Qatar is a small Middle Eastern nation with a coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Bahrain. It was inhospitable for permanent settlements until the 19th century when the al-Khalifa clan controlled most of Qatar. The British established Qatar as a distinct identity and protectorate in 1916. Qatar withdrew from the United Arab Emirates in 1971 and declared independence. It has a wealthy economy due to oil and has seen growth since the mid-1990s. Qatar is safe and has beautiful beaches, ancient petroglyphs, and sand dunes. Qatar Airways offers daily flights to Doha from major cities.
Qatar is a small nation in the Middle East. It covers 4,400 square miles (11,400 square km), making it somewhat smaller than the state of Connecticut. It shares a border with Saudi Arabia and has a coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Bahrain.
Although people lived in Qatar in the beginning, they didn’t settle there until recently. The extremely arid environment made the country inhospitable for the most part, and so while nomadic groups did spend some time in Qatar, they didn’t establish the more permanent settlements they did in other regions. A few small villages sprung up along the coast, mainly to promote fishing and pearling economies, with clans such as al-Saud and al-Khalifa exploiting the region.
The al-Khalifa clan eventually controlled most of Qatar in the 19th century, although they ruled from neighboring Bahrain. Britain viewed the region as important during this period, seeing it as a waypoint on the way to India. When people living in Qatar began to rebel against the al-Khalifa, and when the al-Khalifa subsequently retaliated with force, the British used this as a pretext to establish Qatar as a distinct identity by formally requesting their presence at the negotiations. and finally labeling Qatar a British protectorate in 1916. Qatar sent a member of the al-Thanis clan, Muhammed bin Thani, to represent them, and his clan would later become prominent in Qatari politics.
When the British withdrew from the Middle East in the 1960s, Qatar initially joined the loose federation that would later become the United Arab Emirates. Due to border disputes, however, Qatar withdrew and declared its independence in 1971. The country has had a wealthy economy since the discovery of oil and has seen fairly steady growth even before independence. Until the mid-1990s, however, much of the oil wealth was skimmed off by the ruling emir. In 1995, in response to this, his son, the current Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, deposed his father in a bloodless coup. Since bin Khalifa’s rise to power, Qatar’s economy has seen even greater growth and living standards in the country have risen dramatically. The new emir also started a process to make his nation a democracy, implementing a series of reforms and a new constitution in 2003.
Qatar is one of the safest regions in the Gulf and, as such, a great place for shy travelers to get a taste of the Middle East. Although a suicide bombing in 2005 killed a British citizen, the national shock at this event should be a strong indicator of how rare such violence is. Qatar boasts some beautiful beaches, truly ancient petroglyphs and long stretches of rolling sand dunes. The tourism infrastructure here is top-notch, with new resorts opening all the time and all the amenities one could wish for. Although Doha is often referred to as the ‘most boring place in the Middle East’, for many it may be exactly what they are looking for. While there aren’t the historic relics, towering mosques, or sweeping vistas in Qatar that grace some other Middle Eastern countries, there’s virtually no violence or crime either.
Flights arrive in Doha daily with Qatar Airways from all major cities in the Middle East, as well as locations in Europe and the United States. While there is no organized land transport from Saudi Arabia, the border is open and rental cars can be used for a more exciting journey.
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