Al Khor also spelled Al Khawr, is a municipality

Municipalities of Qatar

||Before 2004, Qatar was divided into 10 municipalities :#Doha الدوحة#Al Ghuwariyah الغويرية#Al Jumaliyah الجميلية#Al Khawr الخور#Al Wakrah الوكرة#Ar Rayyan الريان#Jariyan al Batnah جريان الباطنة#Madinat ash Shamal الشمال...

 in the state Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, 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...

. In Arabic, Al Khawr means bay

Bay

A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...

. Al-Khawr city is located in the northeast coast of Qatar, around 50 kilometres from the capital, Doha

Doha

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...

 and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar. .

Al Khawr was ruled by the Al-Mohannadi tribe

Tribe

A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...

 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

Bedouin

The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...

 families. Nowadays, the majority of Al-Khawr citizens are from that tribe. As for the tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 aspect, the town is known with Al-Sultan beach hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 & resort, a palace that turned into a hotel, and for its large concentration of modern and historical mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s. The main industry of the city is fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

. The football team Al-Khor

Al-Khor

Al-Khor Sports Club, , is a Qatari professional sports club featuring teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis and swimming. It is best known for its football team which plays in the Stars League at Al-Khawr Stadium in Al Khor...

 play in the Al Khor Stadium in the city.

Al Khawr's eastern edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

. On land, it borders the following municipalities:

• Umm Salal
  Umm Salal
  Umm Salal is a municipality in the The State of Qatar.It contains several historic places, such as Barzan Tower. It also contains the new town of Lusail, which is located on the coast in the northern part of the municipality and a part of the district called New Doha...
  
   - south
• Al Jumaliyah
  Al Jumaliyah
  Al Jumaliyah is a municipality in the state Qatar.Al Jumaliyah's western edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf. On land, it borders the following municipalities:*Al Ghuwariyah - north*Al Khawr - northeast*Umm Salal - east*Ar Rayyan - southeast...
  
   - southwest
• Al Ghuwariyah
  Al Ghuwariyah
  Al Ghuwariyah is a municipality in the state Qatar.Al Ghuwariyah's western edge is the shores of the Persian Gulf. On land, it borders the following municipalities:* Madinat ash Shamal - north* Al Khor Municipality - east* Al Jumaliyah - south...
  
   - west
• Madinat ash Shamal
  Madinat ash Shamal
  ash-Shamal is a municipality in the state of Qatar. Its capital is called Madinat ash-Shamal and it is considered to be one of the major cities in Qatar. The name means "City of the north" - although the population is barely over 3,000...
  
   - northwest

Al Khor Town

Al Khor town is located 50 kilometers away from the heart of Doha

Doha

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...

 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.
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History

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.

Location of Al-Khor 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.

Development

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.

Demographics

The following table shows the population of Al Khor.

Al Khor Population

March 2004	March 1997	March 1986
31547	17793	8993

The following table shows the registered live births by nationality and sex for this municipality. Place of births is based on home municipality of mother at birth.

Registered live births by nationality and sex

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

Headquarters of the Municipality

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.