Qatar

Qatar is a country in the middle east with more than 9 million inhabitants. The emirate is a peninsula north of neighboring Saudi Arabia. It borders the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Bahrain. The constitutional monarchy has great wealth through the export of petroleum. A number of islands are scattered along the entire coast. The peninsula is bare and flat. It consists of a dry desert landscape and limestone areas. Along the coastal areas artesian springs, salt plains and shallow seas. To the south lie the salt marshes (sabchahs) of Al Amra and the west has a hilly landscape. In the southeast, sand dunes rise from the shallow water of a deep bay. The climate is characterized by heat, drought and a high degree of humidity. The capital Doha has 700,000 inhabitants and sights are the grand mosque, the palace of the emir, boulevard de Corniche, the national museum, the Moorish Doha fort and the Windtower house. Other cities are the old port city of Khor, Al Wakrah, Khor Al Udaid, Madinat Al-Shamal, Dukhan, Ruwais and Zubara. Other places of interest are the burial mounds at Umm Salal Ali, the inland sea Khor al-Udeid, the Zubara fort, the beaches at Dukhan and the Palm Tree beach at Umm Bab, desert landscapes at Salwa, and the camel races.