   #copyright

Doha

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Geography of the Middle
East

                  Doha
   الدوحة‎
   West Bay
   West Bay
   Location of Doha within Qatar.
   Location of Doha within Qatar.
     Country             Qatar
   Municipality        Ad Dawhah
   Established  1850
   Area
      - City    132 km²  (51  sq mi)
   Population (2004)
      - City    339,847
     - Density  2,574/km² (6,690/sq mi)
      - Metro   612,707
    Time zone   AST ( UTC+3)

   Doha (Arabic: الدوحة, transliteration: Ad-Dawḥah or Ad-Dōḥah),
   population 400,051 ( 2005 census), is the capital of Qatar and is at
   25.3° N 51.5333° E, on the Persian Gulf. Doha is located in the Ad
   Dawhah municipality, sometimes also known as the capital municipality.
   The city is Qatar's largest city, with over 80% of the population
   residing in Doha or its suburbs, and is the economic centre of the
   country. Doha is home to the Education City, an area devoted to
   research and education.

History

   In 1850, the city of Doha was founded under the name Al-Bida. 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 Emiri Diwan.
   The Emiri Diwan.

   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 centre of the city, was built by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Qassim
   Al-Thani. In 1949, oil exportation began in Qatar. 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 centre in Doha. Sheikh Hamad Bin
   Khalifa Al-Thani currently rules in what some consider to be Qatar's
   most beautiful city.

Demographics

   Doha's demographics are unusual as the majority of residents in the
   city are expatriates, with Qatari nationals forming a minority. The
   largest portion of expatriates in Qatar are from South Asian countries,
   with large amounts of expatriates also coming from the Levant Arab
   countries and East Asia. Doha is also home to expatriates from the
   United States, 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 and the Qatar Pearl.
   Ownership by foreigners in Qatar entitles them to a renewable residency
   permit, which allows them to live and work in Qatar.

Economy

   Buildings near the Doha Corniche
   Buildings near the Doha Corniche

   Much of Qatar's oil and natural gas wealth is visible in Doha, which is
   the economical centre of Qatar. Doha is home to the headquarters of the
   country's largest oil and gas companies, including Qatar Petroleum,
   Qatar Gas 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 those being the Dubai Towers.

Education

   Doha is home to the University of Qatar, established in 1973, as well
   as several other universities located in Doha's Education City.
   Education City is home to campuses of several well-known universities,
   including Georgetown University, The Weill Medical College of Cornell
   University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Texas A&M University and
   Carnegie Mellon University. Doha is also home to many international
   schools established for its expatriate communities, with dozens of
   different private schools currently operating in the city. Education
   has been a big focus of the Qatari government which has led to the
   development of organizations such as the Qatar Foundation, which
   operates Education City.

Architecture

   Same as most of the rich Middle East cities, Doha is going through a
   huge construction boom. The city has been inviting international
   architectural firms to design the new buildings. New projects in Doha
   features:

   Doha Villa by Kathyrn Findlay

   Qatar Sports Tower

   Weill Cornell Building

Sports

   View of the Sports City during the 2006 Asian Games Opening Ceremony
   View of the Sports City during the 2006 Asian Games Opening Ceremony

   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. Doha also hosted the 3rd West Asian Games in December 2005. Doha
   is also expected to host the 2011 Asian Indoor Games. Sports venues in
   Doha and its suburbs include:
     * Al Ahli Stadium
     * Al Gharrafah Stadium
     * Al Itihad Sports Club
     * Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Al Sadd Stadium)
     * Grand Hamad Stadium
     * Hamad Aquatic Centre
     * Khalifa International Stadium - Main venue for the 2006 Asian
       Games.
     * Khalifa Tennis Stadium
     * Markhiya Sports Club
     * 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.

   Doha is expected to submit a bid for the 2016 Olympics.

Transport

Roads

   The Mowasalat transportation company recently introduced of a new bus
   system in Doha. The bus system covers many areas of the city, and there
   are stops throughout the city. The bus system is mainly used by
   lower-income groups, and does not attract many from the higher-income
   groups in the city, which has resulted in increased congestion on the
   roads of Doha, as most people prefer cars.

   Doha also has a large taxi system.

   Doha is facing a tremendous problem with repect to congestion on its
   roads - despite attempts at introducing public transport to relieve
   congestion, the city's main roads are unable to cope with the huge
   amount of traffic. The city has seen significant effort dedicated to
   improving its road system recently, with major intersections being
   constructed in high traffic areas and new intersections and highways
   being planned throughout the city. While this will alleviate the city's
   congestion problems in the long term, it has resulted in large amounts
   of traffic being diverted to already busy intersections. Many projects
   to relieve the traffic problems in the city have been introduced, and
   most of the busy intersections of the city are being upgraded to
   improve the flow of traffic.

Air

   Doha International Airport is Qatar's only international airport. It is
   the hub of Qatar Airways, and it is served by many other international
   airlines. Because of the rapid growth in Qatar, and the rapid growth of
   Qatar Airways, many now consider the airport too small and unable to
   properly handle all of the traffic that goes through the airport. This
   problem was recently addressed with a large expansion that was made in
   anticipation of the 15th Asian Games. In order to accommodate increased
   traffic, the terminal was expanded. This temporarily eased the size
   problem, but because of its small size and limited space for expansion,
   this has not been enough to permanently solve the problem of the
   airport crowding.

   A new airport, the New Doha International Airport, is being constructed
   near the existing airport, and should solve the problems the current
   airport has . The first phase of the airport should finish in 2008, and
   will be able to accommodate 25 million passengers annually. Upon the
   completion of the third phase in 2015, the airport is expected to be
   able to handle up to 50 million passengers annually .

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 very high. During the summer months,
   the city averages almost no precipitation, and less than an inch
   (2.5 cm) during other months.

Gallery

     * Gallery of Photos of Khalifa International Stadium
     * Qatar Corniche Fish Market

   The City Centre mall

   Skyline of Doha

   A mosque in Doha

   Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium

   Islamic centre in Doha

   Buildings in Doha

   An evening view of the Doha Corniche

   Souq Waqif

   Doha Museum

   A panoramic view of the Doha Corniche

   The Museum of Islamic Arts

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doha"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
