Al Wajbah () is a district 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 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 ...

. It lies west of the capital

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 ...

. The village was the site of the

Battle of Al Wajbah The Battle of Al Wajbah took place in March 1893 in Qatar, a province of the Ottoman Empire's Najd sanjak at that time. The conflict was initiated after Ottoman officials imprisoned 16 Qatari tribal leaders and ordered a column of troops to march ...

, an armed conflict between the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

and the Qatari tribes in 1893. It was blockaded by the Ottomans in March 1893. The main encounter took place later that month in the village's

Al Wajbah Fort Al Wajbah Fort is one of the oldest forts in Qatar. Located in the locality of Al Wajbah in Al Rayyan, it is situated west of Doha. The fort was built in the late 18th or 19th century and was the location of an important battle when the army of ...

Etymology

"Wajbah" is the local pronunciation of 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 "waqb", which means "hole". Since the area is built on a depression, the sunken surface resembles a large hole.

History

In J. G. Lorimer's ''

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 ...

'', the town was stated to have accommodated a walled garden with a fort and a mosque in 1908, all of which were owned by a member of the

ruling family A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

. It was also described as a Bedouin encampment site which contained three deep masonry wells yielding good water.

Landmarks

Al Wajbah Fort

It is unknown exactly when Al Wajbah Fort was built, but it is thought to date back either to the late 18th century or the 19th century. It was the site of the

between Sheikh

Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (; – 17 July 1913), also known as "The Founder", was the founder of the State of Qatar. He had a total of 56 children, 19 sons and 37 daughters. Early life Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was born around 1825. ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Rectangular in shape, the fortress measures in length and in width. The fort has four towers—two round and two rectangular. While the round towers feature serrated upper platforms and shooting openings, the rectangular ones lack such features. Drainage systems integrated into the fortress walls efficiently manage rainwater runoff. Constructed primarily from hard limestone and clay, the fortress walls are plastered with gypsum. Inside, nineteen rooms on the lower level and upper chambers within the towers once served various purposes, including housing, worship, and assembly. Despite unauthorized modifications in the past, efforts in 1990 by the Department of Museums and Archaeology restored the fortress to its original state, removing alterations and reinforcing structural integrity.

Healthcare

The Al Wajbah Medical Centre opened its doors in May 2018. Residents of Al Shagub, Umm Al Jawashin, Al Rayyan Al Jadeed,

Muaither Muaither () is a district of Al Rayyan City in Qatar, located in the municipality of Al Rayyan. Etymology Referencing the area's geography, 'muaither' is derived from the Arabic 'mathar', meaning "place where animals are kept". Muaither is sit ...

, Rawdat Al-Nasser, Maqroon, Muraikh, and Fereej Al Zaeem are eligible to register. Clinics found in the centre include a psychological support clinic, a dermatology clinic, a dental health clinic and a physical therapy clinic. The centre also contains ultrasound machines, a pharmacy and a laboratory. Aside from medical services, the centre has a gym, a swimming pool and a sauna.

Education

References

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