Al Qassar (; also spelled to as Al Gassar) is a seafront district on

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 ...

's eastern coast, located 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' ...

of Ad Dawhah. In the 2015 census it formed Zone 61 with

Al Dafna Al Dafna (Arabic: الدفنة) is a seaside district of the Qatari capital Doha located on the Persian Gulf. The district is rapidly developing into a central business district, and since the late 1990s dozens of skyscrapers have risen in the dis ...

and Zone 66 with Onaiza and Leqtaifiya.

History

Al Qassar was built on land that was reclaimed in the 1970s and 1980s after extensive dredging. As part of a masterplan by the Qatari government, the entire area, which came to be known as West Bay, was to be developed as Qatar's new business center.

Etymology

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 ...

, ''qassar'' is a word used for small black rocks found around beaches. The district received its name because of its high concentration of these rocks.

Geography

Al Qassar borders the following districts: *

West Bay Lagoon West Bay Lagoon, also known as Leqtaifiya (; also spelled as Legtaifiyah or Al Qutaifiya) is a district of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Spanning from the Doha Corniche to West Bay Lagoon, the area has villas on one side, and low rises on the o ...

and Onaiza to the west, separated by Lusail Street. * The Pearl to the east, separated by the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

. *

to the south, separated by Dafna Street.

Transport

Al Qassar is served by Al Qassar station which is part of the Red Line of the

Doha Metro The Doha Metro (, ''Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Mitru ad-Dawha'') is a rapid transit system in the Doha Metropolitan Area of Qatar's capital city Doha, which became operational on 8 May 2019. It has three lines with an approximate overal ...

rapid transit system.

Archaeology

Al Qassar was found to have

rock carvings A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

of human and animals by an excavation team in 1979. Most of them have been eroded beyond recognition. Stone blocks containing still-recognizable carvings were cut off and transported to the Qatar National Museum for preservation. One petroglyph, which contains two different panels carved by more than one individual, depicts two horse riders and a camel. The riders, one behind the other, are holding lances in their upraised hands. The second rider appears to be chasing the first, as his lance is pointed towards the other rider's back.Abdul Nayeem, p. 231. The figure of the second rider is leaning in a forward position, with the lance projecting from his upper body. In front of the riders is a camel with incomplete body features. Archaeologist Muhammad Abdul Nayeem tentatively dated the carving to the second millennium BC.Abdul Nayeem (1998), p. 232.

Gallery

File:Celebrating Eid al-fitr at this amazing place! @stregisdoha -StRegis -SPG (19585245410).jpg, View from the St. Regis Hotel in Al Qassar

References

Communities in Doha {{Qatar-geo-stub