The thumb-shaped Qatar peninsula juts northwards into the Persian Gulf from the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar - or Dawlat Qatar, to give it its long local form - has achieved a great degree of international fame as the home of Al Jazeera television.
Although this nation is barely 35 years old, it has at least 6,000 years of history packed into its borders. Along with the rest of the Arabian Peninsula, Qatar has been a part of the Ottoman Empire for several centuries. Ottoman sovereignty was mostly a formality and real power stayed in the hands of local sheikhs. The tide turned in 1636 when the Ottomans were driven out of Yemen. The 18th and 19th centuries saw the gradual decline of Turkish influence in the face of rising Arab nationalism and increasing European interest in the area.
Qatar remained a British protectorate until 1971 when Britain decided to withdraw from the Arabian Gulf area. Qatar then adopted a provisional constitution declaring it an independent Arab country with an official religion of Islam, using Shari'ah as the prime source of legislation and Arabic as an official language. The Al Thani family formally became the ruling dynasty.
Qatar is investing in one of the most exciting skylines in the Middle East, with futuristic new buildings by world renowned architects such as Arata Isozaki, I.M Pei, Santiago Calatrava and Ibrahim Al Jaidah.
Qatar has ambitious plans for the future. The Qatar Tourism Authority's new 15 billion US$ tourism plan includes building hotels, lifestyle resorts, cultural products, sports facilities and creating a stronger infrastructure to sustain the growth and appeal of the country.
With projects such as The Pearl, North Beach Development, the Museum of Islamic Arts and the Qatar Photography Museum still under construction the country continues to attract attention on the world stage.
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