Doha is the capital of Qatar and its cultural and commercial heart. With a population of 400,000. Unusual is that the majority of residents are expatriates. Doha is an mixture of old and new, modern architecture next to traditional Arabic Soukhs (bazaars).
The official religion is Islam but the Emir allocated land in 2006 and 2007 to build churches. In March 2008, the first Catholic Church was opened. There are more than 260 mosques. The Grande Mosque is the largest.
Doha's economy is built on it's oil and natural gas sources but the touristindustry has been growing rapidly, because of the the deminishing oil/gas sources. This is done according Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa's modernazation program. Doha's main focus is not only tourism, although more than 40 new hotels are joining Qatar's booming tourism market.
Construction is also booming in Doha, most visible with the changing skyline of the city. Doha has over 50 towers being constructed, including the Doha Towers which are the biggest.
Doha is home to the Education City, an area devoted to research and education.
Doha has an excellent road network which is currently undergoing vast upgrades, including the construction of many highways.
Doha's temperatures average over 40º Celsius (104°F) from May to September. It mostly rains between October to March (average 70mm per year). During cool winter nights the temperature rarely drops below 7º Celsius. For more information about temperature conversion, visit Fahrenheit-Celcius
To book a hotel in Doha, visit the Doha hotel booking page |
