THE COUNTRY

Qatar is in the Middle

East and is located on
the Asian continent. It is
a peninsula. There is
only one neighbour
country - Saudi Arabia.
Qatar is a very small
country. Its population is
about 3 million people.
It is an Absolute
Monarchy ruled by the
Emir of Qatar (similar to
a King).
The language is Arabic.
The official religion is
Islam.
The capital is Doha. In the past, it was a fishing city, where pearl fishers looked for their fortunes
and also a famous center for horse and camel ranches.

Qatar is a desert. There aren’t any mountains and it is very dry. Qatar has a dry desert climate and
temperatures can easily reach more than 40°C  in summer. Sandstorms are very usual.

There is only limited natural water and there is not much agriculture or farming, only 5% of the
lands is used for agriculture such as for date palm plantations.

Most food must be imported into the country. Qatar, however, is a very rich country due to its
mineral resources such as oil and natural gas. Qatar has the third largest natural gas reserves in
the world, after Russia and Iran. The main trading partners of Qatar are India, China, Japan, South
Korea, the USA and the UK.
 
The emirate has many attractions for the whole family to visit. The most popular are:

 Soul Waif: Doha's main and very beautiful market place.

 A cruise on a typical Dhow (boat)
 A visit to the National Museum
 A visit to the Museum of Islamic Art
 Exhibits about the history of Qatar in a floating museum 
 the 'Kingdom of Aladdin', an amusement park for families
 Desert adventure with camels or desert safari. It is also popular to watch a camel race.

 
Answer the true(T), false (F) or we don’t know (?)

1. Qatar is located in Africa.

2. There is a border with Saudi Arabia.
3. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are friendly states.
4. There is a king in Qatar.
5. It is a big country.
6. The main trade products are pearls.
7. It gets very hot in Qatar.
8. There are sandstorms every day.
9. There are not many attractions in Doha.
10. A desert safari is very expensive.

Answer the questions in full sentences

1. Where is Qatar located?

............................................................................................................................................................
2. Is it a big country?
............................................................................................................................................................
3. What is the capital?
............................................................................................................................................................
4. How many inhabitants are in Qatar?
............................................................................................................................................................
5. Who rules the country?
............................................................................................................................................................
6. What is the weather like?
............................................................................................................................................................
7. Why is agriculture difficult?
...........................................................................................................................................................
8. Where does most of the food supplies come from?
............................................................................................................................................................
9. Why is Qatar a rich country?
............................................................................................................................................................
10. Would you like to visit Qatar? Why? Why not?
............................................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................................

What would you like to know about Qatar? Make 5 questions

1. ..................................................................................................................................................
2. ..................................................................................................................................................
3. ..................................................................................................................................................
4. ..................................................................................................................................................
5. ..................................................................................................................................................