Another day we headed north to the beautiful fishing village of Al Khor. The harbour there was a hive of activity, men mending nets, repairing boats,and generally preparing for fishing. The fish market offers every color, size and type of fish from crab and rock lobster to the lovely spotted harmour, and the silvery pink sheri. There is a general feeling of cheerfulness and industy about the place, a bit laid back, in tune with the rhythm of the tides.
With the flares of Ras Laffan to our right, we drove further northwest to Al Ruwais and Madinat al Shamal. We stopped for lunch at a village restaurant where we were served chicken curry and rice. Indian workers came and went as we ate, while Arabs stopped outside in their four wheel droves and honked the horn for curb side service. We have seen that a lot this week. The smaller take out--eat in restaurants seem to be happy to take orders from vehicle doors and deliver as well. Customers need not get out of their cars.
The northwest coast of the country is rife with ruins, most of which are not protected or even archeologically excavated. On our way to Al Zubara we stopped at the site of an ancient village close to the sea. Far from being deserted, the site was occupied by a group of young men having a barbecue and enjoying the winter weather with a pick up game of cricket. Graffiti marred a few of the still standing walls of the ruins. There is nothing to inform the curious about the ruins. Even the fort at Al Zubara is bereft of any innterpretive information.
This is such a country of contrasts. The abundance of the ocean, its beauty, movement and vitality enclose the barren desert. Bright blue waves gently crest on sandy shores but the land itself is dry and rocky, treacherous even, hardly fit for the wild camels that we spotted a few yards from the road way. Yet it is the land that is providing the wealth of the country. Pipelines line the desert like long strings of spaghetti. The days of prosperity from the ocean are long past.
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