9 Facts about Qatar

1. The earliest known evidence of human habitation in Qatar dates back to the 4th century BC from which artefacts such as rock inscriptions, rock carvings, flint spearheads and even pottery which were unearthed by Danish, British and the French expeditions between 1965 and 1976.

2. Qatar will be the first in its region to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022 for which it will build nine eco-friendly iconic stadiums, some of which will be able to host upto 80,000 people.

3. Doha (Ad Dawha) is the capital city of Qatar and means 'roundness', according to the Centre for Georgraphic Information Systems.

4. If you are new to Doha, finding online communities is the best way to get involved in activities of interest to you. Apart from Facebook pages, other popular forums include QatarLiving, ILoveQatar and Doha Tweetups.

5. Arabic is the national language of Qatar but due to a large expatriate population that resides here, English, Urdu, French, Malayalam and Tagalog are also widely used.

6. Weekends in Qatar fall on Friday and Saturday. Most stores are usually closed on Friday mornings until the Jum’ah afternoon prayer.

7. When in Doha, dress modestly as a sign of respect to local customs and culture. Both women and men should refrain from wearing clothes that go above their knees and women should preferably cover their arms.

8. Camel racing, though quite a pricey leisure activity, is still a very much popular sport in the country. It can still attract quite a big number of audiences especially now that it is incorporating technology by using remote-controlled robot jockeys to ride the camel during races for safety practices.

9. Karak tea is the most popular traditional beverage among the locals. It’s a milky tea infused with cardamom. Some of the best spots to enjoy this beverage include Tea Time, Baba Chapatea, and Chapati & Karak.