QatarMapApril 30 May 1, 2008 Qatar is a microscopic nation bordering on irrelevance. A small sandstorm would affect the country’s entire territory. ![]() On the other hand, it has a well-known airline (Qatar Airways), a well-known television network (Al Jazeera), plus oil and gas. The rear end of a Qatari fuel truck is always painted with diagonal black and yellow stripes. ![]() This fort, for example, was built in 1938. One can conclude that if it weren’t for the oil and gas, by this point Qatar would have turned on the first 50-candela electric light on the capital’s main street. ![]() But Qatar has lots of oil and gas. So the ancient settlements have been sitting abandoned since the 1960s. There are no farmers herding cattle, no fishermen going out to sea for their daily catch. ![]() The country has so much money that its citizens don’t really need to work—after all, there are Indians, Bangladeshis, Filipinos and other migrant workers for that. Pretty much the only place you’ll see a Qatari at work is at passport control at the airport. The rest are all boarding a plane to go on vacation. ![]() The current Emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, overthrew his father while the latter was on vacation in Switzerland. I can imagine him making the call to a resort on Lake Geneva: “Dad, you’ve been usurped, sorry.” ![]() It’s impossible for an outsider to become a Qatari citizen. Citizens are entitled to a free education and all sorts of other perks. Migrant workers are entitled to a free notice board on the window of a grocery store. ![]() Every Qatari owns three or four cars. The gold-plated hood ornament is a typical attribute of tacky Asian ostentation. ![]() “For lack of anything better to do, many people drive out to the deserted desert roads, where they’re free to experiment in refining the art of the J-turn. ![]() Things that are 30–40 years old are considered antiquities. The narrow streets of the old quarter were built about 10 years ago. ![]() An antiques dealer offered me a 1960s Qatari license plate for 500 bucks (which is, of course, completely outrageous by any measure). ![]() It’s obvious that Qatar really wants to catch up to the Emirates—the skyscrapers in one part of Doha are already being built obscenely close to one another (although there’s nothing to prevent spacing them out, it’s just desert all around). ![]() Incredibly ugly lampposts line the main avenue. There’s also a delightful sign warning that the left lane will turn into a dead end. ![]() But Qatar can be forgiven everything just for its sign indicating an upcoming pedestrian crossing. ![]() |
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