Qatar - $section - Countries Guide

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The barren peninsula of Qatar extends into the Persian Gulf, bordered on the landward end by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its area may be very small, but the independent emirate is exceedingly wealthy, with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, thanks to its oil and gas resources.

For most of the 20th century Qatar was a British protectorate, gaining independence in 1971, after which it became embroiled in territorial disputes with its neighbours and suffered civil strife, with the Emir being ousted by his son in a coup.

In 1989 the country started issuing tourist visas, heralding a new era of opening its doors to visitors. Tourism, despite the establishment of glitzy hotels, has still to take off in a big way, hampered as it is by the risky security situation in the Middle East. Qatar labours under a high threat of indiscriminate terrorist attacks against Western interests.

Whether visiting for business or pleasure, most travellers use the capital, Doha, as their base. Formerly a quaint and busy pearl fishing village, Doha is today one of the most important cities in the Middle East, now a major trading centre. It has a large British and American expatriate population (the Al Udeid air base was headquarters for the US invasion of Iraq in 2003), which has moulded the city into an interesting blend of eastern and western culture and architecture.