Doha

Doha, Qatar’s capital and biggest city, was once nothing more than a small pearl fishing town, but it has since emerged as one of the Middle East’s gems. It is one of the most quickly rising towns in the Persian Gulf, comparable to the growth observed in neighboring Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and is destined to become a hub of international commerce and tourism.

Doha was a poor fishing community reliant on pearl diving for much of its history, and was considered as a peaceful backwater until the early 1990s. However, with the succession of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani as Emir in 1995, Qatar swiftly started to develop, and Doha is currently making significant steps to catch up with other adjacent Gulf cities, particularly in preparation for hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022. The city is still in its early stages, with a fast expanding skyline and new structures popping up like mushrooms.

For most tourists, Doha is associated with Qatar, since the capital city is home to the great majority of the country’s people. Doha has an extraordinarily varied population — just 13% of people are Qataris. Although Arabic is the official language of Qatar, English is the lingua franca since the majority of the city’s expatriates, including most retailers and service providers, do not know Arabic. Doha is also one of the world’s fastest-growing cities, with employees continuing to flood in to assist create the burgeoning economy.

If you’ve been previously, you’ll know that Doha now is not the same as it was a few years ago, and it will be quite different again in a few years.

Doha is located in a scorching desert environment.

Summer lasts from May through September, with average high temperatures above 38 °C (100 °F) and often approaching 45 °C (113 °F).

May and June are often the driest months. In the summer, dewpoints may reach 30 °C (86 °F). Throughout the summer, the city receives nearly no precipitation, and during the rest of the year, it receives less than 20 mm (0.79 in).

Rainfall is limited at 75 mm (2.95 in) each year, occurring on isolated days usually between October and March. Winters are mild, with temperatures seldom falling below 7 °C (45 °F).

Doha is located in a scorching desert environment.

Summer lasts from May through September, with average high temperatures above 38 °C (100 °F) and often approaching 45 °C (113 °F).

May and June are often the driest months. In the summer, dewpoints may reach 30 °C (86 °F). Throughout the summer, the city receives nearly no precipitation, and during the rest of the year, it receives less than 20 mm (0.79 in).

Rainfall is limited at 75 mm (2.95 in) each year, occurring on isolated days usually between October and March. Winters are mild, with temperatures seldom falling below 7 °C (45 °F).

Qatar’s economic center is Doha. Numerous local and international organizations have their headquarters in Doha, including the country’s biggest oil and gas corporations, Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas, and RasGas. Doha’s economy is based mainly on money generated by the country’s oil and natural gas industry.

Beginning in the late twentieth century, the government began a number of programs to diversify the country’s economy and reduce the country’s reliance on oil and gas resources. Doha International Airport was built to help the city’s development into the tourist sector. In 2014, Hamad International Airport took its place. The new airport is about double the size of the old one and has two of the world’s longest runways.

Real estate prices in Doha have risen dramatically as a consequence of the city’s fast population growth and rising housing demand. After Qatar was awarded the privilege to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, real estate prices skyrocketed. In 2014, Al Asmakh, a Qatari real estate agency, published a research that demonstrated significant gains in real estate prices after a high in 2008. Prices climbed by 5 to 10% in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Prepaid SIM cards and top-up cards for Ooredoo and Vodafone are available in mobile phone stores as well as Carrefour and Lulu hypermarkets.

There is free Wi-Fi at Souq Waqif, public parks such as Sheraton Park and Rumaila Park, and along the Corniche. Some coffee establishments also provide free internet access. Ooredoo HotSpots may be found around Doha, mostly in hotels and cafés. HotSpot cards in QR 30, 50, and 70 denominations are available at every Ooredoo outlet.