North near Al Khor hides nature Qatar's visitor doesn't expect: Purple Island (Bin Ghannam) — named for the purple dye extracted here from sea snails millennia ago, today boardwalks through mangroves, kayaks winding the channels, birds filling the range. Organized kayak runs at the right tide are its finest experience — book by tide times; early morning or late afternoon for birds and light, mud-ready shoes on; join an Al Khor run and its fish souq for a different-flavored north.