That “spiral” tower in the photo is the “Fanar” mosque, which is part of the Al-Fanar Islamic Cultural Centre in Doha. It is probably one of the most distinctive buildings in the Qatari capital, but the mosque is not the whole complex…
Al-Fanar Islamic Cultural Centre is the older name for this cultural centre. Today, the entire complex is officially known as the Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Centre in honour of the famous scholar and founder of Qatar’s judicial system. The whole complex is of great importance to the country’s culture – educational, social, and religious events are held there. Apparently, you can also drink real Arabic coffee there and learn more about the daily life of Qataris.
Even though the Fanar is located right next to the Souq Waqif and Corniche, where we spent a lot of time, we didn’t manage to visit the mosque itself (as we’ve heard, visiting is also allowed for non-Muslims). But we managed to see the beautiful silhouette of the spiral Fanar tower from several perspectives.
