Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in southwestern Asia, located on the Qatar peninsula in the north-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, and is surrounded by the Persian Gulf from all the other sides. Qatar also has a maritime border with the islands of Bahrain, and with the UAE. The total area of the country is 11.5 thousand square kilometers; the population is about 2.2 million people. The capital city is Doha. The official language is Arabic.

The national currency is the Qatari riyal. You can exchange money at the airport, at banks and currency exchange dealers.

Qatar’s climate is arid with mild winters and hot summers. The terrain is flat and rocky. Be aware of sand storms and dust storms which occur regularly. The best time to go to Qatar is from November to early April.

The main treasure of Qatar is its rich history, as evidenced by numerous archaeological excavations. In Qatar numerous traces of ancient civilizations have been found. These evidences can be seen in numerous Qatar’s museums, for example the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum, Doha Museum, Az Zubarah Fort and others. You can also plunge in the atmosphere of this mysterious country by shopping at Souq Waqif, seeing a desert sunrise, climbing and sliding the dunes in a desert trip, basking in the sun on the beaches of Palm Tree Island, walking along the Pearl – a picturesque circular bay, surrounded by sky-scrapers, and watching camel races.

Airports

Hamad International Airport (DOH) the international airport, located near Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Diving in Qatar

Qatar is not a world-class diving destination, but you can find something interesting here.

At Mesaieed you can see a man-made reef, sunken old cars and boats, lying at a depth of 16 meters.

Off Banana Island there is a reef, suitable both for scuba diving and for snorkeling.

In Khor Al Udeid, or Inland Sea, the most popular diving sites are the Old Club and New Club Reef, Othman Reef, Qafco Reef, The Barge, and Zeytuna.

In Qatar’s waters divers can also see some sunken oilrigs, the Tech El Dan wreck and the Balhambar wreck.