Qatar is a peninsula with a 563 kilometre-long coastline, numerous small islets, sandbars, and reefs. It is a popular destination with tourists in the Gulf Cooperation Council. [1] [2]
This is a list of beaches in Qatar.
Al Ghariyah beach is located 80 km north of Doha.
Khor Al Adaid is located near the Qatar-Saudi Arabia border. The holiday season lasts eight months.
80 km West of Doha, Dukhan is the centre of Qatar’s onshore oil industry and at the beginning of the 20th century had the only aircraft landing strip in the country.
Located 80 km north of Doha, [3] Fuwairit beach has cliffs bordering a fine sandy bay with strange shapes in the rock face.
Zubarah beach is located near the Zubarah archaeological site, but is open only to those on guided tours. [4]
The road to the Ras Abrouq beach is 70 km west of Doha. [3] Ras Abrouq is also known as (Bir Zekreet), it is a favourite beach spot for weekend campers in Qatar.
90 km west of Doha, [3] Umm Bab beach is also known as “Palm Tree Beach” because of the small cluster of palms at the end of the road alongside the small breakwater.
Maroona beach is located 80 km north of Doha. [3]
Al Thakhira is town with a nearby beach and island with mangroves.
Al Farkiya Beach is located in Al Khawr Town Rd and offers many facilities for visitors, including a garden.
As its name suggests, Simaisma beach is family-oriented, clean and safe. It is located in the north side of Doha.
Al Wakra, the village is situated 10 km south of Doha, and the beach is about 15 km southeast of the village center. The family beach is known for mangroves and little fishes.
Sealine Beach is located in Mesaieed, approximately 36 kilometres south of the capital, Doha. Sealine Beach is a great spot for fishing and camping, especially during the winter season.
Al Kharij Beach is located in Umm Bab, this family beach is also known as Palm Tree Beach for its cluster of palm trees.
Dukhan Beach is located in Dukhan, approximately 80 kilometres west of the capital, Doha. Dukhan Beach is known for surfing, swimming and to watch fish and crabs.
Katara Beach is located in cultural village in Doha. Katara beach offers a selection of watersport activities. On weekdays, the beach is open from 9:30 am to sunset, while on weekend is open till 9:30pm.
The history of Qatar spans from its first duration of human occupation to its formation as a modern state. Human occupation of Qatar dates back to 50,000 years ago, and Stone Age encampments and tools have been unearthed in the Arabian Peninsula. Mesopotamia was the first civilization to have a presence in the area during the Neolithic period, evidenced by the discovery of potsherds originating from the Ubaid period near coastal encampments.
Qatar is a peninsula in the east of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, in a strategic location near major petroleum and natural gas deposits. The State of Qatar occupies 11,571 km2 (4,468 sq mi) on a peninsula that extends approximately to 160 km (99 mi) north into the Persian Gulf from the Arabian Peninsula.
The Kingdom of Bahrain consists of Bahrain Island and 33 of the 37 Bahrain Islands, lying in the Persian Gulf's Gulf of Bahrain off the north shore of West Asia's Arabian Peninsula. Bahrain's capital city is Manama. The islands are about 24 kilometers (15 mi) off the east coast of Saudi Arabia and 28 kilometers (17 mi) from Qatar. The total area of the country is about 694 square kilometers (268 sq mi), about four times the size of the District of Columbia.
Qatif or Al-Qatif is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown, Safwa, Saihat, Tarout Island, and many other smaller cities and towns.
Zubarah, also referred to as Al Zubarah or Az Zubarah, is a ruined and ancient fort located on the north western coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about 65 miles from the Qatari capital of Doha. It was founded by Shaikh Muhammed bin Khalifa, the founder father of Al Khalifa royal family of Bahrain, the main and principal Utub tribe in the first half of the eighteenth century. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Al Shamal is a municipality in the state of Qatar. Its seat is called Madinat ash Shamal and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar, although the population is barely over 8,000. The seat's name translates to "city of the north".
Al Shahaniya is a municipality (3299 km2) in Qatar, with its municipal seat has a city of the same name (39 km2). Formerly in the municipality of Al Rayyan, but now an independent municipality, the municipal seat was delimited in 1988 by Law No. 22. In 2014, the cabinet ratified a draft amending some provisions to the 1988 law, thereby formalizing Al Shahaniya as Qatar's eighth municipality.
Umm Bab is a settlement in Qatar, located in the municipality of Al-Shahaniya. It used to be part of the Al Rayyan municipality and before that was administered by Al Jemailiya municipality before the latter was incorporated into Al Rayyan. Umm Bab is well known locally for Al Khraij Beach, which is also known as 'Palm Tree Beach' owing to a small cluster of palm trees situated off the shoreline.
Al Bin Ali is a Sunni Arab sub-tribal confederation based in the Arab states especially in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
Since the early 2000s, Doha, the capital of Qatar has been undergoing an extensive expansion in its transportation network including the addition of new highways, the construction of a new airport, and the under-construction Doha metro. These projects are meant to keep up with the population's rapid growth, which has strained the country's current infrastructure.
Al Khor, officially Al Khor and Al Thakhira, is a municipality in coastal northeastern Qatar. Al Khor City, the municipal seat, is located in the northeast coast of Qatar, around 50 kilometres from the capital, Doha and is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar. Al Thakhira is the second largest settlement in the municipality after Al Khor City.
Protected areas of Qatar include:
Simaisma is a small seaside town located on the eastern coast of Qatar 30 km north of the capital Doha. This town is characterized by old houses and mosques that are relics from the days before oil and natural gas were discovered in Qatar.
Dukhan is a city in the western municipality of Al-Shahaniya in the State of Qatar. It is approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the capital, Doha. Dukhan is administered by Qatar's state oil agency QatarEnergy and is the site of the first oil discovery in Qatar. It was previously a part of Al Rayyan municipality.
Barzan Towers, also known as the Umm Salal Mohammed Fort Towers, are watchtowers that were built in the late 19th century and renovated in 1910 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani. They are located at the southern side of the defensive system established at the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century to protect the 'rawdat', a valley where precious rainwater is collected when it flows down from higher ground. In Arabic "barzan" means "high place".
Archaeology of Qatar as a field study began in 1956. Three major expeditions were carried out in Qatar throughout the mid-20th century, with the first being launched by a Danish team who began work in the 1950s. This was followed by British and French expeditions in 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Approximately 200 archaeological sites were discovered during these expeditions, with the most extensive being the coastal areas of Al Da'asa, Ras Abrouq and Al Khor Island. Artifacts such as flint tools, Ubaid and Barbar pottery and encampments were found in situ.
Ras Abrouq is the northernmost extension of the Zekreet Peninsula, a stretch of land to the north of Dukhan in Qatar. It has a beach of the same name and various archaeological sites. Since the 21st century it has functioned as a tourist site.
Zekreet is a village in north-western Qatar near Dukhan and about 80 km (50 mi) north-west west of Doha. Originally a sparsely populated area, Zekreet was built up in the 1940s after oil operations commenced in Qatar. This included the construction of a harbor for oil equipment and a number of small houses which eventually developed into a village. There are a number of visitor attractions and old ruins at the site, one of the most notable being Zekreet Fort, which is housed to the immediate north of the village.
The council, an economic and political union of Arab countries, is made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The move represents a rare public rift between members of the GCC, an economic and political union aimed at fostering better ties between the oil-rich Arab states straddling the Persian Gulf.