Originally Posted by
KeepDiscovering
A group of reconstructed buildings, a cluster of shops that sell goods that even few locals buy there, and some touristy restaurants - you already name most - and that's still a nice local place that reflects Doha?! Do I miss something?
If I'm a more-than-frequent traveller (which I am), I shall look further and deeper in a new place. Thus, as a local, I'd rather give a different perspective for people rather than pointing at a place, saying that looks nice, looks local, and letting tourists feel that they've been here.
How many % of Doha can it represent?
Maybe you're nostalgic for a previous generation in Doha, but the souq does represent Doha in 2010. It's sort of like asking if Jumeirah Beach, the Marina, Sheikh Zayed Road, etc. represent Dubai -- yes, they do; old Deira, while also fun to visit, is not the only place that represents Dubai. But if I only was only going to be in Dubai once for a couple of hours, I would not go to Deira.
As I said, I think that the Musheireb area would be interesting to a tourist, too (for the posters who asked -- if you're coming from the Museum/corniche direction, this is the area essentially on the other side of Souq Waqif, or just ask a taxi driver for Musheireb).
But if one goes to Doha and just walks out to "the neighborhoods near the airport" and sees only that, then I would not call that a very fulfulling trip. We could advise the poster to go to the Ramada intersection, walk down Bin Mahmoud Street, go to the Landmark Mall, or drive down Salwa Road, all of which also represent Doha to some extent, but are also not the best use of scarce time in the country. Keep in mind that the person who asked the question is staying only for a few hours on a layover, so won't have time to look very far and deep.