Doha, Qatar

Doha is the capital of Qatar, a country located on the Arabian Peninsula between Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Gulf. One of the most economically developed cities in the Persian Gulf, it is home to more than 40 percent of Qatar's population. Doha was first established as a fishing village before developing into a military fortress and the administrative capital for the British colonial administration in Qatar in the mid-nineteenth century. Doha has served as the capital of Qatar since its independence in 1971.

Landscape

The city of Doha is situated on the Persian Gulf and stretches east to west for approximately five kilometers (three miles). The city has one main port, Doha Port, located in the oldest part of the city. The center city is laid out in three rings, known as A ring, B ring, and C ring, that form semicircles around Doha Port and contain a majority of the city's financial and administrative buildings.

The West Bay area contains most of the upscale development in Doha, with luxury accommodations, hotels, and an entertainment district. The center city is crowded with small streets and little open space; in the surrounding districts, such as Nueijah and Al-Aleiry, streets are wider with more open space. A majority of the newer buildings in the peripheral parts of Doha are of modern, European design, while Islamic architecture and early British buildings are still present in some parts of the old city and surrounding suburbs.

Qatar itself has a relatively arid, desert climate divided into two seasons, a hot and dry summer from May to October and a milder winter from November to April. Average temperatures range from 13 to 40 degrees Celsius (57 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit). Though the nation receives only about eight centimeters (three inches) of rain per year, humidity can be high in Doha and other coastal regions, reaching 90 percent in the summer.

Because of climate change, the temperature in Qatar is increasing faster than anywhere else on Earth. Already one of the world's hottest countries, Qatar is experiencing heat extremes, floods, and sand and dust storms.

People

According to the CIA World Factbook, the population of Doha was estimated at about 652,000 in 2022. The most striking demographic feature of Doha is that a majority of the population are expatriates from Southeast and South Asian countries, as well as other areas of the Arabian Peninsula and Africa, with the native Qatari population constituting a minority. More than 40 percent of the Qatari population as a whole is of Arab descent and, in Doha, a majority of the population is of Indian, Iranian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi descent. Pakistanis and Indians are the two second-largest minorities in the nation.

With a diverse population of foreign residents, there are many languages spoken in Doha, though Arabic is the official language of the nation and is used in educational and administrative settings. English is commonly used as a second language, and a majority of residents are bilingual. In addition, Farsi and various Indian languages are commonly spoken.

Islam is the state religion of Qatar, and the practice of other religions, while not prohibited, is curtailed. State laws prohibit displaying Christian or other non-Islamic religious symbols in public and also place restrictions on proselytizing, or religious recruiting. Roughly 65.2 percent of the nation is Muslim, and Christians and Hindus each make up 13.7 percent and 15.9 percent of the population, respectively, according to 2022 estimates.

Doha culture is a blend of Asian and Middle Eastern influences, and globalization has brought elements of European culture. The downtown area offers a commercial district with shopping, but there is little nightlife in Doha, and drinking is restricted in some parts of the city. The area along the bay has been developed into a recreational walkway with restaurants and cafés lining the streets.

Economy

Since 1949, the Qatari economy has been dominated by the oil and petroleum industry. As the nation's primary shipping port, development and population growth in Doha accelerated with the growth of these industries. While oil and petroleum provide the majority of the nation's export revenues and are the best known of Qatar's natural resources, the economy is supplemented by a thriving fishing industry, which was once the focus of Doha's economy.

Efforts to move away from dependence on oil have led to the development of a more robust real estate and services market in Doha. Though the nation has the potential to increase tourism revenues, there has been little emphasis on the tourism sector. However, the city has invested in efforts to accommodate business travelers. In addition, Doha has become one of the most expensive cities on the Arabian coast, with rising real estate prices forcing the government to invest in low-cost housing as the urban area expands.

Doha has the only international airport in Qatar and a public bus system. In 2006, Doha hosted the Asian Games, and the city experienced a period of increased construction in preparation. In 2008, Doha began lobbying to be the site of the 2016 Olympics, and invested in renovations and new construction in hopes of making the city a more appealing host. However, the games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2010, Qatar won a bid to host the 2022 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup—a first for an Arab nation—and began constructing numerous new facilities for the event, many in the Doha area.

Landmarks

The Qatar National Museum is the largest museum in Doha and serves as the country's historical, political, natural history, and maritime museum. Exhibits at the museum give information on traditional Bedouin culture, Islamic and Arabian ocean exploration, and Islamic art. The museum was established in 1975 in the former residence of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al-Thani, which was built in 1901. The building also serves as a prime example of early twentieth-century Islamic architecture.

The Museum of Islamic Art, which opened in 2007, is one of the city's newest cultural additions. The museum's exhibition area contains collections of Islamic tiles, painting, jewelry, ceramics, and textiles from Qatar and the surrounding area as well as collections brought from India, Spain, and other world centers of Islamic culture.

The Waqif Souq is the city's traditional shopping district, located in downtown Doha. It consists of a system of alleys and narrow streets lined with small merchant shops and vendors selling a variety of goods, from traditional crafts and clothing to modern amenities. Designated by the Qatari government as one of the nation's national heritage sites, the souq, or market, is one of the best existing examples of a traditional Middle Eastern bazaar, which also serves as a social center.

Located near the Waqif Souq is the Al-Koot fort, which was built in 1927 to protect the souq from thieves. The fort has also been designated as a national heritage site and provides an example of Islamic military architecture. In the fort's central courtyard is a small open-air mosque that was built to serve prisoners of the fort.

Approximately 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the city center is the Doha Zoo, which occupies more than forty-two acres and contains more than 150 species of animals. While many of the zoo's animals represent foreign ecosystems, there are some native animals included in the displays, including the endangered Arabian Oryx. The zoo also features a small amusement park.

History

The area of present-day Doha was once a thriving fishing village. The city was first established in 1850 and was called Al-Bida, in reference to a tree that stood at the center of the first settlement. Al-Bida was established as the capital of the al-Thani family.

In the mid-nineteenth century, Qatar was one of the world's leading centers for pearl harvesting. The al-Khalifa family, descendants of the ruling family of Bahrain, threatened the al-Thani family for control of Qatar. In 1868, members of the al-Thani family signed a protection agreement with the British government that allowed British troops to move into Al-Bida. Due to continued threats from both Bahrain and the Turkish government, Qatar agreed to become a British protectorate in 1916, and Al-Bida became the center of the British administration.

The British did little to develop Qatar and Doha outside of erecting administrative buildings and fortresses around the port. In the 1930s, as the pearl industry was weakening, geological research indicated that there might be oil reserves in Qatari territory. The search for oil began in 1935, and in 1939, sizable oil reserves were located. Because of World War II, harvesting of this oil was delayed until 1949. In the ensuing years, the population of Doha began growing rapidly, as thousands of immigrants and Qatari natives arrived in the city to find work in the burgeoning oil industry.

In 1968, the British announced their decision to withdraw from the Persian Gulf by 1971. Over the next two years, representatives of the Qatari leadership negotiated with Britain, Bahrain, and several other nations to determine the future of the nation's military and economic associations. Qatar achieved independence on September 3, 1971, with Doha named as the capital. Qatar then signed an agreement of mutual economic and military cooperation with Britain.

A bloodless coup in 1972 brought Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, then prime minister and deputy emir, into power and initiated a period of economic and social reform that modernized Qatar. Through the 1980s and 1990s, oil revenues fueled continued growth and the city of Doha was gradually modernized, with old buildings being replaced by modern structures.

As the capital of one of the fastest growing and most financially dominant states in the Gulf, Doha's population grew rapidly in the late twentieth century and has continued to grow steadily in the early twenty-first century. Due to changes in the global oil market, the leadership of Qatar introduced initiatives encouraging the development of economic systems separate from the oil industry.

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