Friday, Aug. 24

We got up early today so we could visit the Wholesale Market before we went to breakfast in the compound with Maria’s colleagues.

The Wholesale Market is the largest fresh vegetable and fruit market in Doha, a hub for all fruits and vegetables coming into Doha. It is a very traditional market and a good place to buy produce from all over the world. There were several vegetables and fruits with which we were not familiar.

There are three main areas to the Central Market – the Wholesale Market, the Kilo Market and the Fish Market, and it is where local restaurateurs and businesses come to bid and haggle for bulk purchases of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. The open-air Wholesale Market is covered by one enormous roof and is divided into two main sections for imported and local goods.

We didn’t stay long – Maria bought some vegetables and fruits then we visited a small shop in the plant souq where there was everything garden, indoor and outdoor plants.

On the way back to the compound, we stopped at a Turkish sweet shop for munchies in the afternoon.

At 10 a.m., we traipsed across the compound to a couple’s home to have breakfast with several of Maria’s colleagues. The husband is Turkish, and his wife is French, and they were lovely hosts. The food was to die for – we had everything from phyllo stuffed with cheese or spinach, fried cheese, Turkish bread, a couple of different scrambled egg dishes, a variety of cheeses. It was awesome – and he provided us some Turkish coffee after we finished the meal. We ate, visited and took off to spend some time in the pool.

The remainder of the afternoon was devoted to doing my blog and posting it along with photographs.

We got a Uber to take us to the InterContintinental hotel for happy hour. Met a really nice Canadian who is working with a large private education system and visited with Maria’s colleagues.

I went home early; Beth and Maria went to Souq Waqif for one last shopping trip. 

It was a great send-off, and we’re grateful to Maria for hosting us for three days in Doha!

We have to be at the airport around 4 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday) for the next portion of our trip. We fly a little over nine hours to Johannesburg, where we have about a two-hour layover then on to Cape Town. We’ll land in Cape Town around 7:10 p.m., find a taxi and get to our apartment in the de Waterkant district. The temperature is expected to be around 58 degrees, and it will be raining – quite the contrast!

Sunday is devoted to checking out the landscape – grocery store, etc.

At the vegetable market.

These guys wanted their picture taken. Aren't they cute?

A box of Turkish sweet delights.

Breakfast with Maria's colleagues.

The sun setting over a portion of Doha, taken from the roof of Maria's compound.

A man at his vegetable stand in the Wholesale Market.