People in Qatar

Qatar is a rich country because of oil. In the last decae highrises have sprouted up around Doha.

All pictures are © Dr. Günther Eichhorn, unless otherwise noted.

Qatar

From the Wikipedia entry for Doha: Doha is the capital and most populous city of the State of Qatar. Doha has a population of 1,351,000 in the city proper. The city is located on the coast of the Persian Gulf in the east of the country. It is Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 50% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and it is also the economic center of the country.

Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda. It was officially declared as the country's capital in 1971, when Qatar gained independence from being a British Protectorate. As the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, Doha is considered a world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Doha accommodates Education City, an area devoted to research and education.

Skyline of Doha. (779k)

Skyline of Doha. (656k)

Skyline of Doha. (932k)

Skyline of Doha. (586k)

Highrises in Doha. (890k)

Doha Highrises. The part of the city in the background is located on reclaimed land. (699k)

National Museum of Qatar. (557k)

Al Wahda Artscape. (670k)

Oyster Shell in the center of a traffic circle, reminding of the roots of Qatari society, perl diving. (662k)

Mosque north of Doha. (609k)

Foreign companies stores and restaurants are not as much represented as in Kuwait and Bahrain. Here it is Ikea and Ace Hardware. (644k)

Ace with the USA slogan for the company. (659k)

Oil Refinery. (636k)

Al Jumal

View of Al Jumail. (710k)

View of the Mosque in Al Jumail. (755k)

Crumbling building in Al Jumail. (719k)

Crumbling walls in Al Jumail. (850k)

Minaret of the Mosque in Al Jumail. (573k)

Al Zubara

Al Zubara Fort is a historic Qatari military fortress built under the oversight of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani in 1938.

The Fort is part of the Al Zubarah Archaeological Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Al Zubara Fort. (650k)

Al Khor Fishing Town

Al Khor is (after Doha) the second largest fishing town in Qatar. In 2001 there were 176 vessels and 1613 fishermen. According to my guide, the only shipyard in Qatar is in Al Khor.

Fishing boats in Al Khor harbor. (767k)

Fishing boats in Al Khor harbor. (783k)

Fishing boats in Al Khor harbor. (722k)

The crane to get ships out of the water. (779k)

Ship in dry dock. (729k)

Fish traps. (1122k)

Fish market workers cutting up fish. (769k)

Desert Safari

Racing on Toyota Land Cruisers through sand dunes is a popular pastime. The drivers deflate the tires quite a bit to have better traction in the sand. The ascends were fairly steep, so you need good traction with the deflated tires. Going down the dunes is another matter. I think the steepest side that we went down had an angle of at least 45°. It was a wild ride. The dunes were some 30-50 m (100-160 ft) high.