Qatar - Lusail & Signs

Sunday 29th December - Finally we were going to visit the famous Crescent building aka Katara Towers in Lusail!

Lusail, the second large city in Qatar after Doha, is located about 23km north of Doha, just north of West Bay Lagoon, where Karina lives, built on 38 sqkm and will eventually be home to 450,000 people (250,000 residents, 190,000 office workers and 60,000 retail workers).

                                 

Another modern building

Crescent building/Katara towers

                       

Katara Towers - the US$600 million building next to the Lusail marina, is a symbol of Qatar's ambition and vision and was inspired by the crossed swords of Qatar. It's 211 metres (692 ft) high with 40 floors, and each side houses a 5 star hotel - the Raffles Doha Hotel with 132 suites and the Fairmont Hotel with 362 rooms and suites.

We wanted to go up to the top floor where they have restaurants/bars, but those only opened from 5pm, so instead we went to the garden area of the Raffles Hotel for coffee. 

The sumptuous reception area of the Raffles hotel

One of the lounges of the Raffles Hotel

We sat in the outdoor area with water views, leather couches, the ceiling covered in fake grass with tiny flowers, the exterior walls covered in real greenery.

A staff member dressed in a light pink dress (the uniform), brought us the menu and we ordered 2 coffees and and iced chocolate for me. The eye watering price of QAR126 =Aud55 (or 18$each) was worth it for the visit, the view, the experience, the photos...

Coffee was good I was told, but my iced chocolate was strange, it looked like they mixed chocolate powder with water and put some ice on it.

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Before we walked out to the promenade through the garden area, Karina and I went to the toilet and of course I knew it would look amazing. Copper basin in the middle, a copper toned mirror from floor to ceiling on one wall, marble water basin in the toilet, marble floors....

Walking out to the promenade

This sculpture called "Egal" represents the piece of headwear worn by Qatari men as part of the traditional attire, over the top of the ghitra (square scarf). It was done by Qatari artist Shouq Almana.

Then we walked along the marina until we reached the Lusail tram underground station. 

Jose and I at the "Lusail " sign

"Amazing" sign

Jose and I at the "Enjoy" sign

Marina Food Arena - an area where there were lots of food vans

Marina Twin Towers, not far from Katara Towers

And the white building (in the middle) that can be seen in the distance is where we were going to - Place Vendome Mall.

The underground station entrances looked like trains - the empty station and plush train carriage

Place Vendôme is a Parisian inspired luxurious mall. It was opened in April 2022, has 560 retail outlets with a wing dedicated to designer labels, an entertainment area, food court, as well as an hotel and residences operated by Marriott International.

Dress code in one of the entrances to the mall

The shopping was decorated with Christmas baubles

In the centre of the complex the are the "dancing fountains" which only operate at night. They also had small gondolas going around the large pool.

We had lunch in the food court - chicken nuggets and chips (I think it was). Nothing special but it was cheaper than a similar meal here.

Xiaomi SU7 - new electric car anyone?

A gigantic shopping centre, but it was strangely quite empty. Too many shopping centres? too expensive? too out of the way?

After lunch we left the shopping to catch the underground to the next stop at Lusail Plaza.

Another pearl sculpture

La'eeb - the 2022 World Cup mascot

A heart sculpture

And what we came here to see were these 4 towers (still under construction) and the massive 30mt long whale shark "Al Nehem",  designed by Marco Balich, which is suspended 20mt above Lusail Place between the 4 towers. It's a tribute to Qatar endangered marine species and the country's efforts to conserve and protect its natural environment.

At night the whale shark comes alive with lights and music. Sadly we didn't go there at night. In fact the whole area is even prettier at night from the photos I saw.

Karina and Jose with the sun setting behind the buildings

La'eeb (super skilled player) - the 2022 world cup mascot with the brass coffee pot

The area is still under construction, but the Lusail stadium was already finished and was one of the venues for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, where the final was hosted (seats almost 89,000 people), and is also the site of a Formula One race track where the first Qatar Grand Prix was held in 2021. (It was due to be held in Melbourne, Australia, but cancelled due to the Covid epidemic). 

The Lusail Stadium where the World Cup 2022 final was held

It was another amazing day spent walking around amazing architecture and new experiences.

For other signs from around the world check Tom's blog: (click on the link).