THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GOING
Qatar is a country of great extremes. With an ultra modern sprawling city landscape, to barren desert terrain, this Arab nation is flourishing. A relatively small country in Western Asia on the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar boasts great advances in an incredibly short time, given that it used to be one of the poorest countries in the region, not that long ago.
I recently spent a few days here, and learnt some very interesting and amazing facts about Qatar that you need to know if you’re planning to visit in the future.
General Facts
- Qatar is reachable by plane, car, and now also by ship, via Doha Bay’s brand new Port. There are no trains into the country.
- Qatar has one of the best airports in the world.
- Qatar is in the top 5 richest countries in the world per capita income, thanks to its oil and gas resources.
- Qatar’s ruling family has been in power since 1868, thus is an absolute monarchy. There are no political parties.
- Arabic and English are both widely spoken.
- Qatar is the second flattest country in the world.
- The Arabian Oryx is the national animal of Qatar.
Population
- The population of Qatar is about 3 million.
- About 90% of the population live in Doha, the capital city.
- Less than 20% of the population are local Qataris – the rest are foreigners on working visas.
- Foreigners cannot become citizens of Qatar; even if they marry a Qatari, there is no guarantee.
- One of the most amazing things about Qatar is that there are a lot more men than women! Females make up only 25% of the population, due to most of the population being young male migrants on working visas.
Living
- Petrol is dirt cheap. Filling up your car is cheaper than a movie ticket or even a hamburger.
- There is almost zero chance of an earthquake happening here, making it one of the safest places on earth.
- Qatar has a low incidence of crime and is the 3rd safest city in the world.
- Qatari food is influenced by Indian and Persian cuisines.
- Friday is like a Sunday, day of prayer, and shops are closed in the mornings.
- To be able to buy and drink alcohol, you must go through a lengthy application process for a permit, and is only for non-muslim expatriates.
- There is only one company that imports and sells alcohol in the country. It is a subsidiary of Qatar Airlines.
- There are no natural bodies of freshwater in Qatar, no rivers or lakes. There is only a man-made lake in Doha’s Aspire Park.
- Qatar relies on desalination plants for its drinking water.
- Doha has the longest non-stop bicycle path in the world, 33km long.
- Hiking is not really a thing in Qatar, due to unsuitable terrain.
The Desert
- The Qatar desert is a natural reserve listed on UNESCO.
- No forests or bushland exist in Qatar, due to its location in the middle of the desert.
- Sandstorms and dust storms are frequent.
- There are no mountains or hills. The land is mainly flat.
- Families go camping in the desert on weekends (for fun!).
- You can go glamping in the desert, believe it or not, in 5 star desert luxury tents!? (a contradiction in terms, if ever there was one!)
Popular Culture
- Most young Qatari boys are given a Falcon as a right of passage. Falcons are very respected, and the cost is about A$4000. Available at Souq Waqif.
- A very popular sport is camel racing with, wait for it … remote controlled robot jockeys. Yes, you read that right! I had not heard of this before.
Riviera
- The fabulous, luxury Pearl Qatar precinct is built on artificial land, or reclaimed land, of almost 400 hectares and 13 islands, known as the Arabian Riviera.
Atmosphere
- The hot season is very long, from May to September, with a top temperature of 42 degrees celsius. I went in January when it is more pleasant.
- Qatar is one of the most polluting countries in the world. However, some of the air pollution comes from desert dust, so it’s hard to gauge how harmful the pollution levels are. Suffice to say air quality isn’t good.
And that’s a wrap.
What do you think of these amazing facts about Qatar?
Let me know in the comments section below.
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25 September 2024, 09:34
08 October 2018, 09:00
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23 Comments
The Arabian riviera looks very impressive! We will keep these facts in mind when we visit in October. Keep up the great content ?
Living in Dubai makes me aware of Middle East countries and I love how people are safe and feel the luxury of such places. Good to know that Qatar is richest country. Thanks for sharing all useful facts.
I’m sure Dubai is amazing to live in.
It was interesting to read about the culture, especially the falcon tradition. So easily accessible from India…should plan a trip when the weather is right. Look forward to the food.
I hope you get to visit.
Love this post! Interesting facts about all facets of life in a small yet fascinating countries. I had no idea about how common the falcons were for children or the camel racing with remote-control jockeys! That’s incredible and must be a sight to see. I would also probably visit in January, but it still looks like sun and heat all the way! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, it’s quite an interesting country.
Middle Eastern countries are so on my bucketlist now! Qatar looks like an amazing place and has so much to offer. These are some really handy facts mentioned here. Thanks for this post.
I hope you get there to see it for yourself.
Fascinating set of facts about Qatar. More men than women (by a lot), receiving a falcon and glamping in the desert are just a few that were new to me. Do the Qatari boys race the falcons, train them or simply keep them as a pet ( I am secretly hoping the falcons get to fly a lot!).
The falcons are just pets these days. And yes the glamping could be fun!
Super gathered information. Many Thanks!
The camel race with robots is a bit crazy, right?
It is a bit weird crazy but it could be fun.
I found this post HIGHLY interesting. The safest country yet the most polluting. You have to apply for an alcohol permit and males are given a falcon (they’re so pretty) as a rite of passage. I’m not sure I’m familiar with a car called Falcon. I do love the photos and think it’s a beautiful place. But like you I would have to go in the winter and nowhere close to the summer. And camel racing I’ve heard of but not with remote-controlled robot jockeys. What???
You’ve summed it up in a nutshell. Thank you.
Qatar is such a fascinating country with so many experiences awaiting. It is relatively lesser known than Dubai and Sharjah but is a complete destination in itself. We have visited Dubai and Sharjah but could not get to Qatar owing to time constraint. Hoping to plan a visit exclusively to Qatar, Your post does a great job of presenting Qatar with all information for those planning a visit.
Thank you. Hope you get to visit Qatar.
Qatar is one of those relatively new destinations that deserves a mention, it looks quite interesting. There are flights going to Europe via Qatar from Australia so I’m sure I’ll come across it at some point
Yes I went from Australia on my way to Italy. Great for a stopover.
Falcon the car, does that date you as the writer or me as the reader. At least you didn’t say Fairlane. Does Qatar’s affluence include the foreign workers or only the natives? I know that all the job billets I saw for Qatar in my field came with a hefty raise.
I think I gave away my age group, you’re right. It’s the Qataris that are wealthy.
This is interesting, I never knew anything about Qatar before. It’s weird that the population is 75% men, yet most of those are on work visas and it’s hard to become a citizen. I wonder what the ratio of male/female CITIZENS is??
Only 25% of the population in Qatar are females