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Introduction to Qatar

Qatar

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Introducing Qatar:

If one is to describe Qatar in a sentence, the most apt description will be “it is fast evolving as the hottest destination of the Middle East”.

Its dazzling capital thrusts at the sky with the steel and glass of a 21st century megalopolis and the country is investing heavily in creating education, culture and sports infrastructure to realize its ambition to make Doha stand first among equals – as a world class city.

Yet Qatar is a beguiling blend of ultra-modern and old-world ways retaining its traditional feel where one can learn about the ancient art of falconry, watch camels race across the desert, admire traditional dhows bobbing on the water and explore lively traditional souqs (marketplaces) while the country is developing rapidly with Doha a futuristic and alluring city in the making having a gleaming spectacular modern skyline, with iconic museums including the peerless museum of Islamic art, burgeoning arts and culinary scenes, glitzy shopping malls, a charming waterfront, man-made ‘Pearl-Qatar’, one of the largest real estate developments in the Middle East on an artificial island offshore, a growing portfolio of luxury hotels for visitors to luxuriate in, a city wide rail system in the offing and yes Qatar is going to be the proud host of the mega sports events ‘FIFA 2022 World Cup and the Asian Games in 2030’.

Let us embark on a journey of exploration to this quietly blossoming destination – Welcome to Qatar.

Geographical Location and Topography

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Its Location and Topography:

Qatar is a small peninsula on the western shore of the Arabian Gulf with a landmass of 11’571 square kilometres. Much of the country consists of low-lying desert and there are no rivers or freshwater lakes in Qatar. On the east coast of Qatar there is a large area of mangroves near ‘Al Khor’. In the south of the country ‘Khor Al Adaid or the inland sea’ where the sea together with the surrounding large tidal embayment spills into the desert, creating a unique landscape. On the north side of the country there are small pockets of agricultural lands used for growing dates. On the west coast lies the country’s main oilfield the ‘Dukhan oilfield’.

Neighbouring countries include Bahrain to northwest, Iran to northeast and the UAE to the south while Qatar’s sole land border is with Saudi Arabia.

Climate

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Its Climate:

Qatar has a dry, subtropical desert climate with low infrequent annual rainfall. It has two main seasons, from May to October – summer season which is hot and humid and from November to March – winter season which is mild and glorious. Being a small and flat country, it has a uniform climate throughout and as the saying goes “it is always sunny in Qatar”.

Best Time to Visit

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Best time to Visit:

The ideal time to visit and enjoy Qatar is from November to April as the country experiences mild winters and moderate temperature in these months. Capitalizing on sunny winter weather visitors can take to Qatar’s great outdoors and have a good time.

Demographics

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Its Demographics:

On the basis of ethnicity Qataris can be divided into three ethnic groups ‘Bedouins – who trace their descent from the nomads of the Arabian Peninsula, Hadar – were migrants from present day Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan and were settled town dwellers and Abd – are descendants of slaves brought from east Africa.

As per 2021 ‘Worldometer elaboration of United Nations data - Qatar’s population is over 2.9 million of which about 12% are Qataris and balance 88% are foreign workers. Nationals of 87 countries work and stay in Qatar however the big chunk of foreign workers are south Asians primarily from the Indian sub-continent besides Europeans, Filipinos and Egyptians constituting the bulk of the workforce. The foreign workers in Qatar reside on temporary work visas which need to be renewed periodically in line with immigration laws.

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Qatar

Geographical Location and Topography

Climate

Best Time to Visit

Demographics

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