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Doha

[doh-hah]

Doha, city (1994 est. pop. 361,500), capital of Qatar, SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. Doha was a small fishing and pearling village until oil production in Qatar began in 1949. Since then it has become a modern city, with a deepwater port and an international airport. Fishing is still an important industry. Qatar Univ. and Education City (a cluster of U.S. overseas campuses) are there; the Museum of Islamic Art was designed by I. M. Pei.

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Doha

Arabic Al-Dawhsubdotah

City (pop., 2004: 339,847), capital of Qatar. It is located on the east coast of the Qatar Peninsula and contains about three-fifths of the country's population. Long a centre of pirate activity in the Persian Gulf, Doha was a small village when it became the capital of newly independent Qatar in 1971. The city has been thoroughly modernized. Its Government House (1969) was built on reclaimed waterfront land; its water supply is obtained by distilling seawater. The deepwater port, built in the 1970s, accommodates oceangoing vessels.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Doha

Doha (الدوحة, or Ad-Dōḥah) is the capital city of Qatar. With a population of 400,051 according to the 2005 census, it is located in the Ad Dawhah municipality on the Persian Gulf. Doha is Qatar's largest city, with over 80% of the nation's population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and is also the economic center of the country. Doha is home to the Education City, an area devoted to research and education. Doha was the site of the first ministerial-level meeting of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. The city of Doha also held the 2006 Asian Games, which was the world's largest Asian Games held.

History

In 1850, the city of Doha was founded under the name Al-Bida. The name "Doha" came from the Arabic ad-dawha, "the big tree." The reference is to a prominent tree that must have stood at the site where the original fishing village arose, on the eastern coast of the Qatar peninsula. In 1867, during the war between Qatar and Bahrain, Doha had been severely damaged and Abu Dhabi was helping Bahrain. The following year, the British made Muḥammad ibn Thani Al Thani the shiekh of Doha, and he ultimately became ruler of Qatar. In 1882, al Rayyan built the Al Wajbah fortress, in southwestern Doha. The following year, Sheikh Qassim led a Qatari army to victory against the Ottomans.

The city was made capital of the British protectorate of Qatar in 1916, and when the nation gained independence in 1971, Doha remained the capital of Qatar. In 1917, the Al Kout fortress, which is located in the center of the city, was built by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Qassim Al-Thani. Still, during the early 20th century, much of Qatar's economy depended on fishing and pearling, and Doha had about 350 pearling boats. However, after the introduction of the Japanese cultured pearls in the 1930s, the whole region, including the town of Doha, suffered a major depression and Qatar became a poor country, plunged into poverty. This lasted until in the late 1930s, when oil was discovered. However, the exploration and exportation was halted due to the second world war. Today the nation as a whole produces over 800,000 barrels of oil daily. In 1969, the Government House opened. Today it is considered to be Qatar's most prominent landmark.

In 1973 the University of Qatar opened, and in 1975 the Qatar National Museum opened in what was originally the ruler's palace in 1912. The Al Jazeera Arabic satellite television news channel began broadcasting in 1996, with headquarters and broadcast center in Doha. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani currently rules in what some consider to be Qatar's most beautiful city.

Demographics

The demography of Doha is unusual in that the majority of residents are expatriates, with Qatari nationals forming a minority. The largest portion of expatriates in Qatar are from South Asian countries, mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with large amounts of expatriates also coming from the Levant Arab countries, Egypt, North Africa, and East Asia. Doha is also home to expatriates from the United States, Canada, France, South Africa, United Kingdom, Norway, and many other countries.

In the past, expatriates in Qatar were not allowed to own land; however, now people who are not Qatari citizens can buy land in several areas of Doha, including the West Bay Lagoon, the Qatar Pearl and the new Lusail City. Ownership by foreigners in Qatar entitles them to a renewable residency permit, which allows them to live and work in Qatar.

Each month tens of thousands immigrate to Qatar and it is estimated that within a few years the population will reach one million. Due to the high influx of incoming residents, there is a severe shortage of housing.

Even though the official religion is Islam, the Emir allocated land in 2006 and 2007 to build churches. In March 2008, the first Catholic Church was opened, but out of respect for locals, Christian symbols are not displayed publicly. Five other churches are under construction.

Year	Population	Metro
1986	217,294
1992	313,639	484,387
2001	299,300
2004	339,847	612,707
2005	400,051
2008	>500,000	998,651

Economy

Much of Qatar's oil and natural gas wealth is visible in Doha, which is the economic centre of Qatar. Doha is home to the headquarters of the country's largest oil and gas companies, including Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas and RasGas. Doha's economy is built on the revenue the country has made from its oil and natural gas industries, and the Qatari government is rapidly trying to diversify the Qatari economy in order to move away from this dependence on oil. As a result, Doha is currently experiencing a very large boom, with the city developing very rapidly - this is mostly the result of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa's modernization program.

Like the nearby city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Doha's economy is moving away from its dependency on the oil and natural gas industries, although unlike Dubai, Doha's main focus is not tourism. Doha is seeing huge amounts of growth, with the population of the city increasing by more than 60,000 between 2004 and 2006; this has caused a boom in the real estate sector, with real estate prices skyrocketing . According to the BBC, as of late January 2007, Doha is now a more expensive city than Dubai in terms of real estate prices. This rate of growth has led to projects such as the Lusail City project, which is being constructed north of Doha and will eventually house 200,000 people. Construction is also booming in Doha, a result of increasing corporate and commercial activity in Doha. This is most visible with the changing skyline of the city, as Doha has over 50 towers currently being constructed, the largest of which is the Dubai Towers. At the same time, 39 new hotels are joining Qatar's booming tourism market, adding about 9,000 new rooms by 2009.

Some key projects in Doha include:

Education

Education has been a major focus of the Qatari government in recent years. In addition to Qatar University, established in 1973, the government has solicited other universities to establish campuses in Doha, most notably at Education City.

Doha is also home to many international schools established for its expatriate communities, with dozens of different private schools currently operating in the city, such as Qatar Academy, Qatar International School, The American School of Doha, Doha College, DeBakey High School for Health Professions at Qatar, The Qatar Canadian School and The MES Indian School.

Universities/colleges within Education City: (See Education City)

Other Universities/colleges around Doha:

Qatar University
College of the North Atlantic
CHN University
University of Calgary
Qatar Leadership Academy (Outside Al Khawr Town)

Sports

Doha is home to a number of sports stadiums, many of which were renovated in preparation for the 15th Asian Games, held in December 2006, which Doha spent $2.8 billion for preparation. Doha also hosted the 3rd West Asian Games in December 2005. Doha is also expected to host the 2011 Asian Indoor Games; Doha will also host the finals for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Qatar is aiming to be the region's sports capital.

Sports venues in Doha and its suburbs include:

Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium
Thani bin Jassim Stadium
Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Al Sadd Stadium)
Al Rayyan Stadium
Al-Arabi Stadium
Hamad Aquatic Centre
Khalifa International Stadium - Main venue for the 2006 Asian Games.
Khalifa Tennis Stadium
Qatar Sports Club Stadium

ASPIRE Academy, launched in 2004, is a sports academy which aims to create world-class athletes. It is situated in the Sports City Complex, which also includes the Khalifa International Stadium, the Hamad Aquatic Centre and the Aspire Tower.

The MotoGP motorcycling grand prix of Doha is held annually at Losail International Circuit, located just north of the city.

Under-construction stadiums/sport facilities:

The Wall Stadium would become the world's largest underground stadium, dwarfing the Fjellhallen ice-hockey arena in Norway, and would be the main venue for the 2011 Asian Cup. The stadium is estimated to cost 20 million dollars. The stadium will have the latest technology and roads leading to the stadium will be easy. While the New Paralympic stadium south of the new City of Lusail will be the most advance Paralympic stadium.

Doha submitted a bid for the 2016 Olympics. It already had more than 70% of the venues ready that were used during the Asian Games in 2006. If Doha had won, an olympic village would have been constructed and would have had the shape of a dove and been 67 hectares in size with a capacity of 18,000 people, housing officials, athletes and coaches. (See Doha 2016 Olympic bid) On June 4, 2008, the city was eliminated from the shortlist for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Transportation

By air, Doha is currently served by the Doha International Airport, Qatar's only international airport. The airport is the hub of Qatar Airways, a leading regional airline that has recently witnessed a huge expansion. The current airport's facilities have been expanded numerous times in the last decade, but because of the airport's proximity to the city, space for expansion is limited. As a result, a new airport, the New Doha International Airport, is being constructed east of the current airport. The airport is expected to have a final capacity of 50 million passengers upon completion of its final phase in 2015, and the airport is expected to solve all of the problems currently faced by the current airport. The airport, at more than 2,000 hectares, will be one of the largest in the world.

Doha has an excellent road network which is currently undergoing vast upgrades, including the construction of many highways. The largest such highway under construction is the Doha expressway. Doha has an extensive bus system operated by the Mowasalat company, which also operates taxis under its Karwa brand. The main mode of transport in Doha, however, is the car, as the bus system is mostly used by the lower-income groups of the country, and there is no metro system operating in the city, although there are plans for the construction of such a system.

The Doha Port is among the country's largest ports, and is located just off the Doha Corniche. The port is the main seaport servicing Doha, although plans for a new port are underway due to the port's location in central Doha and the resultant traffic and pollution problems, the proposed location of the port is near the town of Al Wakra, just south of the New Doha airport.

Climate

Doha is situated in the Arabian Peninsula, and as such its climate is very hot. Temperatures average over 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F) from May to September, and humidity is variable. Dewpoints can reach above 25 degrees Celsius in the summer. During the summer months, the city averages almost no precipitation, and less than an inch (25 mm) during other months. Rainfall is scarce (average 70 mm per year), falling on isolated days mostly between October to March. During cool winter nights the temperature can rarely drop below 7 degrees Celsius.