Doha

Think of Doha as the little city that could. A decade ago, few had heard of the sleepy desert capitol of Qatar, an unassuming peninsula the size of Connecticut that juts out into the Persian Gulf. Since 2004, Doha has undergone a makeover of epic proportions thanks to the tiny country’s massive oil wealth and not so small plan to become the powerhouse of the Middle East. Outlandish high-rises, lavish hotels and extravagant malls have replaced the large swatches of undeveloped land that once covered the city’s landscape; historic markets have been renovated to reveal modern twists. Someday the city may even emerge as the region’s cultural Mecca — only here can you catch a Hollywood film at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, listen to fusions of Arabian-European melodies by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and peruse exquisite artifacts at the Museum of Islamic Art, itself a work of art designed by architect I.M. Pei. If you’re looking for a Gulf metropolis with a touch of glitz, a touch of class and a whole lot of heart, then Doha is the place to be. No other city in the Middle East is so seamlessly intertwining Western pizazz with its Arab-Islamic roots — and it’s only just getting started.