"Tourists are virtually unknown in Doha"

I've been working through some State Department archives and recently happened upon an interesting little cable sent during the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. In it, US Ambassador William Stoltzfus passes on word from his Charge d'Affaires in Doha to the head office regarding the type of environment American citizens in Qatar may be facing during this tense period.

According to the foreign service officer in Doha, it seemed unlikely that any travel warning or evacuation plans would be needed because, first of all, things seemed "completely calm and normal" and, secondly, because there were hardly any Americans to be concerned about. As you can see below, there were thought to be no more than twenty private American citizens in Qatar, and no more than five tourists.

Thirty seven years later, Qatar has thousands of American residents, and around a million visitors from abroad annually.

"Catara"

If you haven't already, check out the World Digital Library site for some incredible old maps of the Arabian Peninsula. There you will find, among other things, inaccurate renderings of a place called "Catara" generally somewhere near the Gulf waters. The snippet above is from a map created in 1578.

QLinks

Huffington Post looks at Qatar's World Cup bid.

Archeologists putting a spotlight on Qatar.

As are American universities.

Qatar pioneers HIV research in Middle East/North Africa.

Qatar opens petrochemical facility in Lebanon.

Dispute over land value jeopardizes Cyprus-Qatar partnership project.

Jet fuel made with natural gas nets Qatar Airways an environmental accolade.

Presumably no natural gas in the airline's award-winning wines though.

Qatar Charity setting up vocational school in Yemen.

RasGas donates to program aimed at preserving Qatari traditions and heritage.