And for some football fans in the Gulf region, Doha seems too close to not make an appearance in the flesh, with other fans, in Qatar's stadiums.
After watching a television show in which a senior Qatari official promised an exceptional experience at the upcoming World Cup, Saudi Abdullah Alsulmi, 33, thought: “I will go to Doha no matter what, even if I have to walk.”
His relatives called him crazy as he started to plan his two-month, 1,600-kilometre solo trek from his home in Jeddah to Doha.
Mr Alsulmi is documenting his journey for his thousands of Snapchat followers, highlighting the amazing adventures one can have if only they give hiking a chance.
“When I do this, I want to convey to people that hiking and walking is a beautiful sport, even if the weather is difficult here in Saudi Arabia, even if the terrain is difficult. We can do it,” he told AFP.
“It is a sport for simple people. You only need a bag and a few simple things, and a tent and nature.”
Mr Alsulmi has experience with extended treks in Canada and Australia, where he used to live, but were a different experience to the heat and difficult terrain of the Arabian Peninsula.
He typically sets out at sunrise and walks until 10 or 10.30am, and then breaks for a few hours before resuming in the afternoon and continuing until sundown.
He also walks at night to maintain his goal of about 35km a day.
Mr Alsulmi subsists on food he can buy at petrol stations to avoid carrying a lot of weight, while showering and washing his clothes at mosques.
His social media posts capture details of life on the trail: his nightly search for a spot to sleep, and the time he spotted a scorpion dozing dangerously close to his tent.
“Walking from Jeddah to Doha, every 100 kilometres is different. I mean, the first 100 kilometres there are sand dunes, then mountains, and then comes empty land, then farms,” he said.
“I am going through all terrains in one country in two months. This is a beautiful thing.”
If all goes according to plan, Mr Alsulmi will arrive in Doha in time for Saudi Arabia's opening match against Argentina on November 22.
Madrid adventurer who's been walking since January
Meanwhile, Santiago Sanchez Cogedor, 42, started walking from the Matapinonera Stadium in Madrid's San Sebastian de los Reyes on January heading to Qatar, where he hopes to reach the 2022 Fifa World Cup in time for the opening ceremony on November 20.
Before setting out on his trip on January 8, the sports-loving adventurer had a meeting with Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al Hamar, Qatar's ambassador to Spain.
“The trip will be a journey that will make me a better person, a better human being. It will be continuous learning, nights in loneliness, and I want to share that with the people I am with,” Mr Cogedor said.
He has been to the Gulf region before, when he went to Saudi Arabia by bicycle, this time he will complete his trip on foot.
He is carrying a suitcase packed with a gas stove, water purification tablets and his tent, in which he sleeps during the 11-month journey.
Last month, Mr Cogedor posted a video on his social media accounts showing that he had reached the village of Zakho in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and would soon cross the Iranian border. He also noted that he had passed Erbil and other cities on his way to his goal of covering more than 6,500 kilometres on foot in time for the opening ceremony of the biggest sporting event in the world.
The adventurer, who frequently uploads updates on his adventure, has been sleeping in his tent, at hotels, or with new friends he has made along the road as he travels to Qatar.
He estimated that the journey would take about a year, which is why he set out early in January.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this story.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
HOW TO WATCH
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The years Ramadan fell in May
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
