Thanks for watching... 1. Doha 2. Al Wakrah 3. Umm Said 4. Al Khor 5. Madinat Al-Shamal 6. Al Ruwais 7. Al Zubara 8. Dukhan 9. Al Rayyan 10. Mesaieed Qatar, officially the State of Qatar (Arabic: دولة قطر‎ Dawlaṫ Qatar), is a sovereign Arab country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait in the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island kingdom of Bahrain. In 2013, Qatar's total population was 1.8 million; 278,000 Qatari citizens and 1.5 million expatriates. Before the discovery of oil, Qatar was noted mainly for pearl hunting. Following Ottoman rule it became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971. Qatar has been ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he deposed his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. He later abdicated in favor of his son, current Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in June 2013. Qatar's semi-elected Majlis al Shura has very limited legislative authority. After Saudi Arabia, Qatar is the second most conservative society in the GCC as most Qataris adhere to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. Qatar is the world's richest country per capita and has the highest human development in the Arab World; furthermore, it is recognized as a high income economy by the World Bank. Qatar has the world's third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves in excess of 25 billion barrels. Qatar has become an influential player in the Arab world. Qatar supported several rebel groups during the Arab Spring both financially and by asserting global influence through its expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network. Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to host the event. A site located south of Zubarah indicates human presence from 7,500 years ago. Amongst the findings were a wall built of stone, possibly used as a fish trap. The first potsherds of the Ubaid civilization were found in 1961. Contact between the people of Mesopotamia and the Eastern Arabian coast (including Qatar) continued over centuries. In the 18th century, migrants established pearling settlements along the coast of Qatar. In the early part of the century, the Bani Khalid people extended their power in Eastern Arabia to the area from Qatar to Southern Iraq. Qatar's Zubarah, which had emerged as one of the Persian Gulf's key sea ports, became the headquarters of the Bani Khalid administration in Qatar and the principal transit port for their Eastern and the Central Arabian territories. Some of the imported goods were retained at Zubarah for consumption there and in the immediate vicinity, while the remainder were conveyed by camel to Dariyah in Nejd and to Al Hasa, taking in the other districts under the jurisdiction of Bani Khalid. In 1783, the Al Khalifa family of Bahrain invaded and annexed Qatar. In 1821, as punishment for piracy, an East India Company vessel bombarded Doha, destroying the town and forcing hundreds of residents to flee. The residents of Doha had no idea why they were being attacked. As a result, Qatari rebel groups began to emerge to fight the Al-Khalifas and to seek independence from Bahrain. In 1825, the House of Thani was established with Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani as the first leader. Although Qatar had the legal status of a dependency, resentment festered against the Bahraini Al Khalifas along the eastern seaboard of the Qatari peninsula. In 1867, the Al Khalifas launched an effort to crush the Qatari rebels, sending a massive naval force to Al Wakrah. This resulted in the maritime Qatari–Bahraini War of 1867–1868, where Bahraini forces sacked and looted Doha and Al Wakrah. However, the Bahraini aggression was in violation of the 1820 Anglo-Bahraini Treaty. This attack, and the Qatari counterattack, prompted the British political agent, Colonel Lewis Pelly, to impose a settlement in 1868. His mission to Bahrain and Qatar and the peace treaty that resulted were milestones in Qatar's history because they implicitly recognized the distinctness of Qatar from Bahrain and explicitly acknowledged the position of Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani, an important representative of the peninsula's tribes. The diplomatic response of the British to this violation set into motion the political forces that would eventuate in the founding of the state of Qatar on 18 December 1878 (for this reason, the date of 18 December is celebrated each year as Qatar National Day). In addition to censuring Bahrain for its breach of agreement, the British Protectorate (per Colonel Lewis Pelly) asked to negotiate with a representative from Qatar. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar

• published: 25 Aug 2014
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