish craft" of weaving is featured in another building. The role of different people in the village is also explained, along with miniature model displays of weddings and wedding clothes.
Visitors can also see the Daza - the ornate wedding box which must be presented to the bride along with the Al Sawgh or wedding gold – and read about the night of the Henna, when the bride is decorated with haden and ladened with expensive gold jewelry and ornate clothes.
Another attraction is the Tawash, or pearl trader. In two of the tiny houses in the village two men demonstrate the weighing and selling of the pearls. One of these, an elderly gentlemen, is very talkative, and will relate how he accompanied one of the last pearl diving trips as a young lad.
He’ll then pull out his body building pictures from when he was a young man, and offer to teach your children scuba-diving. He also likes to relate how he bangs stones upon his chest to keep him strong, and sleeps on a bed of nails.
 Move on and you’ll see a loom - rather more ornate and complicated than the ones I’ve seen before, requiring two men to work it.
Other attractions include old tea pots, an old well, and jewellery displayed by masked bedouin women.
In one corner of the park is a traditional Dhow, and the tools used to work on the dhow are displayed (if not in use!). Nets and fishing traps similar to those you can still see today on Doha's Corniche are hung to dry.
Food available included Qatari, Omani and other regional dishes. We particularly liked the Zatar pats - small pastries filled with Zatar (Thyme) and baked in a blazing oven in front of you. There’s other things to buy, including books on local culture and language, and a huge range of clay pots.
With the attractions much improved over a couple of years ago (when it featured little battery driven dolls turning round a wheel), it's well worth a visit. Just be careful your kids don't go home and put nails in their beds...
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