Film City

If you drive out from Doha for several hours into the Qatari desert, jump off the road and start bumping through rocks and ruts, you’ll pass a very interesting and lonely looking camel corral. Eventually the sand dunes will give way to sand cliffs, and on the horizon will start to rise a truly bizarre sight.

This is “Film City,” a palm tree-laden, beige artificial village built for a film or television series. It’s a contemporary replica of a picturesque ancient Bedouin-style village, completely deserted, with the creepiness factor turned all the way up.

The abandoned set sits in the middle of the secluded desert peninsula of Zekreet. There are almost no people or cars around, and no signs to give any clues as to why the ghost town is there. Film City’s original purpose, and subsequent desertion, remain something of a mystery. It’s believed that it was built either for a Hollywood or Qatari TV series, or perhaps a promotional film for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Visitors may freely walk through the empty main square, climb the turrets, and really sink into the surreal atmosphere of this abandoned movie set in the desert.