Map of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf in 1829 - Umm Al Houl

Jebel Al Wakrah () is a hill and local landmark of the city of

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 ...

on the eastern coast of

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 ...

. Located just off the shoreline, Jebel Al Wakrah is a level-topped rocky hill of brown color standing from to in height, and is visible from approximately away. It was formed almost entirely from wind-blown deposits.

Etymology

According to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the city of Al Wakrah derived its name from a hill that was a popular nesting spot for birds (bird's nest transliterates to "wakar" in

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 ...

), most likely referring to Jebel Al Wakrah.

History

In 1868, the Battle of Jebel Wakrah –the final military engagement of the

Qatari–Bahraini War The Qatari–Bahraini War (), also known as the Qatari War of Independence (), was an armed conflict that took place in 1867 and 1868 in the Persian Gulf. The conflict pitted Bahrain and Abu Dhabi against Qatar. The conflict was the most flagrant ...

– took place here after Bahraini forces pursued the Qatari forces fleeing from their defeat in the Battle of Al Damsah. The Qataris defeated the Bahrainis in the ensuing battle after capturing two of their commanders, prompting the start of peace negotiations. Archaeological artifacts were uncovered at the jebel by the Danish archaeological expedition during the 1950s and 1960s and by the British Mission led by

Beatrice de Cardi Beatrice Eileen de Cardi, (5 June 1914 – 5 July 2016) was a British archaeologist, specializing in the study of the Persian Gulf and the Baluchistan region of Pakistan. She was president of the British Foundation for the Study of Arabia, and ...

in 1973.

References

Hills of Qatar Al Wakrah {{Qatar-geo-stub