Mug Shot — «Qatar I - Aspire Tower»

Country: Qatar Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 162 users (2 trading, 318 seeking)

Qatar also known as the country or State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain. The name may derive from "Qatara", believed to refer to the Qatari town of Zubara, an important trading port and town in the region in ancient times. Another possibility is that it comes from the Persian word "Gwadar" which means port, bay-port. There are similar places in the region with that name, such as Gwadar in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by Al Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'état. The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the Al Thani family, or close confidants of the al-Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U.S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center. Qatar has the world's highest per capita GDP and proven reserves of oil and natural gas. Qatar tops the list of the World's richest countries by Forbes. In 2010, Qatar had the world's highest GDP per capita, while the economy grew by 19.40%, the fastest in the world. The main drivers for this rapid growth are attributed to ongoing increases in production and exports of liquefied natural gas, oil, petrochemicals and related industries. Qatar has the second-highest human development in the Arab World after the United Arab Emirates. In 2009, Qatar was the United States’ fifth-largest export market in the Middle East, trailing behind the U.A.E., Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Qatar has attracted an estimated $100 billion in investment, with approximately $60–70 billion coming from the U.S in the energy sector.

The Aspire Tower is a 300 metres skyscraper located in the Doha Sports City complex in Doha, Qatar. It served as the focal point for the 15th Asian Games hosted by Qatar in December 2006. The Aspire Tower is currently the tallest structure and building in Doha and Qatar, but it is expected to be surpassed by the Dubai Towers Doha and the Barwa Tower. The tower has also been known as Khalifa Sports Tower, Doha Olympic Tower or the Torch. The building was fully completed in November 2007 at a final cost of €133 mln.

photo by lucky
edited by mobydick74

  Qatar

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