Al Kharrara (; also spelled Al Harrarah) is a village in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Al Wakrah Al Wakrah () is the capital city of the Al Wakrah Municipality in Qatar. Al Wakrah's eastern edge touches the shores of the Persian Gulf and Qatar's capital Doha is situated immediately north of the city. Governed by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Jassi ...

. The closest sizable city is

Mesaieed Mesaieed (, also transliterated as ''Umm Sa'id'') is an industrial city in Al Wakrah Municipality south of the Qatari capital Doha. It was one of the most important cities in Qatar during the 20th century, having gained recognition as a prime ...

, located to the east. It is a desert area, characterized by high aridity and the presence of grazing animals such as dromedary camels,

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

Etymology

The village's name comes from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

word "khar", which roughly means "the sound of running water". As the area consists of varying elevations and several hills, the process of

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow or terrestrial runoff) is the unconfined flow of water over the ground surface, in contrast to ''channel runoff'' (or ''stream flow''). It occurs when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other ...

is highly noticeable during the wet months.

Geography

Common vegetation found in Al Kharrara include ''

Zilla spinosa ''Zilla'' is a genus of plants in the family (biology), family Brassicaceae, that grows in the Sahara-Arabian extreme deserts, in Northern Africa and the Middle East. Species Species include the following, and possibly others: * ''Zilla macropt ...

'', '' Polycarpaea repens'', '' Pteranthus dichotomus'', ''

Taverniera aegyptiaca ''Taverniera aegyptiaca'' is a subshrub or shrub in the legume family, native to arid regions from Egypt and Eritrea through the Arabian Peninsula to Sudan and South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landl ...

'', and '' Cullen plicatum''. Al Kharrara is situated in south-central Qatar. The villages of Al Aamriya and Umm Hawta in

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

Municipality are nearby to the west. It forms part of the southern desert region, which occupies 34.7% of Qatar's total area. Of the four sub-regions of the southern desert, Al Kharrara is a part of the southern zone of the Miocene-Tiwar sub-area. The area around Al Kharrarah is part of a region characterized by

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

-era formations that are distinct from the surrounding older rock types. These formations formed in a more recent geological period and in a different marine and continental environment compared to the surrounding areas. In terms of terrain, Al Kharrarah is part of a region characterized by a mix of rocky plains (

hamada A hamada (, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky (basalt) plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by Aeolian processes#Wind erosion, deflation. The majority of the Sahara is hamada. Other e ...

), hills and

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

. Elevations exceed in some areas.

History

Inscriptions dedicated to the pre-Islamic

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petr ...

god

Manāt (, , ; also transliterated as ) was a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess worshipped in the Arabian Peninsula before the rise of Islam and the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 6/7th century. She was among Mecca's three chief goddesses, alongside he ...

were found in Al Kharrara. In J. G. Lorimer's 1908 ''

Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The ''Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia'' (nicknamed ''Lorimer'') is a two-volume encyclopedia compiled by John Gordon Lorimer. The ''Gazetteer'' was published in secret by the British government in India in 1908 and 1915 a ...

'', he refers Al Kharrara as a

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

outpost that lies "20 miles south of

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

h and 6 from the east coast, between Naqiyān and Jabalat-at-Tuwar". He noted the presence of a masonry well, 27 fathoms deep, containing good water.

Industry

The Qatar Primary Materials Company has centered its dune sand extraction operations here due to the area's relatively large deposits.

Sports

The second stage of the Sealine Cross-Country Rally, which runs for , starts in Al Kharrara and ends in Sealine Beach (a section of Mesaieed).

Gallery

File:Small farm in Al Kharrarah.jpg, Small farm with blooming

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

in Al Kharrara Limestone arch in Al Kharrara.jpg, Limestone arch in Al Kharrara View of Al Kharrara from a mountain slope.jpg, View of Al Kharrara from a mountain slope Uromastyx aegyptia near its burrow in Al Kharrara.jpg, A ''dhub'' (''

Uromastyx aegyptia ''Uromastyx aegyptia'' is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is native to North Africa and the Middle East. Common names Common names for ''U. aegyptia'' include Egyptian mastigure, Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard, and, when re ...

'') near its burrow in Al Kharrara Water well in Al Kharrara.jpg, Old water well in Al Kharrara

References

Populated places in Al Wakrah {{Qatar-geo-stub