| Al Khor الخور |
|
|---|---|
| — Municipality — | |
| Map of Qatar with Al Khor highlighted | |
| Coordinates (Al Khor): | |
| Country | Qatar |
| Capital | Al Khor |
| Area | |
| • Total | 996 km2 (384.6 sq mi) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 31,547 |
| • Density | 31.7/km2 (82/sq mi) |
| Time zone | East Africa Time (UTC+03) |
| ISO 3166 code | QA-KH |
Al Khor (Arabic: الخور), also spelled Al Khawr, is a municipality in the state Qatar. In Arabic, Al Khawr means bay. Al-Khawr city is located in the northeast coast of Qatar, around 50 kilometres from the capital, Doha and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar. [1].
Al Khawr was ruled by the Al-Mohannadi tribe before the independence of Qatar in 1971 and still is. It is believed that the Al Mohanadi tribe who live in Al Khawr was formed in the late 19th century and it consists of seven Bedouin families. Nowadays, the majority of Al-Khawr citizens are from that tribe. As for the tourism aspect, the town is known with Al-Sultan beach hotel & resort, a palace that turned into a hotel, and for its large concentration of modern and historical mosques. The main industry of the city is fishing. The football team Al-Khor play in the Al Khor Stadium in the city.
Al Khawr's eastern edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf. On land, it borders the following municipalities:
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Al Khor town is located 50 kilometers away from the heart of Doha and is a good gateway for weekend travelers. Its location is on the east coast north of Doha and its famous for its importance in the pearling industry in the past, as well as its harbour is filled with fishing boats and small crafts. The town has wonderful beaches with some historical towers.[2][3] www.cnn.com
Al-Khor is the city of history and sea, of people distinction. Anciently, the city was a meeting point for pearl and fish merchants. Today, it is that of merchants, artisans, and company owners from all around the world.
It was given this name for its meaning, the arm of sea stretching in the land forming a bay. Al-Khor's bay is one of the biggest in Qatar. Bays are on the eastern coast of the Qatari peninsula. Over the years, bays were characterized by their simple and beautiful natural environment, the environment of the sea and the beach, of the city and the desert.
Although gas and oil companies are in Ras Lafan industrial region, near al-Khor and Dhekra, the municipality of the city, with its different departments and many other institutions, has taken the responsibility to make the city clean and environment-friendly so as to safeguard environmental life in it. Thus, many efforts were made to support the environment soundness in the city.
Al-Khor is in northern Qatar, 57 Km away from Doha. Till the early forties, it was a lively harbor and a center for peal industry. In the past, it was very famous for its fishing harbor and natural pearls trade activities. Despite the fact that other industries are starting to replace the first two, the city abounds in monuments reminding its noble history with its beautiful mosques, its museum with antiques and valuable pieces, and its historical towers.
At present, it is considered one of the biggest Qatari cities, having all modern services such as schools, clubs, and the General Shamal Hospital comprising most medical departments for it serves al-Khor city and its suburbs. Al-Khor is also proud of hosting the biggest oil and gas extracting factories in the world, since it has the Qatar Company for Natural Liquefied Gas, Ras Lafan Company for Natural Liquefied Gas, and many other petrochemical companies, refineries, water desalination stations, etc. in Ras Lafan industrial region. Ensuring environment's safety was one of the missions of these companies, for an environment section was created in each company, regrouped by committees established to play an effective role in raising awareness of the environment.
The following table shows the population of Al Khor.[4][5]
| March 2004 | March 1997 | March 1986 |
|---|---|---|
| 31547 | 17793 | 8993 |
The following table shows the registered live births by nationality and sex for this municipality. [6][7]Place of births is based on home municipality of mother at birth.
| Year | Qatari Male | Qatari Female | Totoal Qatari | Non Qatari Male | Non Qatari Female | Total Non Qatar | Total Male | Total Female | Grand Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 76 | 75 | 151 | 67 | 50 | 117 | 143 | 125 | 268 | |
| 2002 | 93 | 82 | 175 | 57 | 56 | 113 | 150 | 138 | 288 | |
| 2003 | 97 | 90 | 187 | 59 | 53 | 112 | 156 | 143 | 299 | |
| 2004 | 93 | 75 | 168 | 59 | 67 | 126 | 152 | 142 | 294 | |
| 2005 | 87 | 79 | 166 | 72 | 54 | 126 | 159 | 133 | 292 | |
| 2006 | 89 | 89 | 178 | 75 | 68 | 143 | 164 | 157 | 321 | |
| 2007 | 78 | 114 | 192 | 85 | 68 | 153 | 163 | 182 | 345 | |
| 2008 | 103 | 93 | 196 | 117 | 94 | 211 | 220 | 187 | 407 | |
| 2009 | 114 | 131 | 245 | 132 | 114 | 246 | 246 | 245 | 491 |
The headquarters of the Municipality is at the entry of al-Khor city, it is one of the oldest buildings. At present, it is being renovated to give its facades the traditional aspects of Qatari buildings, an aspect adopted by the Municipality in its building, since it built a building attached to the principal one with the same traditional features.
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