This sandy peninsula in the Persian Gulf only opened its doors to international tourism in 1989. With much of the country’s terrain dominated by sand dunes and salt flats, the best place to visit is the modern capital of Doha with its striking blend of traditional Arabic and contemporary architecture. In this metropolitan oasis, modern and even luxurious hotels can be found as well as towering sand dunes and unusual rock formations. If you would like to soak up some of the eternal sun, there are some lovely sandy beaches in the southern regions.

When compared to its neighbour, Saudi Arabia, Qatar has relatively liberal laws, yet is still not as liberal as some of its other Gulf neighbours like the UAE or Bahrain. Women can legally drive in Qatar, whereas they cannot in Saudi Arabia.
The country has undergone a period of liberalization and modernisation during the reign of the current Emir, who came to power in 1995. Under his rule, Qatar became the first Arab country in the Persian Gulf where women gained the right to vote as well as holding senior positions in government. For the most part women can dress as they please in public, although in practice local Qatari women generally don the black abaya cloak and head covering. Also before the liberalisation, it was forbidden for men to wear shorts in public. The laws of Qatar tolerate alcohol to a certain extent. However, public bars and nightclubs in Qatar operate only in expensive hotels and clubs.

Every day is sunny and hot and rain is very rare, occurring only in the winter. In the last half century, Qatar has developed from a small and rather poor country, where pearl fishing was the predominant occupation, to one of the richest Gulf States, largely due to the development of its abundant oil and gas resources.