Doha (Arabic: الدوحة, transliteration: Ad-Dawḥah or Ad-Dōḥah) is the capital city of Qatar. it is located in the Ad Dawhah municipality on the Persian Gulf. Doha is Qatar's largest city, with over 80% of the nation's population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs, and is the economic center of the country.
The city of Doha was founded under the name Al-Bida. The name "Doha" came from the Arabic ad-dawha, "the big tree." The reference is to a prominent tree that must have stood at the site where the original fishing village arose, on the eastern coast of the Qatar peninsula. In 1882, al Rayyan built the Al Wajbah fortress, in southwestern Doha. The following year, Sheikh Qassim led a Qatari army to victory against the Ottomans.
The Emiri Diwan.The city was made capital of the British protectorate of Qatar in 1916, and when the nation gained independence in 1971, Doha remained the capital of Qatar. In 1917, the Al Kout fortress, which is located in the center of the city, was built by Sheikh Abdulla Bin Qassim Al-Thani. In 1949, oil exportation began in Qatar. Today the nation as a whole produces over 800 000 barrels of oil daily. In 1969, the Government House opened. Today it is considered to be Qatar's most prominent landmark.
In 1973 the University of Qatar opened, and in 1975 the Qatar National Museum opened in what was originally the ruler's palace in 1912. The Al Jazeera Arabic satellite television news channel began broadcasting in 1996, with headquarters and broadcast center in Doha. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani currently rules in what some consider to be Qatar's most beautiful city.