Qatar

By Miguel Rosado
 Physical Features
• Most of Qatar is a flat and rocky, sandy plain. Low hills punctuate the
landscape, west and central, with massive sand dunes in the southeast.
• A few salt pans line the western coastal areas, and within Qatar there are no
perennial rivers or lakes.
• The Hawar islands serve as a loading terminal for oil from the western oil
fields.
• Qatar's highest point is Qurayn Abu al Bawl, which peaks at 338 ft (103 m).
•
 Landscapes

Qatar Desert Qatar green Maze

 Culture

• The culture of Qatar is strongly influenced by traditional Bedouin culture,

with less acute influence deriving from India, East Africa and elsewhere in
the Persian Gulf. The peninsula's harsh climatic conditions compelled its
inhabitants to turn to the sea for sustenance. Thus, there is a distinct
emphasis placed on the sea in local culture. Literature and folklore
themes are often related to sea-based activities.
Traditional Foods

This is the most popular dish in

Qatar, its called Machboos.
 Government

• A constitutional emirate with one advisory body, Qatar is ruled by a hereditary emir from the Āl
Thānī. Members of the ruling family hold almost all the major ministerial posts, which are
appointed by the emir. The family, however, is large and fragmented. As oil revenues rose
after World War II, contention within the ruling family grew, and there have been several
bloodless palace coups
•
• The emir’s power is constrained by the need to maintain the support of important family
members, many of whom occupy high governmental posts. The homogeneity of the ruling
family and the country’s wealth contribute to Qatar’s political stability. The emir has also
cautiously expanded political participation, allowing the first municipal elections to take place
in 1999, with an electorate that included both female and male Qataris. Under a provisional
constitution enacted in 1972, the emir ruled in consultation with a Council of Ministers (Majlis
al-Wuzarāʾ) and an appointed Advisory Council (Majlis al-Shūrā).
 History

• In 1916, Qatar became a British protectorate and Abdullah Al Thani signed a treaty stipulating that he

could only cede territory to the British in return for protection from all aggression by sea and
support in case of a land attack. A 1934 treaty granted more extensive protection. In 1935, a 75-
year oil concession was granted to the Qatar Petroleum Company and high-quality oil was
discovered in 1940 in Dukhan.
• During the 1950s and 1960s, increasing oil revenues brought prosperity, rapid immigration,
substantial social progress, and the beginnings of the country's modern history. After Britain
announced a policy of ending the treaty relationships with the Persian Gulf sheikdoms in 1968,
Qatar joined the other eight states then under British protection in a plan to form a federation of
Arab emirates. By mid-1971, as the termination date of the British treaty relationship approached,
the nine still had not agreed on terms of union. Accordingly, Qatar declared its independence on
September 3, 1971. In June 1995, deputy emir Hamad bin Khalifa became the new emir after his
father Khalifa bin Hamad in a bloodless coup. The emir permitted more liberal press and municipal
elections as a precursor to parliamentary elections. A new constitution was approved via public
referendum in April 2003 and came into effect in June 2005.
•
The End